The Connected Discourses of the Buddha

by Bhikkhu Bodhi

  Both the five faculties and the five powers draw upon the same selection of spiritual qualities, and this raises the question of their relationship. It may seem that the faculties represent these five qualities at an earlier phase, and the powers at a later, more advanced phase, but the texts do not countenance this view. The Buddha declares the two sets to be identical, with the designations “faculties” and “powers” being used simply to highlight different aspects of the same set of qualities; they are like the two streams of the same river flowing around a midstream island (48:43). The commentary explains that the five factors become faculties when considered as exercising control in their respective domains, and powers when considered as unshaken by their opposites.

  One relationship among the faculties, not mentioned in the suttas but discussed in the commentaries, is worth noting. This is their arrangement into mutually complementary pairs. Faith is paired with wisdom, ensuring that the emotional and intellectual sides of the spiritual life are kept in balance; energy is paired with concentration, ensuring that the activating and restraining sides of mental development are kept in balance. Mindfulness belongs to neither side but oversees the others, holding them together in a mutually enriching tension.

  The Indriyasaṃyutta ends with the repetition series, this time in two versions, the “based upon seclusion” version and the “removal of lust” version.

  49. Sammappadhānasaṃyutta

  50. Balasaṃyutta

  These two saṃyuttas do not contain any original suttas but merely instantiate the repetition series. Since the four right strivings are described by their own stock formula, the repetition series in the Sammappadhānasaṃyutta is stated only once, accompanied by this formula. The five powers are parallel to the five faculties, and therefore the Balasaṃyutta is to be elaborated with the repetition series filled out in the two versions.

  51. Iddhipādasaṃyutta

  The term iddhipāda, rendered “basis for spiritual power,” is a compound of iddhi and pāda. Iddhi (Skt ṛddhi) originally meant success, growth, or prosperity, but early on in the Indian yogic tradition the word had come to mean a special kind of success obtained through meditation, namely, the ability to perform wondrous feats that defy the normal order of events. Such feats, for Indian spirituality, are not to be regarded as miracles proving the divine stature of the person who performs them. They are understood, rather, as extensions of natural causality which become accessible to the meditator through accomplishment in concentration (sam̄dhi). The mind trained in concentration is able to discern subtle interconnections between bands of mental and material energy invisible to ordinary sensory consciousness. Such perception enables the accomplished yogi to tap into the deep undercurrents of natural causality and use them to perform feats which, to the uninitiated, appear mystical or miraculous.

  While early Buddhism is often depicted as a rationalistic system of ethics or a path of purely ascetic meditation, the Nikāyas themselves are replete with texts in which the Buddha is shown performing feats of psychic power and extolling disciples who excel in these skills. What the Buddha rejected was not the acquisition of such powers per se but their misuse for irresponsible ends. He prohibited his monks and nuns from displaying these powers to impress the laity and convert unbelievers, and he emphasized that these powers themselves are no proof that their bearer has genuine wisdom. In his system the real miracle was the “miracle of instruction” (anusāsani-pātihāriya), the ability to transform a person through teachings on how to overcome evil and fulfil the good.

  Nevertheless, the Buddha incorporated the iddhis into his path of training with an eightfold scheme often encountered in the texts. The scheme is called simply “the various kinds of spiritual power” (anekavihitạ iddhividhạ), and is mentioned close to a dozen times in the present saṃyutta, most notably in the formal definition of iddhi (at 51:19). He also offers an expanded interpretation of the types of spiritual success obtainable through meditation, one which subsumes the iddhis under a broader category of six types of higher knowledge commonly known as the chaḷabhiññā or six direct knowledges. These are: the eight kinds of spiritual powers; the divine ear; the ability to know the minds of other beings; the recollection of one’s past lives; the knowledge of the passing away and rebirth of beings according to their kamma; and the knowledge of the destruction of the taints (51:11, etc.). The first five are mundane, desirable as ornaments of an accomplished meditator but not essential for liberation (see 12:70). The last is supramundane and the culmination of the step-by-step training. By adopting this wider and more profound conception of spiritual success, the Buddha could include within his system the various spiritual powers esteemed so highly in the Indian yogic culture while giving pride of place to the achievement peculiar to his own discipline: the liberation of mind attainable only through the destruction of the defilements.

  The four iddhipādas are the means to attainment of the spiritual powers, whether of the mundane or the transcendental kind. Thus, though included among the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment, this set of factors has a somewhat different flavour than the others. While the others are all expounded solely for the contribution they make to enlightenment and the realization of Nibbāna, the iddhipādas can be used to achieve both the wonder-working iddhis and the supreme spiritual power of arahantship.

  The Iddhipādasaṃyutta sets the iddhipādas in a universal context by declaring that all ascetics and brahmins—past, present, and future—who generate spiritual power do so by their means (51:6–7). Again, it is by developing the four iddhipādas that all ascetics and brahmins of the three times become mighty and powerful (51:16), or acquire the six direct knowledges (51:17). Indeed, it is by developing the iddhipādas that the Buddha has become a Perfectly Enlightened One (51:8).

