In Buddhism, the (Pali; variant spellings include and ;For the various Pali spellings, see Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 491, under the entries for "" and "." In this article, the variants are listed from most frequently used to least, deduced from Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25) and other sources. Skt.: ) are qualities () conducive or related to () awakening/understanding (), i.e. the factors and wholesome qualities which are developed when the mind is trained ().
In the Pali commentaries, the term is used to refer to seven sets of such qualities regularly attributed to the Buddha throughout the Pali Canon. Within these seven sets of -related qualities, there is listed a total of thirty-seven repetitious and interrelated qualities ().
These seven sets of qualities are recognized by both Theravadan and Mahayanan Buddhists as complementary facets of the Buddhist path to .
Seven sets of thirty-seven qualities In the Pali Canon's Bhāvanānuyutta sutta ("Mental Development Discourse," AN 7.67), the Buddha is recorded as saying:
Elsewhere in the Canon,For instance, these thirty-seven qualities are enumerated in SN 43.12 "The Unconditioned" (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1374–78), where each quality is deemed "the path leading to the unconditioned" (), which is in turn defined as the destruction of lust, hatred and delusion (). and in numerous places in the āgamas of other early schools,Sarvāstivāda Buddhist scholasticism, Part 2, Volume 11, by Charles Willemen, Bart Dessein, Collett Cox Brill Academic Publishers: 1997. pg 11 these seven sets of thirty-seven qualities conducive to Enlightenment are enumerated as:
Four establishments/presences of mindfulness ()
Mindfulness of the body (, S. ) Mindfulness of feelings (, S. ) Mindfulness of mental states (, S. ) Mindfulness of mental qualities (, S. )
Four right exertions/efforts/strivings ()
Effort for the preventing of unskillful states to arise [anuppādāya] Effort for the abandoning of the already arisen unskillful states [pahānāya] Effort for the arising of skillful states [uppādāya] Effort for the sustaining and increasing of arisen skillful states [ṭhitiyā]
Four bases of spiritual power ()
Intention or will (, S. ) Effort (, S. ) Consciousness (, S. ) Skill of Analysis ( or , S. )
Five spiritual faculties ()
Conviction (, S. ) Effort (, S. ) Mindfulness (, S. ) Concentration/Unification (, S. ) Wisdom (, S. )
Five Strengths ()
Conviction (, S. }) Effort (, S. ) Mindfulness (, S. ) Concentration/Unification (, S. ) Wisdom (, S. )
Seven Factors of bodhi (awakening, understanding) (satta bojjhaṅgā)
Mindfulness (, S. ) Investigation (, S. ) Effort (, S. ) Joy (, S. ) Tranquillity (, S. ) Concentration/Unification (, S. ) Equanimity (, S. )
Noble Eightfold Path (ariya aṭṭhaṅgika magga)
Right Understanding (, S. ) Right Intention (, S. ) Right Speech (, S. ) Right Action (, S. ) Right Livelihood (, S. ) Right Effort/Energy (, S. ) Right Mindfulness (, S. ) Right Concentration/Unification (, S. )
Forty-three and forty-one qualities In the Pali Canon's Nettipakaraṇa (Netti 112) forty-three qualities connected with awakening () are mentioned which, according to the commentaries, include the aforementioned thirty-seven plus the following six contemplations (also found in the suttas, e.g. Saṅgīti Sutta D iii 251) The contemplation of the three marks of existence: impermanence () suffering () non-self () abandoning () dispassion () cessation ()
A sutta found in The Senior Collection of Gandhāran Buddhist texts ascribes forty one instead of thirty seven beneficial dharmas. The Gandharan text includes which the Pali tradition does not. Salomon notes this forty one numbered list appears in both a Chinese translation of the Dirghagama which current scholarship believes to be of the Dharmaguptaka school of Buddhism and a Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka vinaya.
In the Pali literature The technical term, , explicitly referring to the seven sets of qualities identified above, is first encountered in the Pali commentaries;Regarding the use of the compound Pali term in the canonical discourses, based on a search of the Sinhala SLTP tipitaka using the La Trobe University search engine (), the term (and its variant spellings and declensions) was found in following nine discourses in the Sutta Pitaka: DN 27 (Aggañña Sutta) SN 48.51 (Sālā Sutta) SN 48.55 (Sāra Sutta) SN 48.67 (Rukkha Sutta) AN 5.56 (Upajjhāya Sutta) AN 6.17 (Kusala Sutta or Soppa Sutta) AN 9.1 (Sambodhipakkhiya Sutta) Iti. 82 (Devasadda Sutta) Iti. 97 (Kalyāṇasīla Sutta) The Digha Nikaya (DN 27) and Itivuttaka (Iti., 82, 97) discourses each refer to "seven" () factors of enlightenment. In his translation of DN 27, Walshe (1995, pp. 415 para. 30, 605 n. 854) interprets the "seven" to refer to the seven enlightenment factors () described in the Mahasatipatthana Sutta (DN 22). Conversely, in their translations of the Itivuttaka discourses, Ireland (1997) and Thanissaro (2001) interpret the "seven" as referring to the "seven groups of" or "seven [sets of]" factors of enlightenment, respectively. None of these three discourses themselves explicitly identifies which seven factors or sets of factors are being referenced. Moreover, the Anguttara Nikaya (AN 5.56, 6.17, 9.1) discourses neither numerically quantify nor elaborate upon the terms or (respectively). Uniquely, in the three discourses from the Samyutta Nikaya (48.51, 48.55, 48.57), all three explicitly associate the term (and variant spellings) solely with the five faculties () of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom (Bodhi, 2000, p. 1695).
