The Seven Factors of Enlightenment
by
Piyadassi Thera
© 2006–2011
The Tipitaka, the Buddhist canon, is replete with references to the
factors of enlightenment expounded by the Enlightened One on
different occasions under different circumstances. In the Book of
the Kindred Sayings, V (Samyutta Nikaya, Maha Vagga) we find a
special section under the title Bojjhanga Samyutta wherein the
Buddha discourses on the bojjhangas in diverse ways. In this
section we read a series of three discourses or sermons recited by
Buddhists since the time of the Buddha as a protection (paritta or
pirit) against pain, disease, and adversity.
The term bojjhanga is composed of bodhi + anga. Bodh denotes
enlightenment — to be exact, insight concerned with the realization
of the four Noble Truths, namely: the Noble Truth of suffering; the
Noble Truth of the origin of suffering; the Noble Truth of the
cessation of suffering and the Noble Truth of the path leading to
the cessation of suffering. Anga means factors or limbs. Bodhi +
anga (bojjhanga), therefore, means the factors of enlightenment, or
the factors for insight, wisdom.
“Bojjhanga! Bojjhanga! Is the saying, Lord. Pray, Lord, how far
is this name applicable?” queried a monk of the Buddha. “Bodhaya
samvattantiti kho bhikkhu tasma bojjhanga ti vuccanti” — “They
conduce to enlightenment, monk, that is why they are so called,”
was the succinct reply of the Master.[1]
Further says the Buddha, “Just as, monks, in a peaked house all
rafters whatsoever go together to the peak, slope to the peak, join
in the peak, and of them all the peak is reckoned chief: even so,
monks, the monk who cultivates and makes much of the seven factors
of wisdom, slopes to Nibbana, inclines to Nibbana, tends to
Nibbana.”[2]
The seven factors are:
Mindfulness (sati)
Keen investigation of the dhamma (dhammavicaya)[3]
Energy (viriya)
Rapture or happiness (piti)
Calm (passaddhi)
Concentration (samadhi)
Equanimity (upekkha)
One of the discourses on the Bojjhangas may be mentioned here. It
begins:
Thus I heard: At one time the Buddha was living at Rajagaha, at
Veluvana, in the squirrel’s feeding-ground. At that time the
Venerable Maha Kassapa, who was living in Pipphali Cave, was sick,
stricken with a severe illness. Then the Buddha, rising from his
solitude at eventide, visited the Venerable Maha Kassapa, took his
seat, and spoke to the Venerable Maha Kassapa in this wise:
“Well, Kassapa, how is it with you? Are you bearing up; are you
enduring? Do your pains lessen or increase? Are there signs of your
pains lessening and not increasing?”
“No, Lord, I am not bearing up, I am not enduring. The pain is
very great. There is a sign not of the pains lessening but of their
increasing.”
“Kassapa, these seven factors of enlightenment are well
expounded by me, cultivated and much developed by me, and when
cultivated and much developed, they conduce to full realization,
perfect wisdom, to Nibbana. What are the seven?
“Mindfulness. This, O Kassapa, is well expounded by me,
cultivated and much developed by me, and when cultivated and much
developed, it conduces to full realization, perfect wisdom, to
Nibbana.
“Investigation of the dhamma…
“Energy…
“Rapture…
“Calm…
“Concentration…
“Equanimity, O Kassapa, is well expounded by me…
“These seven factors of enlightenment, verily, Kassapa, are well
expounded by me, cultivated and much developed by me, and when
cultivated and much developed they conduce to full realization,
perfect wisdom, to Nibbana.”
“Verily, Blessed One, they are factors of enlightenment! Verily,
O Welcome One, they are factors of enlightenment!” uttered Maha
Kassapa. Thus spoke the Buddha, and the Venerable Maha Kassapa,
rejoicing, welcomed the utterances of the Worthy One. And the
Venerable Maha Kassapa rose from that illness. There and then that
ailment of the Venerable Maha Kassapa vanished.
— SN 46.14
Another discourse (Maha Cunda Bojjhanga Sutta) of the three
mentioned above reveals that once, when the Buddha himself was ill,
the Venerable Maha Cunda recited the bojjhangas, factors of
enlightenment, and the Buddha’s grievous illness vanished.[4]
Man’s mind tremendously and profoundly influences and affects
the body. If allowed to function viciously and entertain
unwholesome and harmful thoughts, mind can cause disaster, nay even
kill a being; but mind also can cure a sick body. When concentrated
on right thoughts with right understanding, the effects mind can
produce are immense.
Mind not only makes sick, it also cures. An optimistic patient
has more chance of getting well than a patient who is worried and
unhappy. The recorded instances of faith healing include cases in
which even organic diseases were cured almost instantaneously.
— Aldous Huxley, Ends and Means (London, 1946), p. 259
Buddhism (Buddha-dhamma) is the teaching of enlightenment. One
who is keen on attaining enlightenment, should first know clearly
the impediments that block the path to enlightenment.
Life, according to the right understanding of a Buddha, is
suffering; and that suffering is based on ignorance or avijja.
