''Indriya'' (literally "belonging to or agreeable to

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

") is the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

and

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 ...

term for physical strength or ability in general, and for the senses more specifically. The term literally means "belonging to

," chief deity in the

Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts ('' śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...

and lord of the

Trāyastriṃśa The ( Sanskrit; Pali ) heaven is an important world of the devas in the Buddhist cosmology. The word is an adjective formed from the numeral , "33" and can be translated in English as "belonging to the thirty-three evas. It is primarily th ...

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''. 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 ...

, the term refers to multiple intrapsychic processes and is generally translated as "faculty" or, in specific contexts, as "spiritual faculty" or "controlling principle." In Buddhism, depending on the context, ''indriya'' traditionally refers to one of the following groups of faculties: * the 5 spiritual faculties * the 5 or 6 sensory faculties * the 22 phenomenological faculties

5 spiritual faculties

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 Sutta Pitaka, ''indriya'' is frequently encountered in the context of the "five spiritual faculties" (Pali: '): :# faith or conviction or belief ('' '') :# energy or persistence or perseverance ('' viriya'') :#

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 ...

or memory (''

sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

'') :# stillness of the mind (') :# wisdom or understanding or comprehension ('' ''). Together, this set of five faculties is one of the seven sets of qualities lauded by

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, 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 ...

as conducive to Enlightenment. SN 48.10 is one of several discourses that characterizes these spiritual faculties in the following manner: :* Faith/conviction is faith in the Buddha's awakening. :* Energy/persistence refers to exertion towards the Four Right Efforts. :* Mindfulness refers to focusing on the four

satipatthana ''Satipatthana'' ( pi, Satipaṭṭhāna, italic=yes; sa, smṛtyupasthāna, italic=yes) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of ...

. :* Stillness of the mind refers to achieving the four

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 ...

s. :* Wisdom/understanding refers to discerning the

Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones".

__Balancing_the_spiritual_faculties_

In_Anguttara_Nikaya.html" ;"title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Encycl ...

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

Balancing the spiritual faculties

In Anguttara Nikaya">AN 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 ivefaculties o that and there pick up your theme." Relatedly, 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 post-canonical Pali commentaries 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 In Buddhism, ''dhamma vicaya'' (Pali; sa, dharma-) has been variously translated as the "analysis of qualities," "discrimination of ''dhammas''," "discrimination of states," "investigation of doctrine," and "searching the Truth." The meaning is ...

'') or the development of tranquillity (''

samatha ''Samatha'' (Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' (Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of the ...

''). Moreover, these commentaries especially recommend that the five spiritual faculties be developed in counterbalancing dyads: * "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." ( Vism. Ch. IV, §47, ¶1) * "... leness 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

absorption Absorption may refer to: Chemistry and biology *Absorption (biology), digestion **Absorption (small intestine) *Absorption (chemistry), diffusion of particles of gas or liquid into liquid or solid materials *Absorption (skin), a route by which s ...

comes with the balancing of the two." ( Vism. Ch. IV, §47, ¶2) * "... One working on concentration needs strong faith, since it is with such faith and confidence that he reaches absorption." ( Vism. Ch. IV, §48) * "... Then there is alancing ofconcentration and understanding. One working on concentration needs strong unification, since that is how he reaches

; and one working on

insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intui ...

needs strong understanding, since that is how he reaches penetration of characteristics; but with the balancing of the two he reaches absorption as well." ( Vism. Ch. IV, §48) The commentator

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 ...

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." ( Vism. Ch. IV, §49).

Relation to the Five Powers

In SN 48.43, the Buddha declares that the five spiritual faculties are the

Five Powers The Five Strengths (Sanskrit, Pali: ') in Buddhism are faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. They are one of the seven sets of Bodhipakkhiyadhamma ("qualities conducive to enlightenment"). They are paralleled in the five spir ...

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. The Pali commentaries remark that these five qualities are "faculties" when used to control their spheres of influence, and are "powers" when unshakeable by opposing forces.

5 material or 6 sensory faculties

In the Sutta Pitaka, six sensory faculties are referenced in a manner similar to the six sense bases. These faculties consist of the

five senses A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system rec ...

with the addition of "mind" or "thought" ( manas). :# 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., ').

22 phenomenological faculties

In the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the notion of ''indriya'' is expanded to the twenty-two "phenomenological faculties" or "controlling powers" (Pali: ') 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 faculties :# physical pleasure (''sukh-indriya'') :# physical pain (''dukkh-indriya'') :# mental joy (''somanassa-indriya'') :# mental grief (''domanass-indriya'') :# equanimity (''upekhha-indriya'') * five spiritual faculties :# faith ('' '') :# energy ('' viriy-indriya'') :#

(''sat-indriya'') :# concentration (') :# wisdom ('' -indriya'') * three final-knowledge faculties :# thinking "I shall know the unknown" (') :# gnosis (') :# one who knows (') According to the post-canonical

, the 22 faculties along with such constructs as the aggregates, sense bases,

and Dependent Origination are the "soil" of wisdom ('' '').

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 rūpa, 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, Dhs. 709-717, 971-973 (Rhys Davids, 2003, pp. 215-217, 247); and, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 122-123.

Notes

Sources

* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). ''The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya''. Boston: Wisdom Publications. . *

, Bhadantacariya & Bhikkhu (trans.) (1999). ''The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga''. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. . * Conze, Edward (1980, 1993). ''The Way of Wisdom: The Five Spiritual Faculties'' (The Wheel Publication No. 65/66). 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 on 2007-05-27 from "

Access to Insight Access to Insight is a Theravada Buddhist website providing access to many translated texts from the Tipitaka, and contemporary materials published by the Buddhist Publication Society and many teachers from the Thai Forest Tradition. History ...

" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/conze/wheel065.html. * Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) (1999). ''Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: An Anthology of Suttas from the Anguttara Nikaya''. Kandy, Sri Lanka:

. . * Rhys Davids, Caroline A. F. ( 900 2003). ''Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics, of the Fourth Century B.C., Being a Translation, now made for the First Time, from the Original Pāli, of the First Book of the , entitled (Compendium of States or Phenomena)''. Kessinger Publishing. . * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary''. Chipstead:

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 ...

. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1996, 1998). ''Wings to Awakening: An Anthology from the Pali Canon''. Retrieved 2007-05-27 from "

" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/wings/index.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). ''Indriya-vibhanga Sutta: Analysis of the Mental Faculties'' ( SN 48.10). Retrieved 2007-05-27 from "

" at: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn48/sn48.010.than.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). ''Sona Sutta: About Sona'' ( AN 6.55). Retrieved 2008-04-15 from "

" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.055.than.html. {{Buddhism topics Buddhist philosophical concepts Sanskrit words and phrases