For gaining a clearer understanding about the mental process, we might consider about it in the light of human development and its relation to the higher faculties.

Example:

A person receives an impression from outside…A strong person oppresses a weaker one…

First level of development…

The third person receives the impression, and after that his mind just goes back into life-continuum …the impression will add to his life-stuff and become part of his nature. Thus he will feel naturally at home amongst barbarians, which will manifest in his later life.

Second level of development….

The third person is a person who in his course of growing up learned to make a certain distinction between good and bad…He sees the situation, receives the impression, investigates it and classifies it as “bad”…after that his mind lapses into life-continuum,..but that life-continuum starts vibrating…stirring him into action…an angry action of trying to harm the oppressor …the cause of the “bad-action”…As a result maybe he dies and the victim dies…but the impression did not move into him, becoming part of himself but rather he established himself as being apart from the situation …thus a certain personality starts crystallising…a being that is no longer only product of the environment… He thus made use of the situation to make a certain acquired concept regarding good and bad a reality… which means that his organism has been made responsive to the concept…which in turn through further development can become a faculty of discernment.

(This condition may be related to the condition of a two rooted person)

Third level of development…

The third person having classified the situation as “bad” …starts thinking about it (processing the situation) …”That person should be put into prison” (perhaps a thought of anger)…or “I need to do something about the situation…perhaps I could call the police …perhaps I could do something to help” (wholesome thoughts)…then his mind lapses into life-continuum, after which it starts vibrating,..moving him to action, …or, alternatively the process runs until registration,…making a mental note to process that situation further in some future mental process…after which it equally lapses into life-continuum and starts vibrating …moving him into action…in that case both a personality has crystallised, distinguishing him as an entity apart from the environment, …as well as his higher faculties of intellection and discernment have developed further…distinguishing him as an entity higher in order than the former one. (This condition relates to the condition of a three rooted person.)

Fourth level of development…

Following the thought considerations regarding the 5 sensory situation, a person, calming his mind, adverts his attention to the content of his own mind-stream, seeing, the situation in relation to his own present mental constitution and knowledge, he makes a decision that includes a greater amount of factors.

Fifth level of development…

A person has acquired in the course of living life, skillfulness in action, as well as in the usage of his faculties..and basing himself on the result of his good kamma, leaves worldly conditions behind, either temporarily or permanently to develop his mental faculties more deliberately into powers…going to an empty place,…he uses his faculties to master the pressing force of the momentum of his worldly life usually with the aid of some religious subject and/or certain religious instructions…becoming more proficient, his faculties develop into powers and the results of his past kamma are more skilfully made use of.