Ignorance is the experiencing of that which is unworthy of
experiencing — namely evil. Further, it is the non-perception of
the conglomerate nature of the aggregates; non-perception of
sense-organ and object in their respective and objective natures;
non-perception of the emptiness or the relativity of the elements;
non-perception of the dominant nature of the sense-controlling
faculties; non-perception of the thus-ness — the infallibility — of
the four Truths. And the five hindrances (pañca nivaranani) are the
nutriment of (or condition for) this ignorance. They are called
hindrances because they completely close in, cut off, and obstruct.
They hinder the understanding of the way to release from suffering.
These five hindrances are: sensuality (kamacchanda), ill-will
(vyapada), obduracy of mind and mental factors (thinamiddha),
restlessness and flurry (uddhacca-kukkucca), and doubt
(vicikiccha).
And what is the nutriment of these hindrances? The three evil
modes of life (tini duccaritani), bodily, vocal, and mental
wrong-doing. This threefold nutriment is in turn nourished by
non-restraint of the senses (indriya asamvaro), which is explained
by the commentator as the admittance of lust and hate into the six
sense-organs of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
The nutriment of non-restraint is shown to be lack of
mindfulness and of complete awareness (asati asampajañña). In the
context of nutriment, the drifting away of the object (dhamma) —
the lapsing, from the mind, of the knowledge of the lakkhanas or
characteristics of existence (impermanence, suffering and voidness
of self), and forgetfulness of the true nature of things — is the
reason for non-restraint. It is when one does not bear in mind the
transience and the other characteristics of things that one allows
oneself all kinds of liberties in speech and deed, and gives rein
to full thought imagery of an unskillful kind. Lack of complete
awareness is lack of these four: complete awareness of purpose
(sattha sampajañña), of suitability (sappaya sampajañña), of resort
(gocara sampajañña), and of non-delusion (asammoha sampajañña).
When one does a thing without a right purpose; when one looks at
things or does actions which do not help the growth of the good;
when one does things inimical to improvement; when one forgets the
dhamma, which is the true resort of one who strives; when one
deludedly lays hold of things, believing them to be pleasant,
beautiful, permanent, and substantial — when one behaves thus, then
too non-restraint is nourished.
And below this lack of mindfulness and complete awareness lies
unsystematic reflection (ayoniso manasikara). The books say
unsystematic reflection is reflection that is off the right course;
that is, taking the impermanent as permanent, the painful as
pleasure, the soulless as a soul, the bad as good. The constant
rolling-on that is samsara, is rooted in unsystematic thinking.
When unsystematic thinking increases it fulfils two things:
nescience and lust for becoming. Ignorance being present, the
origination of the entire mass of suffering comes to be. Thus a
person who is a shallow thinker, like a ship drifting at the wind’s
will, like a herd of cattle swept into the whirl pools of a river,
like an ox yoked to a wheel-contraption, goes on revolving in the
cycle of existence, samsara.
And it is said that imperfect confidence (assaddhiyam) in the
Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha is the condition that develops
unsystematic reflection; and imperfect confidence is due to
non-hearing of the True Law, the dhamma (asaddhamma savanam).
Finally, one does not hear the dhamma through lack of contact with
the wise, through not consorting with the good (asappurisa
sansevo).
Thus, want of kalyanamittata, good friendship, appears to be the
basic reason for the ills of the world. And conversely, the basis
and nutriment of all good is shown to be good friendship. That
furnishes one with the food of the sublime dhamma, which in turn
produces confidence in the Triple Gem (tiratana): the Buddha,
Dhamma, and the Sangha. When one has confidence in the Triple Gem
there come into existence profound or systematic thinking,
mindfulness and complete awareness, restraint of the senses, the
three good modes of life, the four arousings of mindfulness, the
seven factors of enlightenment and deliverance through wisdom, one
after another, in due order.[5]
I
Let us now deal with the enlightenment factors one by one. The
first is sati, mindfulness. It is the instrument most efficacious
in self-mastery, and whosoever practices it has found the path to
deliverance. It is fourfold: mindfulness consisting in
contemplation of the body (kayanupassana), feeling
(vedananupassana), mind (cittanupassana), and mental objects
(dhammanupassana).[6]
The man lacking in this all-important quality of mindfulness
cannot achieve anything worthwhile. The Buddha’s final admonition
to his disciples on his death bed is this: “Transient are all
component things. Work out your deliverance with heedfulness!”
(vaya-dhamma sankhara, appamadena sampadetha).[7] And the last
words of the Venerable Sariputta, the foremost disciple of the
Buddha, who predeceased the Master, were this: “Strive on with
Heedfulness! This is my advice to you!” (sampadetha appamadena, esa
me anusasana). In both these injunctions the most significant and
pregnant word is appamada, which literally means incessant
heedfulness. Man cannot be heedful unless he is aware of his
actions — whether they are mental, verbal, or physical — at every
moment of his waking life. Only when a man is fully awake to and
mindful of his activities can he distinguish good from bad and
right from wrong. It is in the light of mindfulness that he will
see the beauty or the ugliness of his deeds.
The word appamada, throughout the Tipitaka, is used to denote
sati, mindfulness; pamada is defined as absence of mindfulness.
Says the Buddha in the Anguttara Nikaya:
Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to
cause the arising of good thoughts if not yet arisen, or to cause
the waning of evil thoughts if already arisen, as heedfulness. In
him who is heedful, good thoughts not yet arisen, do arise, and
evil thoughts, if arisen, do wane.