  The four iddhipādas are defined by a formula cited in almost every sutta of this collection. The formula can be analysed into three portions, two common to all four bases, the third differentiating them as fourfold. The two common components are concentration (sam̄dhi) and “volitional formations of striving” (padhā̄nasaṅkhārā̄). The latter is defined by the formula for the four right strivings (sammappadh̄n̄), so that the iddhipādas, the third set of the aids to enlightenment, implicitly contain the second set.

  The components unique to each iddhipāda are the factors that take the lead in generating concentration: desire (chanda), energy (viriya), mind (citta), and investigation (vımạs̄). The commentary interprets desire here as “desire to act” (kattukạyat̄) and “investigation” (vımạs̄) as wisdom. Energy and mind are not given any special definitions apart from the general synonyms for these factors. Presumably, while all four qualities coexist in every state of concentration, on any given occasion only one of the four will assume the dominant role in generating concentration and this gives its name to the iddhipāda. It is interesting to observe that the formula for right striving, included in the iddhipāda formula as noted above, mentions three factors that function as iddhipādas, namely, desire, energy, and mind; and since right striving presupposes discrimination between wholesome and unwholesome states, some degree of investigation is also involved. Thus once again we can see the interwoven character of the seven sets.

  The standard formula for the iddhipādas is sometimes embedded in a longer, more complex statement which shows that they are to be cultivated in conjunction with a number of other meditative skills necessary to ensure balance, thoroughness, and breadth to their development. The passage is stated baldly at 51:11, as a discovery the Buddha made while still a bodhisatta striving for enlightenment; they recur at 51:12, as describing how a bhikkhu achieves the six direct knowledges. Read alone, the passage is far from self-explanatory, but 51:20 provides an internal commentary on each term, almost in the manner of an Abhidhamma treatise. Another text, recurring five times with variations only in the auditors, gives individual definitions of spiritual power, the bases for spiritual power, the development o
f the bases for spiritual power, and the way to the development of the bases (51:19, 27–30). The last definition connects the four iddhipādas with the Noble Eightfold Path, again drawing our attention to the interdependence of the seven sets.

  In sum, the iddhis or spiritual powers to be acquired by meditation are: most narrowly, the eight kinds of spiritual powers, wondrous feats of psychic power; more broadly, the six direct knowledges; and consummately, the taintless liberation of mind. The means of achieving these powers, their bases or “feet” (the literal meaning of p̄da), are the four iddhipādas. These employ the four kinds of right striving and a particular dominant mental factor to generate concentration, and this concentration, in conjunction with the effort and the dominant factor, enables the meditator to exercise spiritual powers. To show that while the iddhipādas can lead to all three kinds of iddhi, the last is sufficient in itself, the suttas sometimes state simply that the four iddhipādas, when developed and cultivated, lead to the taintless liberation of mind (51:18, 23). ).

  In several texts, from the Iddhipādasaṃyutta and elsewhere, other marvellous potencies are ascribed to the four iddhipādas. One who has mastered them, it is said, can extend his life span even as long as a kappa, a term whose meaning here has been a subject of controversy but which seems to signify a full cosmic aeon. The Buddha ascribes this ability to himself in the famous dialogue with Ānanda at the Cāpāla Shrine near Vesālı̄, related in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta and reported here as well (51:10). Sāriputta ascribes the same ability to Moggallāna (at 21:3), who ironically is reported to have been killed by assassins. By developing the iddhipādas, Moggallāna can set off a minor earthquake with his toe (51:14), and the Buddha can use his physical body to travel to the brahmā world (51:22). The saṃyutta closes with the repetition series, which is run through in one round using the stock description of the iddhipādas.

  52. Anuruddhasaṃyutta

  This saṃyutta features the Venerable Anuruddha as an exponent of the four establishments of mindfulness, which figure in every sutta in the chapter. The saṃyutta may have originally belonged to the Satipaṭṭhānasaṃyutta, later to be detached and given independent status. The Satipaṭṭhānasaṃyutta preserves three suttas spoken by Anuruddha (47:26–28), which are consonant in character with those found here, and it is unclear why they were not taken out and brought into this collection.

  The first sutta of the Anuruddhasaṃyutta is of special interest, for it merges into one complex pattern the two extensions of the satipaṭṭhāna formula concerned with insight, one dealing with the contemplation of the four bases as internal and external, the other with contemplation of the four bases as having the nature of origination and vanishing. Also of interest is the long series of texts in the second vagga which show Anuruddha claiming it was by the practice of the four establishments of mindfulness that he developed various spiritual powers. Among these are the six direct knowledges (divided into two segments, 52:12–14, 22–24), which are usually ascribed to the practice of the four iddhipādas. The assertion that they result from the practice of satipaṭṭhāna means that the latter method need not be understood as exclusively a system of insight meditation (a widespread view) but can also be seen as a path conducive to the fulfilment of all the jhānas. We also find here (at 52:15–24) the ten knowledges elsewhere called the ten powers of the Tathāgata (MN I 69–71). As the tradition regards these as unique endowments of a Perfectly Enlightened One, the commentary explains that Anuruddha possessed them only in part.

