Citta (disciple)

Upāsaka Citta (Sanskrit: Citra) was one of the chief male lay disciples of the Buddha, along with Hatthaka of Alavi. He is considered the lay disciple of the Buddha who was foremost in teaching the Dharma. He was a wealthy merchant from Savatthi. It is said his life and character were so pure that near his death, if he had wished to be a Chakravarti, or universal monarch, it would've been granted. However, he turned down this wish as it was temporal. He had become an Anāgāmi or Non-Returner.

In an Early Buddhist Text (SN IV.297-300), Citta is asked by Jain leader Nigantha Nataputta (Mahavira) if he believes the Buddha who says that there is a concentration free from deliberation and thought. He initially gives an ambiguous answer, but then turns out not to believe, but to know these things from his own experience obtained while practicing the jhanas.