Constant mindfulness and vigilance are necessary to avoid ill
and perform good. The man with presence of mind, who surrounds
himself with watchfulness of mind (satima), the man of courage and
earnestness, gets ahead of the lethargic, the heedless (pamatto),
as a racehorse outstrips a decrepit hack. The importance of sati,
mindfulness, in all our dealings is clearly indicated by the
following striking words of the Buddha:
Mindfulness, O disciples, I declare is essential in all things
everywhere. It is as salt is to the curry.
— MA, Satipatthana commentary
The Buddha’s life is one integral picture of mindfulness. He is
the sada sato, the ever-mindful, the ever-vigilant. He is the very
embodiment of mindfulness. There was never an occasion when the
Buddha manifested signs of sluggish inactivity or
thoughtlessness.
Right mindfulness or complete awareness, in a way, is superior
to knowledge, because in the absence of mindfulness it is just
impossible for a man to make the best of his learning. Intelligence
devoid of mindfulness tends to lead man astray and entice him from
the path of rectitude and duty. Even people who are well informed
and intelligent fail to see a thing in its proper perspective when
they lack this all-important quality of mindfulness. Men of good
standing, owing to deeds done and words spoken thoughtlessly and
without due consideration to their consequences, are often
subjected to severe and justified criticism. Mindfulness is the
chief characteristic of all wholesome actions tending to one’s own
and others’ profit.
Appamado mahato atthaya sanvattati: [8] “Mindfulness is
conducive to great profit” — that is, highest mental development —
and it is through such attainment that deliverance from the
sufferings of samsara is possible.
The man who delights in mindfulness and regards heedlessness
with dread, is not liable to fall away. He is in the vicinity of
Nibbana.
— Dhp 32
II
The second enlightenment factor is dhammavicaya, keen investigation
of the Dhamma. It is the sharp analytical knowledge of
understanding the true nature of all constituent things animate or
inanimate, human or divine. It is seeing things as they really are;
seeing things in their proper perspective. It is the analysis of
all component things into their fundamental elements, right down to
their ultimates. Through keen investigation one understands that
all compounded things pass through the inconceivably rapid moments
of uppada, thiti, and bhanga, or of arising, reaching a peak, and
ceasing, just as a river in flood sweeps to a climax and fades
away. The whole universe is constantly changing, not remaining the
same for two consecutive moments. All things in fact are subjected
to causes, conditions, and effects (hetu, paccaya, and phala).
Systematic reflection (yoniso manasikara) comes naturally through
right mindfulness, and it urges one to discriminate, to reason and
investigate. Shallow thinking, unsystematic investigation (ayoniso
manasikara) makes men muddle-headed; and then they fail to
investigate the nature of things. Such people cannot see cause and
effect, seed and fruit, the rise and fall of compounded things.
Says the Buddha: “This doctrine is for the wise and not for the
unwise.”[9]
Buddhism is free from compulsion and coercion and does not
demand of the follower blind faith. At the very outset the skeptic
will be pleased to hear of its call for investigation. Buddhism
from beginning to end is open to all those who have eyes to see and
minds to understand. The Buddha never endeavored to wring out of
his followers blind and submissive faith in him and his teaching.
He tutors his disciples in the ways of discrimination and
intelligent inquiry. To the inquiring Kalamas the Buddha answered:
“Right is it to doubt, right is it to question what is doubtful and
what is not clear. In a doubtful matter wavering does arise.”
We find this dialogue between the Master and his disciples:
[The Buddha:] “If, now knowing this and perceiving this, would
you say: ‘We honor our Master and through respect for him we
respect what he teaches?’”
“Nay, Lord.”
“That which you affirm, O disciples, is it not only that which
you yourselves have recognized, seen and grasped?”
“Yes, Lord.”
— MN 38
And in conformity with this thoroughly correct attitude of true
inquiry the philosophers of later times observed: “As the wise test
the purity of gold by burning, cutting and examining it by means of
a piece of touchstone, so should you accept my words after
examining them and not merely out of regard and reverence for
me.”[10] Thus blind belief is condemned in the analytic teaching
(vibhajjavada) of the Buddha. The truth of the dhamma can be
grasped only through calm concentrative thought and insight
(samatha and vipassana) and never through blind faith. One who goes
in quest of truth is never satisfied with surface knowledge. He
wants to delve deep and see what is beneath. That is the sort of
search encouraged in Buddhism. That type of search yields right
understanding.
We read in the texts the following story: On one occasion Upali,
a fervent follower of Nigantha Nathaputta, the Jain, visited the
Buddha, thoughtfully listened to the dhamma, gained saddha
(confidence based on knowledge) and forthwith manifested his
readiness to become a follower of the Master. Nevertheless the
Master said: “Of a truth, Upali, make thorough investigation,” and
thus discouraged him.
This clearly shows that the Buddha was not keen on converting
people to his way of thinking, and to his fold. He did not
interfere with another man’s freedom of thought; for freedom of
thought is the birthright of every individual. It is wrong to force
someone out of the way of life which accords with his outlook and
character, spiritual inclinations and tendencies; compulsion in
every form is bad. It is coercion of the blackest kind to make a
man gulp down beliefs for which he has no relish. Such forced
feeding cannot be good for anybody, anywhere.
