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Indriya

( Buddhist Philosophical Concepts )

Etymology
Five spiritual faculties

Balancing the five facul..
Relation to the Five Pow..

Five material or six sen..
Twenty-two phenomenologi..
Other faculty groupings
See also
Footnotes
Notes
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Bodhi Faculties Indriya Pali

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Indriya (literally "belonging to or agreeable to Indra") is the Sanskrit and Pali term for physical strength or ability in general,Bodhi (2000), p. 1509Conze (1993), n. 1Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 122, entry "indriya"Thanissaro (1998), Part II, sec. E, "The Five Faculties." and for and specifically refers to the five spiritual faculties, the five or six sensory faculties, and the twenty-two phenomenological faculties.

Etymology

Indriya, literally "belonging to or agreeable to Indra," chief deity in the Rig Veda and lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven (also known as Śakra or Sakka in Buddhism), hence connoting supremacy, dominance and control, attested in the general meaning of "power, strength" from the Rig Veda.Bodhi (2000), p. 1509Conze (1993), n. 1Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 122, entry "indriya"Thanissaro (1998), Part II, sec. E, "The Five Faculties."

In Buddhist Sanskrit and Pali the term generally refers to physical strength or ability in general, and more specifically to the five spiritual faculties, the five or six sensory faculties, or the twenty-two phenomenological faculties.

Five spiritual faculties

In the Pali Canon's Sutta Pitaka, the "five spiritual faculties" (Pali: ), which contribute to an awake state of mind, are:

faith or conviction or belief ( saddha)
energy or persistence or perseverance ( viriya)
mindfulness or memory ( sati)
stillness ( )
wisdom or understanding or comprehension ( ).

Samyutta Nikaya 48.10 is one of several discourses that characterizes these spiritual faculties in the following manner:

Faith/conviction is faith in the Buddha's bodhi.Alternatively, Samyutta Nikaya 48.8 and Anguttara Nikaya V.15 identify "faith" as referring to the four-fold faith of the stream-enterer which Conze (1993), n. 28, and Nyanaponika & Bodhi (1999), p. 297, n. 9, identify as faith in the Triple Gem and "perfect morality."
Energy/persistence refers to exertion towards the Four Right Efforts.
Mindfulness refers to focusing on the four satipaṭṭhāna.
Samādhi,Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 685, defines "samādhi" firstly as "concentration; a concentrated, self-collected, intent state of mind and meditation ...." Shankman (2008), p. 3, notes: " Samādhi, generally translated as 'concentration' ..." (although, his book begins, "The term samādhi basically means 'undistractedness'"). Samādhi has been translated as "concentration" by contemporary translators including Bodhi (2000, throughout) and Thanissaro (1997a). stillnessIn Shankman (2008), p. 169, during an interview, Ajahn Brahmavamso states: "'Concentration' was never a very good translation for samādhi, and I have moved from that to 'attentive stillness.'" Feldman (2023), as part of an introduction to a month-long online series on samādhi, writes: "The spoke about using the power of samādhi — the power of stillness and connectedness — in turning toward the development of understanding and liberation in insight." refers to achieving the four jhānas.
Wisdom/understanding refers to discerning the Four Noble Truths.Bodhi (2000), pp. 1671-73; and, Thanissaro (1997a).

In SN 48.51, the Buddha declares that, of these five faculties, wisdom is the "chief" ( agga).Bodhi (2000), p. 1695.

The five faculties are listed in the seven sets of qualities lauded by the Buddha as conducive to Enlightenment.While the Pali atthakatha consistently use the term bodhipakkhiyā dhammā ("states conducive to enlightenment") to refer to seven sets of awakened qualities (i.e., the four satipatthana, four right exertions, four bases of power, five faculties, five powers, seven bojjhanga, and Noble Eightfold Path) (see, e.g., Bodhi, 2000, p. 1937, n. 235), a search of the Sinhala SLTP tipitaka (using La Trobe University's search engine at ) finds the Pali phrase bodhipakkhiyā dhammā occurring only once in the early suttas: in the Sālā Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya 48.51) where the term references solely these five spiritual faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom (Bodhi, 2000, p. 1695).

Balancing the five faculties

In Anguttara Nikaya 6.55, the Buddha counsels a discouraged monk, Sona, to balance or "tune" his spiritual faculties as one would a musical instrument:

"... what do you think: when the strings of your lute were neither too taut nor too loose, but tuned to be right on pitch, was your lute in tune & playable?"

"Yes, lord."

"In the same way, Sona, over-aroused persistence leads to restlessness, overly slack persistence leads to laziness. Thus you should determine the right pitch for your persistence, attune the pitch of the five faculties to, and there pick up your theme."Thanissaro (1997b). See also Nyanaponika & Bodhi (1999), pp. 168-70. Following Nyanaponika & Bodhi, the Pali word (which Thanissaro leaves untranslated) is translated here as "lute"; other square-bracketed phrases are from Thanissaro (1997b). In Nyanaponika & Bodhi (1999), they translate this excerpt's last line as: "Therefore, Soa, keep your energy in balance, penetrate to a balance of the spiritual faculties, and there seize your object." In the associated end note (pp. 301-2, n. 31), they provide the commentary's interpretation of "object" ( nimitta) as: "When such balance exists, the object can arise clearly, just like the reflection of the face in a mirror; and you should seize this object, be it of tranquillity, insight, path or fruition."See also the Aggi Sutta ("Fire Discourse," Samyutta Nikaya 46.53) in which, within the context of the seven bojjhanga, the Buddha counsels that one should develop energy (and other factors) when experiencing a sluggish mind and develop concentration (and other factors) when experiencing an excited mind (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1605-7).