Perhaps summing up the vagueness and apparent inconsistencies in these identified discourses and their translations, in an end note to the Sālā Sutta (SN 48.51) Bodhi (2000, p. 1937 n. 235) comments: "In the commentaries is the umbrella term for the seven sets of training factors repeatedly taught by the Buddha, but in the suttas the expression has a more flexible, less technical meaning." Bodhi then refers to Gethin (1992), pp. 289–98, for further discussion. nonetheless, the seven sets of are themselves first collated, enumerated, and referenced in the Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka.For a survey of references to these qualities, see, for instance, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 491, entries on "", and on "". Bodhi (2000), pp. 1485–86, notes: "In the Buddhist exegetical tradition, beginning very soon after the age of the canon, these seven sets are known as the thirty-seven aids to enlightenment (). Although this term is not used in the Nikāyas themselves as a collective appellation for the seven sets, the sets themselves frequently appear in the Nikāyas as a compendium of the practice leading to enlightenment."
Sutta Pitaka In the Digha Nikāya's famed Maha-parinibbana Sutta (DN 16), which recounts the Buddha's last days, in the Buddha's last address to his assembly of followers he states:Vajra & Story (1998).Now, O bhikkhus, I say to you that these teachings of which I have direct knowledge and which I have made known to you—these you should thoroughly learn, cultivate, develop, and frequently practice, that the life of purity may be established and may long endure, for the welfare and happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, well being, and happiness of gods and men. And what, bhikkhus, are these teachings? They are the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four constituents of psychic power, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of enlightenment, and the Noble Eightfold Path. These, bhikkhus, are the teachings of which I have direct knowledge, which I have made known to you, and which you should thoroughly learn, cultivate, develop, and frequently practice....In the Majjhima Nikāya's "Greater Discourse to Sakuludāyin" (MN 77),Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001), "The Greater Discourse to Sakuludāyin" (Mahāsakuludāyi Sutta, MN 77), pp. 629–647, 1284 n. 762; Upalavanna (n.d.-a); and, SLTP, n.d.-b when asked why his disciples venerated him, the Buddha identified five qualities he possessed: highest virtues (); highest knowledge and vision (); highest wisdom (); his explanation of the Four Noble Truths (); and, his identification of numerous ways to develop wholesome states. The Buddha's elaboration of the last item included the seven sets of thirty-seven which are enumerated individually in this discourse.In MN 77, in addition to the seven sets of 37 qualities conducive to Enlightenment, the Buddha further identified his teaching of various meditative accomplishments (such as the jhanas) and his achieving higher knowledge (such as recollecting past lives) as contributing to his disciples' veneration. Note that the phrase, "ways to develop wholesome states," is not actually in the original Pali sutta itself but is a square-bracketed sectional title inserted by Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001) to demarcate the fifth quality set that the Buddha self identifies as the basis for his disciples' veneration.
In the Samyutta Nikaya, the fifth division's first seven chapters are each devoted to one of the . While there is a great deal of repetition among these chapters' discourses, these seven chapters include almost 900 discourses.Bodhi (2000), chs. 45-51, pp.–1523–1749. The number of discourses identified here is based on Bodhi (2000) — which includes 894 separate discourses — but the actual number of discourses varies depending on which edition of the Samyutta Nikaya one is referencing.
In the Anguttara Nikaya's "Upajjhāyasuttaṃ" (AN 5.6.6), the Buddha recommends five things for a monk to overcome spiritual hindrances: control mental faculties; eat the right amount of food; maintain wakefulness; be aware of merit; and, develop the throughout the day.Upalavanna (n.d.-b), AN 5.6.6.
In the Khuddaka Nikāya, the are mentioned at Iti. 82,Thanissaro (2001), Iti. 82 is at available at https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/iti/iti.3.050-099.than.html#iti-082 (retrieved 2007-05-22). Th. 900,SLTP (n.d.-c), stanza 900 in Pali: "" This is part of the stanzas ascribed to Anuruddha. Norman (1997), p. 90, translates the Pali as: "His characteristics are good, conducive to enlightenment, and he is without [mental intoxicants]; so it is said by the great seer." and Nett. 31, 112, 197, 237, 240 and 261.Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), op. cit.
Abhidhamma Pitaka The are mentioned in several passages of the Abhidhamma, such as at Vbh. sections 571 and 584.SLTP (n.d.-a), §§ 571, 584 (PTS pages 244, 249). Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), p. 491, entry for "," states that the are "mentioned at many other passages of the Abhidhamma."
Commentaries and treatises Commentaries In terms of Pali commentaries, the are also mentioned in Dhammapada-Aṭṭhakathā (DhA i.230), Suttanipāta-Aṭṭhakathā (SnA 164), and Jātaka-Aṭṭhakathā (J i.275, iii.290, and v.483).Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25), op. cit.
Treatises