He that cultivates dhammavicaya, investigation of the dhamma,
focuses his mind on the five aggregates of grasping, the
pañcupadanakkhandha, and endeavors to realize the rise and fall or
the arising and passing away (udaya-vaya) of this conglomeration of
bare forces (suddha sankhara puñja), this conflux of mind and
matter (nama-rupa santati). It is only when he fully realizes the
evanescent nature of his own mind and body that he experiences
happiness, joyous anticipation. Therefore, it is said:
Yato yato sammasati — khandhanam udayabbayam
Labhati piti pamojjam — amatam tam vijanatam
Whenever he reflects on the rise and fall of the aggregates, he
experiences unalloyed joy and happiness. To the discerning one that
(reflection) is deathless, Nibbana.
— Dhp 374
What is impermanent and not lasting he sees as sorrow-fraught.
What is impermanent and sorrow-fraught, he understands as void of a
permanent and everlasting soul, self, or ego entity. It is this
grasping, this realization of the three characteristics, or laws of
transience, sorrow, and non-self (soullessness) — anicca, dukkha,
and anatta — that is known to Buddhists as vipassana-ñana or
penetrative insight, which, like the razor-edged sword, entirely
eradicates all the latent tendencies (anusaya); and with it all the
varied ramifications of sorrow’s cause are finally destroyed. A man
who ascends to this summit of vision is an arahat, a perfect one,
whose clarity of vision, whose depth of insight, penetrates into
the deepest recesses of life and cognizes the true nature that
underlies all appearance. No more can he be swept off his feet by
the glamour of things ephemeral. No more can he be confused by
fearful and terrible appearances. No more is it possible for him to
have a clouded view of phenomena; for he has transcended all
capacity for error through the perfect immunity which penetrative
insight alone can give.
III
The third enlightenment factor is viriya, energy. It is a mental
property (cetasika) and the sixth limb of the Noble Eightfold Path,
there called samma-vayama, right effort.
The life of the Buddha clearly reveals that he was never
subjected to moral or spiritual fatigue. From the hour of his
enlightenment to the end of his life, he strove tirelessly to
elevate mankind, regardless of the bodily fatigue involved, and
oblivious to the many obstacles and handicaps that hampered his
way. He never relaxed in his exertion for the common weal. Though
physically he was not always fit, mentally he was ever vigilant and
energetic. Of him it is said:
Ah, wonderful is the Conqueror,
Who e’er untiring strives
For the blessing of all beings, for
the comfort of all lives.
Buddhism is for the sincerely zealous, strong and firm in purpose,
and not for the indolent (araddhviriyassayam dhammo nayam dhammo
kusitassa).[11] The Buddha has not proclaimed himself a savior
willing and able to take upon himself the evil of mankind. On the
contrary, he declares that each person has to bear the burden of
his ill deeds. In the words of the Buddha, each individual has
himself to put forth the necessary effort and work out his own
deliverance with diligence. The Buddha is only a path-revealer and
not a savior who endeavors to save ‘souls’ by means of a revealed
religion. The idea that another raises a man from lower to higher
levels of life, and ultimately rescues him, tends to make a man
indolent and weak, supine and foolish. Others may lend us a helping
hand indirectly, but deliverance from suffering must be wrought out
and fashioned by each one for himself upon the anvil of his own
actions. “Be ye islands unto yourselves, be ye your own
refuge.”[12] Thus did the Master exhort his followers to acquire
self-reliance.
A follower of the Buddha should not under any circumstances
relinquish hope and effort; for the Buddha was one who never gave
up hope and courage even as a Bodhisatta. As an aspirant for
Buddhahood, he had as his motto the following inspiring words: ma
nivatta, abhikkhama — “Falter not; advance.” The man who is mindful
(satima) and cultivates keen investigation should next put forth
the necessary effort to fight his way out.
The function of energy is four-fold: (1) the effort to eradicate
evils that have arisen in the mind; (2) the effort to prevent the
arising of unarisen evil; (3) the effort to develop unarisen good;
(4) the effort to promote the further growth of good already
arisen.[13]
“Just,” says the Vitakka Santhana Suttanta of the Majjhima
Nikaya (No. 20), “as a competent carpenter or carpenter’s
apprentice with a slender pin will knock out, remove and dispose of
a thicker one, so also, when through dwelling on some idea that has
come to him, evil, unsalutary considerations connected with desire,
hate, and delusion arise in the monk, then he should engender in
his mind an idea other than that former idea and connected with
salutary things, whereupon the evil unsalutary considerations will
disappear, and with their disappearing his mind will become
settled, subdued, unified, concentrated.”[14]
Thus the path of purification is impossible for an indolent
person. The aspirant for enlightenment (bodhi) should possess
unflinching energy coupled with fixed determination. Enlightenment
and deliverance lie absolutely and entirely in his own hands. “Man
must himself by his own resolute efforts rise and make his way to
the portals of liberty, and it is always, in every moment, in his
power so to do. Neither are those portals locked and the key in
possession of someone else from whom it must be obtained by prayer
and entreaty. That door is free of all bolts and bars save those
the man himself has made.”
By precept and example, the Buddha was an exponent of the
strenuous life. Hear these words of the Buddha: “The idler who does
not strive, who, though young and strong, is full of sloth, who is
weak in resolution, that lazy and idle man will not find the way to
wisdom, the way to enlightenment.”[15]
Following in the footsteps of the Buddha the disciple thinks:
“Though only my skin, sinews and bones remain, and my blood and
flesh dry up and wither away, yet never will I give up my quest and
swerve from the path of rectitude and enlightenment.”