  53. Jhānasaṃyutta

  This saṃyutta contains only the standard jhāna formula integrated with the repetition series in a single round.

  54. Ānāpānasaṃyutta

  Mindfulness of breathing (̄āp̄nasati) is generally regarded as the most important meditation subject taught in the Nikāyas. The Pāli exegetical tradition holds that it was mindfulness of breathing that the Buddha practised on the night of his enlightenment, prior to attaining the four jhānas and the three true knowledges, and during his teaching career he occasionally would go off into seclusion to devote himself to this meditation. He calls it “the Tathāgata’s dwelling,” a lofty honour, and often recommends it to both trainees and arahants. For those in training it leads to the destruction of the taints; for arahants it leads to a pleasant dwelling here and now and to mindfulness and clear comprehension (54:11).

  The practice of mindfulness of breathing is defined by a sixteen-step formula first introduced in 54:1 and repeated throughout the Ānāpānasaṃyutta. The sixteen steps are not necessarily sequential but to some extent overlap; thus they might be called phases rather than steps. The first four are also mentioned in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, in the section on mindfulness of the body, but the sixteenfold formula gives the practice a wider range. The sixteen aspects are divided into four tetrads, each of which is correlated with one of the four establishments of mindfulness. The correlations are first explained in 54:10 and recur in several later suttas.

  The first six suttas of the Ānāpānasaṃyutta are framed in terms simply of mindfulness of breathing (̄n̄p̄nasati). From 54:7 onwards, a shift takes place, and the suttas are phrased in terms of concentration by mindfulness of breathing (ā̄nā̄pā̄nasatisamā̄dhi ). This is the concentration obtained by being mindful of the breath. Here again, as with the path factors, enlightenment factors, and faculties, mindfulness is a condition for concentration. In 54:8 the Buddha enumerates the benefits that come from concentration gained by mindfulness of breathing: it is physically easeful, removes worldly memories and thoughts, and leads to many exalted attainments including the four jhānas, the formless states, the attainment of cessation, and even liberation from the taints. Sutta 54:9 records the curious occasion when a large number of monks, after hearing the Buddha preach on the foulness of the body, committed suicide. Subsequently the Buddha taught the bhikkhus ānāpānasati-samādhi as a “peaceful and sublime” dwelling.

  The most important sutta in the Ānāpānasaṃyutta is 54:13, the substance of which is repeated at 54:14–16. Here the Buddha explains how concentration by mindfulness of breathing fulfils the four establishments of mindfulness; these in turn fulfil the seven factors of enlightenment; and these in turn fulfil true knowledge and liberation. This method of exposition shows mindfulness of breathing as a complete subject of meditation that begins with simple attention to the breath and culminates in the highest deliverance of the mind. This theme is reconfirmed by the last string of suttas in the chapter, which declare that concentration by mindfulness of breathing leads to the abandoning of the fetters and the eradication of all defilements (54:17–20).

  55. Sotāpattisaṃyutta

  This chapter might have been more accurately entitled Sotāpattiyaṅgasaṃyutta, for it is not concerned with stream-entry in a general way but with a specific group of factors that define a person as a stream-enterer (sot̄panna). The stream (sota) is the Noble Eightfold Path, and the stream-enterer is so called because he or she, by directly penetrating the truth of the Dhamma, has become possessed of the eight factors of the path (55:5).

  The four qualities that define a person as a stream-enterer are called the four sotāpattiyaṅga, factors of stream-entry. The Pāli term is actually used with reference to two different tetrads. The more frequently mentioned tetrad is the set of four qualities possessed by a stream-enterer, and in this context the term is properly rendered “factors of stream-entry,” or even “factors of the stream-enterer.” But alongside this tetrad we find another one, less often mentioned, consisting of the qualities that must be actualized to attain stream-entry. I translate sotāpattiyaṅga in this sense as “factors for stream-entry.”

  The four factors possessed by the stream-enterer are confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha (confidence in each being reckoned a separate factor), and “the virtues dear to the noble ones” (ariyakant̄ni sıl̄ni). Confirmed confidence (aveccappas̄da)
is faith rooted in personal validation of the truth of the Dhamma. The decisive event that marks the transition from the stage of one “practising for the realization of the fruit of stream-entry” to that of a full-fledged stream-enterer is the “breakthrough to the Dhamma,” also called the obtaining of the vision of the Dhamma (see 13:1). This consists in the direct seeing of the Four Noble Truths, or (more concisely) of the principle that “whatever has the nature of arising, all that has the nature of cessation.” On seeing the truth of the Dhamma, the disciple eradicates the three lower fetters—identity view, doubt, and distorted grasp of rules and vows—and thus acquires confidence grounded upon this experiential confirmation. Such confidence is placed in the “Three Jewels” of Buddhism: in the Buddha as the supreme teacher of the path to Nibbāna; in the Dhamma as the map and goal of the path; and in the Saṅgha as the community of noble ones who share in the realization of the Dhamma. The attainment of stream-entry also issues in profound reverence for morality, particularly for the basic moral virtues comprised in the five precepts: abstinence from the destruction of life, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, false speech, and the use of intoxicants.