''Passaddhi'' is a

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

noun (Sanskrit: prasrabhi, Tibetan: ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱང་བ་,Tibetan Wylie: shin tu sbyang ba) that has been translated as "calmness", "tranquillity", "repose" and "serenity." The associated verb is ''passambhati'' (to calm down, to be quiet). In

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, ''passaddhi'' refers to tranquillity of the body, speech, thoughts and consciousness on the path to enlightenment. As part of cultivated mental factors, ''passaddhi'' is preceded by rapture (''

pīti ''Pīti'' in Pali (Sanskrit: ''Prīti'') is a mental factor (Pali:''cetasika'', Sanskrit: ''caitasika'') associated with the development of '' jhāna'' (Sanskrit: ''dhyāna'') in Buddhist meditation. According to Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, ''piti'' i ...

'') and precedes concentration (''

samādhi ''Samadhi'' ( Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yo ...

''). ''Passaddhi'' is identified as a wholesome factor in the following canonical contexts: * the seven factors of enlightenment (''sambojjhangas'') * meditative absorptions (''

jhana In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind ('' bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" t ...

ni'') * transcendental dependent arising (''lokuttara- paticcasamuppada'')

Canonical references

In various Buddhist

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...

schema, the calming of the body, speech and various mental factors is associated with gladness (''pāmojja'', ''pāmujja''), rapture (''pīti''), and pleasure (') and leads to the concentration needed for release from suffering.

Meditative calming

Calming (') bodily and mental formations is the culmination of each of the first two tetrads of meditation instructions in the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...

's famed

Anapanasati Sutta Ānāpānasati (Pali; Sanskrit ''ānāpānasmṛti''), meaning " mindfulness of breathing" ("sati" means mindfulness; "ānāpāna" refers to inhalation and exhalation), paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist ...

''Sati, pāmojja, pīti, passaddhi, sukho''

A number of discourses identify the concurrent arising of the following wholesome mental states with the development of

mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing one's attention to the present-moment experience without evaluation, a skill one develops through meditation or other training. Mindfulness derives from ''sati'', a significant element of Hind ...

(''sati'') and the onset of the first ''jhana'': :* ''pāmojja'' or ''pāmujja'' ("gladness" or "joy") :* ''pīti'' ("rapture" or "joy") :* ''passaddhi'' ("tranquility" or "serenity" or "calm") :* ''sukho'' ("happiness" or "pleasure"). By establishing mindfulness, one overcomes the

Five Hindrances In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances ( Sinhala: ''පඤ්ච නීවරණ pañca nīvaraṇa''; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives. In the Theravada tradition, the ...

(''pañca nīvaraṇi''), gives rise to gladness, rapture, pleasure and tranquillizes the body (''kāyo passambhati''); such bodily tranquillity (''passaddhakāyo'') leads to higher states of concentration (''samādhi'') as indicated in this Pali-recorded discourse ascribed to the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

: Alternately, with right effort and sense-restraint, '' paññā'' ("wisdom," "discernment") is fully realized, and the ''jhana''-factors arise:

Enlightenment factor

Passaddhi is the fifth of seven factors of enlightenment (''sambojjhanga'') that lead to deliverance from suffering. Among the factors of enlightenment, serenity (''passadhi'') is preceded by rapture (''

'') and leads to concentration (''

'') as further described by the Buddha in the

: :"For one enraptured at heart, the body grows calm and the mind grows calm. When the body & mind of a monk enraptured at heart grow calm, then serenity as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development. :"For one who is at ease — his body calmed — the mind becomes concentrated. When the mind of one who is at ease — his body calmed — becomes concentrated, then concentration as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development."

Jhanic attainment

In describing one's progressive steps through the absorptions (''

ni''), the Buddha identifies six sequential "calmings" (''passaddhis''): # With the first jhana, speech (''vācā'') is calmed. # With the second jhana, applied and sustained thought ('' vitakka- vicārā'') is calmed. # With the third jhana, rapture (''pīti'') is calmed. # With the fourth jhana, in-and-out breathing (''assāsa-passāsā'') is calmed. # With the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling (''

saññā ''Saṃjñā'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''sañña'') is a Buddhist term that is typically translated as "perception" or "cognition." It can be defined as grasping at the distinguishing features or characteristics. ''Samjñā'' has multiple meanings dep ...

vedanā Vedanā ( Pāli and Sanskrit: वेदना) is an ancient term traditionally translated as either " feeling" or "sensation." In general, ''vedanā'' refers to the pleasant, unpleasant and neutral sensations that occur when our internal sense ...

'') are calmed. # With the ending of mental fermentations (''āsava''), lust, hatred and delusion (''rāga-dosa-moha'') are calmed.

Arahantship condition

Passaddhi is a "supporting condition" for the "destruction of the cankers" (''āsava-khaye''), that is, the achievement of

Arahantship In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' ( Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

. More specifically, in describing a set of supporting conditions that move one from samsaric suffering (see Dependent Origination) to destruction of the cankers, the Buddha describes the following progression of conditions: # suffering ('' dukkha'') # faith ('' saddhā'') # joy (''pāmojja'', ''pāmujja'') # rapture (''pīti'') # tranquillity (''passaddhi'') # happiness (''

sukha ''Sukha'' (Pali and ) means happiness, pleasure, ease, joy or bliss. Among the early scriptures, 'sukha' is set up as a contrast to 'preya' (प्रेय) meaning a transient pleasure, whereas the pleasure of 'sukha' has an authentic state ...