IV
The fourth enlightenment factor is piti, rapture or happiness.
This, too, is a mental property (cetasika) and is a quality which
suffuses both the body and mind. The man lacking in this quality
cannot proceed along the path to enlightenment. There will arise in
him a sullen indifference to the dhamma, an aversion to the
practice of meditation, and morbid manifestations. It is,
therefore, very necessary that a man striving to attain
enlightenment and final deliverance from the fetters of samsara,
that repeated wandering, should endeavor to cultivate the
all-important factor of happiness. No one can bestow on another the
gift of happiness; each one has to build it up by effort,
reflection, and concentrated activity. As happiness is a thing of
the mind it should be sought not in external and material things
though they may in a small way be instrumental.
Contentment is a characteristic of the really happy individual.
The ordinary worldling seems to think that it is difficult to
cultivate and develop contentment; but by dint of courage,
determination, systematic attention, and thought about the things
one meets with in everyday life, by controlling one’s evil
inclinations, and by curbing the impulses — the sudden tendencies
to act without reflection — one can keep the mind from being soiled
and experience happiness through contentment.
In man’s mind arise conflicts of diverse kinds, and if these
conflicts are to be controlled, while still not eliminated, man
must give less rein to inclinations and longings — in other words,
he must cultivate contentment. Hard it is to give up what lures and
holds us in thrall; and hard it is to exorcise the evil spirits
that haunt the human heart in the shape of ugly and unwholesome
thoughts. These evils are the manifestations of lust, hate, and
delusion (lobha, dosa and moha). Until one attains to the very
crest of purity and peace by constant training of the mind one
cannot defeat these hosts completely. The mere abandoning of
outward things, fasting, bathing in rivers and hot springs, and so
forth, these do not tend to purify a man, these things do not make
a man happy, holy, and harmless. Hence the need to develop the
Buddha’s path of purification: morality, meditation and insight
(sila, samadhi, and pañña).
When discussing happiness, in the context of sambojjhangas, we
must bear in mind the vast difference between pleasure and
happiness. Pleasure — pleasant feeling — is something very
momentary and fleeting. Is it wrong to say that pleasant feelings
are the prelude to pain? What people hug in great glee this moment,
turns to be a source of pain in the next moment. “The desired is no
longer there when the outstretched hand would grasp it, or, being
there and grasped, it vanishes like a flake of snow.”
In the words of Robert Burns:
Pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or, like the snow-fall in the river,
A moment white then melts forever.
Seeing a form, hearing a sound, perceiving an odor, tasting a
flavor, feeling some tangible thing, cognizing an idea, people are
moved; and from those sense objects and mental objects they
experience a certain degree of pleasure. But it is all a passing
show of phenomena. Unlike the animal whose sole purpose is to
derive a feeling of pleasure from any source, at any cost, man
should endeavor to gain real piti or happiness. Real happiness or
rapture comes not through grasping or clinging to things animate or
inanimate but by giving up (nekkhamma). It is the detached attitude
toward the world that brings about true happiness. The Satipatthana
Sutta, the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness, speaks of
pleasant worldly feeling (samisasukha) and pleasant unworldly
feeling (niramisasukha). Niramisa sukha is far superior to
samisasukha.
Once the Buddha did not receive even a single morsel of food
when he went on his alms round, and an intruder remarked that the
Master was apparently afflicted with hunger. Thereupon the Supreme
Buddha breathed forth the following verse:
Ah, happily do we dwell — we who have no impediments!
Feeders on joy shall we be — even as the radiant devas![16]
— Dhp 200
Unalloyed joy comes to a man who ponders thus: “Others may harm,
but I will become harmless; others may slay living beings, but I
will become a non-slayer; others may live unchaste, but I will live
pure. Others may utter falsehood; I, however, will speak the truth.
Others may slander, talk harshly, indulge in gossip, but I will
talk only words that promote concord, harmless words agreeable to
the ear, full of love, heart-pleasing, courteous, worthy of being
borne in mind, timely, fit and to the point. Others may be
covetous; I will not covet. Energetic, steeped in modesty of heart,
unswerving as regards truth and rectitude, peaceful, honest,
contented, generous, and truthful in all things will I be.” Thus
conducive to full realization, perfect wisdom, to Nibbana is this
fourth enlightenment factor piti, happiness.
V
Passaddhi — calm or tranquility — is the fifth factor of
enlightenment. Passaddhi is two-fold. Kaya passaddhi is calm of
body. Kaya here means all the mental properties rather than the
physical body; in other words, calm of the aggregates of feeling
(vedanakkhandha), perception (saññakkhandha), and the volitional
activities or conformations (samkharakkhandha). Citta passaddhi is
the calm of the mind — that is, the aggregate of consciousness
(viññanakkhanda).
Passaddhi is compared to the happy experience of a weary walker
who sits down under a tree in a shade, or the cooling of a hot
place by rain. Hard it is to tranquillize the mind; it trembles and
it is unsteady, difficult to guard and hold back; it quivers like a
fish taken from its watery home and thrown on the dry ground. It
wanders at will.[17] Such is the nature of this ultra-subtle mind.
