In Buddhism, the (

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

; variant spellings include and ; 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 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 legends, he was ...

throughout the

Pali Canon The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...

. 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

's ''Bhāvanānuyutta sutta'' ("Mental Development Discourse," AN 7.67), the Buddha is recorded as saying: Elsewhere in the Canon, and in numerous places in the āgamas of other early schools, 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 nuppādāya# Effort for the abandoning of the already arisen unskillful states ahānāya# Effort for the arising of skillful states ppādāya# Effort for the sustaining and increasing of arisen skillful states ��hitiyā

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-one and forty-three qualities

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 The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: धर्मगुप्तक; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the Mahīśāsakas f ...

school of Buddhism and a Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka

vinaya The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...

. 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 In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: ''tilakkhaṇa''; Sanskrit: त्रिलक्षण ''trilakṣaṇa'') of all existence and beings, namely '' anicca'' (impermanence), '' dukkha'' (commonly translated ...

: # impermanence () # suffering () # non-self () * abandoning () * dispassion () * cessation ()

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 Digha (), is a seaside resort town in the state of West Bengal, India. It lies in Purba Medinipur district and at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal. The town has a low gradient with a shallow sand beach. It is a popular sea resort in India. ...

(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 ets 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.

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:

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), 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 In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...

(); 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 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. 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. In the Khuddaka Nikāya, the are mentioned at Iti. 82, Th. 900, and Nett. 31, 112, 197, 237, 240 and 261.

Abhidhamma Pitaka

The are mentioned in several passages of the Abhidhamma, such as at Vbh. sections 571 and 584.

Commentaries

In the

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

Buddhaghosa Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Sinhalese Theravādin Buddhist commentator, translator, and philosopher. He worked in the great monastery (''mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajyavāda schoo ...

enumerates the seven sets of along with a relevant Sutta Pitaka discourse (Vism. XXII.33), describes each set (Vism. XXII.34-38), and describes their existence in the consciousness of an

arahant In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved '' Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. The und ...

(Vism. XXII.39-40). In addition, Buddhaghosa factors the 37 qualities in a manner so as to describe fourteen non-redundant qualities (Vism. XXII.40-43); thus, for instance, while nine qualities (zeal, consciousness, joy, tranquility, equanimity, intention, speech, action, livelihood) are mentioned only once in the full list of 37 qualities, the other five qualities are mentioned multiple times. Table 1 below identifies the five qualities spanning multiple sets. In terms of other 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.''

Notes

References

Sources

* *

, Bhadantacariya & Bhikkhu (trans.) (1999). ''The Path of Purification: Visuddhimagga''. Seattle: BPS Pariyatti Editions. . * (Cited in Bodhi, 2000, p. 1937 ''n''. 235.) * * * * * Cited on http://www.serve.com/cmtan/buddhism/Misc/unify.html ; retrieved on 2007-05-22 . * A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. * Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) (n.d.-a). ' ( Vbh. ch. 12, in

). Retrieved on 2007-05-24 from "METTANET - LANKA" at: https://web.archive.org/web/20060109215754/http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/3Abhidhamma-Pitaka/2-Vibhanga/12-jhanavibhanga-p.htm. * Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) (n.d.-b). ' ( MN 77, in

). Retrieved on 2007-05-22 from "METTANET - LANKA" at: https://web.archive.org/web/20160322070126/http://metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/2Majjhima-Nikaya/Majjhima2/077-mahasakuludayi-p.html. * Sri Lanka Tripitaka Project (SLTP) (n.d.-c). ''Vīsati-nipāto'' ( Th ch. 20, gathas 705-948, in

). Retrieved on 2007-05-24 from "METTANET - LANKA" at: https://web.archive.org/web/20101125073300/http://metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/5Khuddaka-Nikaya/08Theragatha/20-Satti-nipatha-p.html. * * * * *

External links

Buddhist Encyclopedia (n.d.). ''Seven Sets''.

by Thanissaro Bhikkhu {{Virtues Buddhist philosophical concepts