'') # concentration (''

'') # knowledge and vision of things as they are (') # disenchantment with worldly life (''nibbidā'') # dispassion (''virāga'') # freedom, release, emancipation, deliverance (''vimutti'') # knowledge of destruction of the cankers (') In the

Pali literature Pali literature is concerned mainly with Theravada Buddhism, of which Pali is the traditional language. The earliest and most important Pali literature constitutes the Pāli Canon, the authoritative scriptures of Theravada school. Pali literat ...

, this sequence that enables one to transcend worldly suffering is referred to as the "transcendental dependent arising" (''lokuttara- paticcasamuppada'').

Abhidhammic wholesome state

In the Abhidhamma Pitaka's Dhammasangani, the first chapter identifies 56 states of material-world consciousness that are wholesome, including "lightness of sense and thought," upon which the text elaborates: :What on that occasion is repose of sense (kayāpassaddhi)? :The serenity, the composure which there is on that occasion, the calming, the tranquillizing, the tranquillity of the

skandha (Sanskrit) or ( Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are als ...

s of feeling, perception and syntheses — this is the serenity of sense that there then is. :What on that occasion is serenity of thought (cittapassaddhi)? :The serenity, the composure which there is on that occasion, the calming, the tranquillizing, the tranquillity of the skandha of intellect — this is the serenity of thought that there then is.

Post-canonical Pali texts

''Passaddhi'' is referenced in the

Visuddhimagga The ''Visuddhimagga'' (Pali; English: ''The Path of Purification''), is the 'great treatise' on Buddhist practice and Theravāda Abhidhamma written by Buddhaghosa approximately in the 5th century in Sri Lanka. It is a manual condensing and sys ...

and other Pali commentarial (''

atthakatha Aṭṭhakathā (Pali for explanation, commentary) refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries w ...

'') texts.

Tranquillity's nutriments

In the Visuddhimagga, the enlightenment factors (''

bojjhanga In Buddhism, the Seven Factors of Awakening (Pali: ''satta bojjhagā'' or ''satta sambojjhagā''; Skt.: ''sapta bodhyanga'') are: * Mindfulness (''sati'', Sanskrit ''smrti''). To maintain awareness of reality, in particular the teachings (''d ...

s'') are discussed in the context of skills for developing absorption ('' jhāna''). In particular, the Visuddhimagga recommends that in order to develop the skill of "restrain ngthe mind on an occasion when it should be restrained" (such as when it is "agitated through over-energeticness, etc."), one should develop tranquillity (''passaddhi''), concentration (''samādhi'') and equanimity (''upekkhā''). Towards this end, the Visuddhimagga identifies seven things from which bodily and mental tranquillity arise: # "using superior food" # "living in a good climate" # "maintaining a pleasant posture" # "keeping to the middle" # "avoidance of violent persons" # "cultivation of persons tranquil in body" # "resoluteness upon that ranquillity"Buddhaghosa & (1999), p. 132 (square brackets included in original text). According to Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), ''op. cit.'', similar information is found in the Vibhanga-

Atthakatha Aṭṭhakathā (Pali for explanation, commentary) refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries w ...

282.

Notes

Sources

* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans., ed.) (1980). ''Transcendental Dependent Arising: A Translation and Exposition of the Upanisa Sutta'' (The Wheel No. 277/278) ( SN 12.23) Kandy:

Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status whose objective is to disseminate the teaching of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and ...

. Retrieved 11 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" (1995) at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bodhi/wheel277.html. *

Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in ...

, Bhadantacariya & Bhikkhu (trans.) (1999). ''The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. . * Nyanaponika Thera (trans.) (1983, 1998). ''Rahogata Sutta: Secluded'' ( SN 36.11). Retrieved 09 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.011.nypo.html. * Rhys Davids, C.A.F. (trans.) (1900). ''A Buddhist manual of psychological ethics or Buddhist Psychology, of the Fourth Century B.C., being a translation, now made for the first time, from the Original Pāli of the First Book in the Abhidhamma-Piţaka, entitled Dhamma-Sangaṇi (Compendium of States or Phenomena)''. Lancaster:

Pali Text Society The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts". Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...

. Reprint currently available from Kessinger Publishing. . * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead:

. A general on-line search engine for this dictionary is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (SLTP) (n.d.-a). ' (in

) ( MN 118). Retrieved 13 Jul 2007 from "Mettanet - Lanka" at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/2Majjhima-Nikaya/Majjhima3/118-anappanasati-p.html. * Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (SLTP) (n.d.-b). ' (in

) ( DN 9). Retrieved 14 Jul 2007 from "Mettanet - Lanka" at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/1Digha-Nikaya/Digha1/09-potthapada-p.html. * Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series (SLTP) (n.d.-c). ' (in

) ( DN 2). Retrieved 14 Jul 2007 from "Mettanet - Lanka" at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/1Digha-Nikaya/Digha1/02samannaphala-p.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life'' ( DN 2). Retrieved 14 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1998). ''Rahogata Sutta: Alone'' ( SN 36.11). Retrieved 09 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn36/sn36.011.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2003). ''Potthapada Sutta: About Potthapada'' ( DN 9). Retrieved 14 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.09.0.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2006). ''Anapanasati Sutta: Mindfulness of Breathing'' ( MN 118). Retrieved 09 Jul 2007 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html. * Upalavanna, Sister (n.d.). ''Aṅguttara Nikāya, avakanipāta 006. Khemavaggo – Section on Appeasement'' ( AN 9.6). Retrieved 10 Jul 2007 from "Mettanet - Lanka" at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara6/09-navakanipata/006-khemavaggo-e.html. {{Buddhism topics Theravada Buddhist meditation Wholesome factors in Buddhism Pali words and phrases