It is systematic reflection (yoniso manasikara) that helps the
aspirant for enlightenment to quieten the fickle mind. Unless a man
cultivates tranquility of mind, concentration cannot be
successfully developed. A tranquillized mind keeps away all
superficialities and futilities.
Many a man today thinks that freedom and unrestraint are
synonyms and that the taming of the self is a hindrance to
self-development. In the teaching of the Buddha, however, it is
quite different. The self must be subdued and tamed on right lines
if it is to become truly well. The Tathagata, the Tamed, teaches
the Dhamma for the purpose of taming the human heart (danto so
Bhagava damataya dhammam deseti).[18]
It is only when the mind is tranquillized and is kept to the
right road of orderly progress that it becomes useful for the
individual possessor of it and for society. A disorderly mind is a
liability both to the owner of it and for others. All the havoc
wrought in the world is wrought by men who have not learned the way
of mental calm, balance, and poise. Calmness is not weakness. The
calm attitude at all times shows a man of culture. It is not too
hard a task for a man to be calm when all things around him are
favorable. But to be composed in mind in the midst of unfavorable
circumstances is hard indeed, and it is this difficult quality that
is worth achieving; for by such control one builds up strength of
character. The most deceptive thing in the world is to imagine that
they alone are strong who are noisy, or that they alone possess
power who are fussily busy.
The man who cultivates calm of the mind does not get upset,
confused or excited when confronted with the eight vicissitudes of
the world (atthaloka dhamma). He endeavors to see the rise and fall
of all things conditioned, how things come into being and pass
away. Free from anxiety and restlessness he will see the fragility
of the fragile.
A story in our books tells us how when a mother was asked why
she did not lament and feel pain over the death of her beloved son,
said: “Uninvited he came, uninvited he passed away, as he came so
he went, what use is there in lamenting, weeping, and wailing?”[19]
Such is the advantage of a tranquillized mind. It is unshaken by
loss or gain, blame and praise, and undisturbed by adversity. This
frame of mind is brought about by viewing the sentient world in its
proper perspective. Thus calm or passaddhi leads man to
enlightenment and deliverance from suffering.
VI
The sixth enlightenment factor is samadhi, concentration. It is
only the tranquillized mind that can easily concentrate on a
subject of meditation. The calm concentrated mind sees things as
they really are (samahito yatha bhutam pajanati). The unified mind
brings the five hindrances (pañca nivaranani) under
subjugation.
Concentration is the intensified steadiness of the mind
comparable to an unflickering flame of a lamp in a windless place.
It is concentration that fixes the mind aright and causes it to be
unmoved and undisturbed. Correct practice of samadhi maintains the
mind and the mental properties in a state of balance like a steady
hand holding a pair of scales. Right concentration dispels passions
that disturb the mind, and brings purity and placidity of mind. The
concentrated mind is not distracted by sense objects; concentration
of the highest type cannot be disturbed under the most adverse
circumstances.
One who is intent on samadhi should develop a love of virtue,
sila, for it is virtue that nourishes mental life, and makes it
coherent and calm, equable and full of rich content. The
unrestrained mind dissipates itself in frivolous activity.
Many are the impediments that confront a yogi, an aspirant for
enlightenment, but there are five particular hindrances that hinder
concentrative thought, samadhi, and obstruct the way to
deliverance. In the teaching of the Buddha they are known as pañca
nivarana, the five hindrances. The Pali term nivarana denotes that
which hinders or obstructs mental development (bhavana). They are
called hindrances because they completely close in, cut off and
obstruct. They close the doors to deliverance. The five hindrances
are:
kamacchanda — sensual desires
vyapada — ill-will
thinamiddha — obduracy of mind and mental factors
uddhaccakukkucca — restlessness and worry
vicikiccha — doubt
Kamacchanda or sensual desires or intense thirst for either
possessions or the satisfaction of base desires, is the first that
binds man to samsara, repeated wandering, and closes the door to
final deliverance. What is sensuality? Where does this craving
(tanha) arise and take root? According to the Discourse on the
Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta), “where there is
the delightful and the pleasurable, there this craving arises and
takes root.” Forms, sounds, smell, taste, bodily contacts, and
ideas are delightful and pleasurable; there this craving arises and
takes root. Craving when obstructed by some cause is transformed to
frustration and wrath.
As the Dhammapada says:
Tanhaya jayati soko — tanhaya jayati bhayam
Tanhaya vippamuttassa — natthi soko kuto bhayam.
From craving arises grief, from craving arises fear;
To one who is free from craving there is no grief, whence
fear.
— Dhp 216
The next hindrance is vyapada, ill-will, hatred, or aversion.
Man naturally revolts against the unpleasant and the disagreeable,
and also is depressed by them. To be separated from the loved is
painful, and equally painful is the union with the loathed. Even a
disagreeable dish, an unpleasant drink, an unlovely demeanor, and a
hundred other trifles, may cause indignation. It is wrong thinking,
unsystematic reflection, that brings about hatred. Hatred on the
other hand breeds hatred and clouds the vision; it distorts the
entire mind and its properties and thus hinders awakening to truth,
blocks the way to freedom. This lust and hatred based on ignorance,
the crowning corruption of all our madness (avijja paramam malam),
indeed are the root causes of strife and dissension between man and
man and nation and nation.
