Buddhist Faith (saddhā) and Phenomena in the Digital World: A Theravāda Abhidhamma Framework for Defending Human Space through Cetasika Analysis

Abstract

Contemporary digital environments increasingly shape human attention, interpretation, and volitional autonomy through recommender systems, algorithmic personalization, and persistent information flows. This study examines how Theravāda Abhidhamma may provide a conceptual framework for interpreting such conditions and defending human cognitive space. The objectives were: (1) to analyze saddhā (faith/confidence) as a foundational cetasika and controlling faculty relevant to digital engagement; (2) to develop an Abhidhammic framework for distinguishing technical digital processes from conventional lived experience; and (3) to apply conditional and cetasika analysis to selected digital cases in order to formulate context-specific strategies for preserving human agency. The study employed a qualitative documentary design combined with exploratory framework development and Buddhist-Informed Phenomenological Analysis (BIPA). The study drew primary doctrinal materials from the Abhidhamma Piṭaka, selected Sutta Piṭaka texts, and commentarial sources, while contemporary literature on digital ethics, autonomy, persuasive technologies, and technostress provided comparative context. The study analyzed three qualitative cases through conditional relations (paccaya) and mental-factor configurations at the mind-door (manodvāra). The study produced three main contributions: a three-stage model of saddhā progressing from initial confidence to investigative discipline and resilient stability; an ontological distinction between computational processes and conventional human experience; and Cetasika Remediation Analysis (CRA), which interprets problematic digital encounters through wholesome and unwholesome mental factors and proposes corresponding remedial strategies. These elements are synthesized in the Theravāda Framework for Defending Human Space (TFDHS). The framework should be understood as a doctrinally informed, exploratory analytical model rather than an empirically validated intervention, and further research is needed to test its applicability across diverse digital contexts.