Relatedly, the Visuddhimagga and other post-canonical AtthakathaFor instance, in an end note associated with Anguttara Nikaya 6.55, Nyanaponika & Bodhi (1999, pp. 301-2, n. 31) reference the (AN commentary). caution against one spiritual faculty overpowering and inhibiting the other four faculties, and thus generally recommend modifying the overpowering faculty with the investigation of states (see dhamma vicaya) or the development of tranquillity ( samatha). Moreover, these commentaries especially recommend that the five spiritual faculties be developed in counterbalancing dyads:

{ cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center"
Mindfulness
	Faith	Under- standing
	Energy	Concen- tration
Mindfulness
The balancing of the five spiritual faculties.

"For one strong in faith and weak in understanding has confidence uncritically and groundlessly. One strong in understanding and weak in faith errs on the side of cunning and is as hard to cure as one sick of a disease caused by medicine. With the balancing of the two a man has confidence only when there are grounds for it." (Visuddhimagga Ch. IV, §47, ¶1)
"... Idleness overpowers one strong in concentration and weak in energy, since concentration favours idleness. Agitation overpowers one strong in energy and weak in concentration, since energy favours agitation. But concentration coupled with energy cannot lapse into idleness, and energy coupled with concentration cannot lapse into agitation. So these two should be balanced; for jhana comes with the balancing of the two." (Visuddhimagga Ch. IV, §47, ¶2)
"... One working on concentration needs strong faith, since it is with such faith and confidence that he reaches absorption." (Visuddhimagga Ch. IV, §48)
"... Then there is balancing concentration and understanding. One working on concentration needs strong Ekaggata, since that is how he reaches jhana; and one working on vipassana needs strong understanding, since that is how he reaches penetration of characteristics; but with the balancing of the two he reaches absorption as well." (Visuddhimagga Ch. IV, §48)

The commentator Buddhaghosa adds:

"Strong mindfulness, however, is needed in all instances; for mindfulness protects the mind lapsing into agitation through faith, energy and understanding, which favour agitation, and from lapsing into idleness through concentration, which favours idleness." (Visuddhimagga Ch. IV, §49).Direct quotes from the Visuddhimagga are from Buddhaghosa & (1999), pp. 128-9. Also mentioned in Bodhi (2000), p. 1511; and, Conze (1993), Part II, sec. 5, "The Balance of the Faculties."

Relation to the Five Powers

In Samyutta Nikaya 48.43, the Buddha declares that the five spiritual faculties are the Five Powers and vice versa. He uses the metaphor of a stream passing by a mid-stream island; the island creates two streams, but the streams can also be seen as one and the same.Bodhi (2000), pp. 1688-89. The Atthakatha remark that these five qualities are "faculties" when used to control their spheres of influence, and are "powers" when unshakeable by opposing forces.Bodhi (2000), p. 1511.

Five material or six sensory faculties

In the Sutta Pitaka, six sensory faculties are referenced in a manner similar to the six saḷāyatana ('centers of experience', 'six sense bases'). Indriya and Āyatana – Big Difference These faculties consist of the sense with the addition of "mind" or "thought" (manas). When distorted, they become saḷāyatana.

# vision ( cakkh-indriya)

# hearing ( sot-indriya)

# smell ()

# taste ( jivh-indriya)

# touch ()

# thought ( man-indriya)

The first five of these faculties are sometimes referenced as the five material faculties (e.g., ).Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 122-23.

Twenty-two phenomenological faculties

In the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the notion of indriya is expanded to the twenty-two "phenomenological faculties" or "controlling powers" (Pali: )Bodhi (2000), pp. 1508-1509, refers to these 22 faculties as "phenomenological faculties"; while Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 122-3, entry on "indriya" refers to these 22 faculties as "controlling powers." which are:

six sensory faculties

# eye/vision faculty ( cakkh-indriya)

# ear/hearing faculty ( sot-indriya)

# nose/smell faculty ()

# tongue/taste faculty ( jivh-indriya)

# body/sensibility faculty ()

# mind faculty ( man-indriya)

three physical faculties

# femininity ( itth-indriya)

# masculinity ( puris-indriya)

# life or vitality ()

five feeling facultiesThe five feeling faculties are essentially an expanded scale of the three vedana, where pleasant and unpleasant feelings/sensations are divided between physical and mental experiences (see, e.g., Bodhi, 2000, p. 1510).

# physical pleasure ( sukh-indriya)

# physical pain ( dukkh-indriya)

# mental joy ( somanassa-indriya)

# mental grief ( domanass-indriya)

# equanimity ( upekhha-indriya)

five spiritual faculties

# faith ( saddha)

# energy ( viriy-indriya)

# mindfulness ( sat-indriya)

# concentration ( )

# wisdom ( -indriya)

three final-knowledge faculties

# thinking "I shall know the unknown" ( )

# gnosis ( )

# one who knows ( )

According to the post-canonical Visuddhimagga, the 22 faculties along with such constructs as the Skandha, Ayatana, Four Noble Truths and Dependent Origination are the "soil" of wisdom ( ).Buddhaghosa & (1999), pp. 442-443.

Other faculty groupings

At times in the Pali Canon, different discourses or Abhidhammic passages will refer to different subsets of the 22 phenomenological faculties. Thus, for instance, in the Abhidhamma there are references to the "eightfold form-faculty" ( ) which includes the first five sensory faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue and body faculties) plus the three physical faculties (femininity, masculinity and vitality).See, for instance, Dhammasangani 709-717, 971-973 (Rhys Davids, 2003, pp. 215-217, 247); and, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 122-123.

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