The third hindrance consists of a pair of evils, thina and
middha. Thina is lassitude or morbid state of the mind, and middha
is a morbid state of the mental properties. Thinamiddha, as some
are inclined to think, is certainly not sluggishness of the body;
for even the arahats, the perfect ones, who are free from this pair
of evils, also experience bodily fatigue. Thinamiddha retards
mental development; under its influence mind is inert like butter
too stiff to spread or like molasses sticking to a spoon.
Laxity is a dangerous enemy of mental development. Laxity leads
to greater laxity until finally there arises a state of callous
indifference. This flabbiness of character is a fatal block to
righteousness and freedom. It is through viriya or mental effort
that one overcomes this pair of evils.
The fourth hindrance also comprises twin drawbacks: uddhacca and
kukkucca, restlessness and brooding, or flurry and worry. As a
rule, anyone who commits evil is mentally excited and restless; the
guilty and the impatient suffer from this hindrance. The minds of
men who are restless and unstable are like flustered bees in a
shaken hive. This mental agitation impedes meditation and blocks
the upward path. Equally baneful is mental worry. Often people
repent over the evil actions they have committed. This is not
praised by the Buddha; for it is useless to cry over spilt milk.
Instead of brooding over such shortcomings one should endeavor not
to repeat such unwholesome deeds. There are others who worry over
the good deeds omitted and duties left undone. This, too, serves no
purpose. It is as futile as to ask the further bank of a river to
come over that we may get to the other side. Instead of uselessly
worrying over what good one has failed to do, one should endeavor
to perform wholesome deeds. This mental unsteadiness (kukkucca)
also hinders mental progress.
The fifth and the last hindrance is vicikiccha, doubt. The Pali
term vi + cikiccha literally means medicineless. One who suffers
from perplexity is really suffering from a dire disease, and until
and unless one sheds one’s doubts one will continue to suffer from
it. So long as man is subject to this mental itching, so long will
he continue to take a cynical view of things which is most
detrimental to mental development. The commentators explain this
hindrance as the inability to decide anything definitely; it also
comprises doubt with regard to the possibility of attaining the
jhanas, concentrative thought. In this connection, one may add that
even non-Buddhists and yogis who are not concerned with the
Buddha-Dhamma and the Sangha at all, can inhibit doubt (vicikiccha
nivarana) and gain the jhanas.
The yogi who attains the jhanas inhibits all five hindrances by
the five jhanangas, characteristics or factors of jhanas;
kamacchanda is inhibited by ekaggata (one-pointedness or
unification of the mind); vyapada by piti (joy); thinamiddha by
vitakka (applied thought); uddhacca-kukkucca by sukha (happiness)
and vicikiccha by vicara (sustained thought). The attainment of
jhanas, however, is not the end aimed at. Jhanas should be made to
lead to vipassana, intuitional insight. It is through insight that
the yogi eradicates the latent corruptions (anusaya kilesas) and
attains perfect purity.
So long as impurities or taints (kilesas) exist in man’s mind
latent, so long will the arising of papa (evil) in him continue.
The practitioner of jhana whose purpose is to attain vipassana,
commits no ill action because the hindrances are inhibited, but he
has the impurities latent in his make-up and, therefore, he is not
yet in a state of absolute security. But the Arahat, the perfect
one, wipes out all the latent impurities with their rootlets and
brings this repetitive wandering, samsara, to a standstill. He is
one whose samsara is indubitably ended; for by him the noble life
has been perfected and the task done. For him there is no more
rebirth.[20]
A sincere student who is bent on deep study, cuts himself off
from sense attractions and, retiring to a congenial atmosphere,
holds fast to his studies. Thus steering through all disturbing
factors he attains success in his examinations. In the same way,
seated in a cloister-cell or some other suitable place “far from
the madding crowd’s ignoble strife,” the yogi, the meditator, fixes
his mind on a subject of meditation (kammatthana) and by struggle
and unceasing effort inhibits the five hindrances, and washing out
the impurities of his mind-flux, gradually reaches the first, the
second, the third and the fourth jhana. Then by the power of
samadhi, concentrative thought, thus won, he turns his mind to the
understanding of reality in the highest sense. It is at this stage
that the yogi cultivates vipassana, intuitional insight. It is
through vipassana that one understands the real nature of all
component and conditioned things. Vipassana aids one to see things
as they truly are. One sees truth face to face and comprehends that
all tones are just variations struck on the one chord that runs
through all life — the chord which is made up of anicca, dukkha and
anatta: impermanence, sorrow, and soullessness.
The yogi gains insight into the true nature of the world he has
clung to for so long. He breaks through the egg shell of ignorance
to the Hypercosmic. With that final catharsis he reaches the state
where dawns for him the Light of Nibbana, the Calm beyond words,
the unshakable deliverance of the mind (akuppa cetovimutti),[21]
and the world holds nothing more for him.
Says the Dhammapada (373), “To the bhikkhu who has retired to a
secluded spot, whose mind is calmed, and who clearly discerns the
dhamma, there comes unalloyed joy and happiness transcending that
of humans.”
VII
The seventh and the last factor of enlightenment is upekkha,
equanimity. In the Abhidhamma, upekkha is indicated by the term
tatramajjhattata, neutrality. It is mental equipoise and not
hedonic indifference. Equanimity is the result of a calm
concentrative mind. It is hard, indeed, to be undisturbed when
touched by the vicissitudes of life, but the man who cultivates
this difficult quality of equanimity is not upset.
