Manasikāra


Manasikara is a Buddhist term that is translated as "attention" or "ego-centric demanding". It is defined as the process of the mind fixating upon an object. Manasikara is identified within the Buddhist Abhidharma teachings as follows:

Theravada

Bhikkhu Bodhi states:
The Atthasālinī and the Visuddhimagga define manasikāra as follows:

Mahayana

The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:
Herbert Guenther states:
The difference between cetanā and manasikara is that cetanā brings the mind towards the object in a general move, while manasikara makes the mind fixate upon this particular objective reference.