Amidst the welter of experience (attha loka dhamma) — gain and
loss, good-repute and ill-repute, praise and censure, pain and
happiness — he never wavers. He is firm as a solid rock. Of course,
this is the attitude of the Arahat, the perfect one. Of him it is
said: “Truly the good give up longing for everything. The good
prattle not with thoughts of craving. Touched by happiness or by
pain, the wise show neither elation nor depression.”[22]
Refraining from intoxicants and becoming heedful, establishing
themselves in patience and purity, the wise train their minds; it
is through such training that a quiet mind is achieved. Can we also
achieve it? Lord Horder answers the question thus: ”’Yes.’ But how?
Well, not by doing ‘some great thing.’ ‘Why were the saints
saints?’ someone asked. And the answer came: ‘Because they were
cheerful when it was difficult to be cheerful and patient when it
was difficult to be patient. They pushed on when they wanted to
stand still, and kept silent when they wanted to talk.’ That was
all. So simple, but so difficult. A matter of mental hygiene…”
The poet says:
It is easy enough to be pleasant,
When life flows along like a song,
But the man worthwhile
Is the man who can smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
Mention is made in our books of four wrong paths (cattaro agati).
The path of greed (chanda), of hate (dosa), of cowardice (bhaya),
of delusion (moha). People commit evil being enticed along one or
more of these wrong paths, but the man who has reached perfect
neutrality through the cultivation of equanimity always avoids such
wrong paths. His serene neutrality enables him to see all beings
impartially.
A certain understanding of the working of kamma (actions), and
how kamma comes into fruition (kamma-vipaka) is very necessary for
one who is genuinely bent on cultivating equanimity. In the light
of kamma one will be able to have a detached attitude toward all
beings, nay even inanimate things. The proximate cause of
equanimity is the understanding that all beings are the result of
their actions (kamma).
Santideva writes in Bodhicaryavatara:
Some there be that loathe me; then why
Shall I, being praised, rejoice?
Some there be that praise me; then why
Shall I brood over blaming voice?
Who master is of self, will ever bear
A smiling face; he puts away all frowns
Is first to greet another, and to share
His all. This friend of all the world, Truth crowns.[23]
I have here made an attempt to give a glimpse of the seven
enlightenment factors, expounded over 2500 years ago by the Supreme
Buddha, for the attaining of full realization and perfect wisdom,
of Nibbana, the Deathless. The cultivation or the neglect of these
factors of enlightenment is left to each one of us. With the aid of
the teaching of the Buddha each one of us has the power to detect
and destroy the cause of suffering. Each one individually can put
forth the necessary effort to work out his deliverance.
The Buddha has taught us the way to know life as it is, and has
furnished the directions for such research by each of us
individually. Therefore, we owe it to ourselves to find out for
ourselves the truth about life and to make the best of it. We
cannot say justifiably that we do not know how to proceed. There is
nothing vague in the teaching of the Buddha. All the necessary
indications are clear as clear could be. Buddhism from beginning to
end is open to all those who have eyes to see, and minds to
understand. “So clear is his teaching that it can never be
misunderstood.”[24] The only thing necessary on our part for the
full realization of the truth is firm determination, endeavor and
earnestness to study and apply the teaching, each working it out
for himself, to the best of his ability. The dhamma yet beckons the
weary pilgrim to the happy haven of Nibbana’s security and peace.
Let us, therefore, cultivate the seven enlightenment factors with
zest and unflagging devotion, and advance:
Remembering the Saints of other days,
And recollecting how it was they lived,
Even though today be but the after-time —
One yet may win the Ambrosial Path of Peace.
— Psalms of the Brethren (Theragatha) 947
May All Living Beings Be Well and Happy!
Notes
1.
SN 46.5 (S v 72; CDB p.
1574).
2.
SN 46.7 (S v 75; CDB p.
1577).
3.
Dhamma is a multisignificant term. Here it means mind and matter
(nama-rupa); dhammavicaya is the investigation or analysis of this
conflux of mind and body, and all component and conditioned
things.
4.
SN 46.16 (S v 79; CDB
p. 1581).
5.
Sammohavinodani.
6.
Satipatthana Sutta, MN 10 or DN 22. See The Foundations of Mindfulness (The Wheel No.
19).
7.
Parinibbana Sutta, DN 16.
8.
SN, Sagathaka Vagga.
9.
AN 8.30.
10.
Jñanasara-Samuccaya, p. 31.
11.
AN 8.30.
12.
Parinibbana Sutta, DN 16.
13.
AN 4.13.
14.
Adapted from Silacara, Discourses of Gotama the Buddha. A
translation of this discourse has been published in The Removal of
Distracting Thoughts (The Wheel No. 21).
15.
Dhp 280.
16.
Devas are deities.
17.
Dhp (Citta Vagga).
18.
DN 25.
19.
Uraga Jataka, 354.
20.
MN 27.
21.
MN 30.
22.
Dhp 83.
23.
Translation by Kassapa Thera.
24.
Fielding Hall, The Soul of a People.
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Provenance: ©1960 Buddhist Publication Society. The Wheel
Publication No. 1 (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1960).
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