0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 48.9Linked Discourses 48.9
0.21. Suddhikavagga1. Plain Version

0.3PaṭhamavibhaṅgasuttaAnalysis (1st)

1.1PTS 5.197“Pañcimāni, bhikkhave, indriyāni.“Mendicants, there are these five faculties.¹1.2Katamāni pañca?What five?1.3Saddhindriyaṁ …pe… paññindriyaṁ.The faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom.

1.4Katamañca, bhikkhave, saddhindriyaṁ?And what is the faculty of faith?1.5Idha, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako saddho hoti, saddahati tathāgatassa bodhiṁ:It’s when a noble disciple has faith in the Realized One’s awakening:1.6‘itipi so bhagavā arahaṁ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno sugato lokavidū anuttaro purisadammasārathi satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavā’ti—‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those fit for training, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’²1.7idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, saddhindriyaṁ.This is called the faculty of faith.

2.1Katamañca, bhikkhave, vīriyindriyaṁ?And what is the faculty of energy?2.2Idha, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako āraddhavīriyo viharati akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya, kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ upasampadāya, thāmavā daḷhaparakkamo anikkhittadhuro kusalesu dhammesu—It’s when a noble disciple lives with energy roused up for giving up unskillful qualities and embracing skillful qualities. They’re strong, staunchly vigorous, not slacking off when it comes to developing skillful qualities.2.3idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, vīriyindriyaṁ.This is called the faculty of energy.

3.1Katamañca, bhikkhave, satindriyaṁ?And what is the faculty of mindfulness?3.2Idha, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako satimā hoti paramena satinepakkena samannāgato cirakatampi cirabhāsitampi saritā anussaritā—It’s when a noble disciple is mindful. They have utmost mindfulness and alertness, and can remember and recall what was said and done long ago.³3.3idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, satindriyaṁ.This is called the faculty of mindfulness.

4.1Katamañca, bhikkhave, samādhindriyaṁ?And what is the faculty of immersion?4.2Idha, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako vossaggārammaṇaṁ karitvā labhati samādhiṁ, labhati cittassa ekaggataṁ—It’s when a noble disciple, relying on letting go, gains immersion, gains unification of mind.⁴4.3idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, samādhindriyaṁ.This is called the faculty of immersion.

5.1Katamañca, bhikkhave, paññindriyaṁ?And what is the faculty of wisdom?5.2Idha, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako paññavā hoti udayatthagāminiyā paññāya samannāgato ariyāya nibbedhikāya, sammā dukkhakkhayagāminiyā—It’s when a noble disciple is wise. They have the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering.5.3idaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, paññindriyaṁ.This is called the faculty of wisdom.

5.4Imāni kho, bhikkhave, pañcindriyānī”ti.These are the five faculties.”

5.5Navamaṁ.

Translator’s notes

A similar analysis of the five powers is found at AN 5.14.

↩ sn48.9:1.1

Here only faith in the Buddha is mentioned. But one who has faith in the Buddha has faith in his teachings, and in those who have realized his teachings. So while this seems like a narrower definition than the four factors of stream-entry mentioned in the previous Sutta, it is meant by way of example, not excluding other dimensions.

↩ sn48.9:1.6

This agrees with the pre-Buddhist sense of sati (Sanskrit smṛti, smara), “to remember, keep in mind” (Rig Veda 7.104.07, 10.61.4, 10.106.9; Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 13.8.1.2; Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.15.1; Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.13–14, 8.12.3; Kena Upaniṣad 4.5). Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa 2.3.2.3–4 speaks of one who performs the fire ritual while understanding, “In me those gods reside” and thereby wins and traverses all the worlds (since the gods and their worlds (= heavens) exist inside them; see SN 2.26:5.2 and note there). When such a one leaves the ritual ground they continue to “attend” (upasthāna = Pali upaṭṭhāna) the sacred fire through remembering it (smara), and thus staying near it in their mind. “Memory” is critical to the practice of “remembering” scripture (Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.7); a skilled reciter enters an uninterrupted flow state where the text is vividly present. In this sense, mindfulness can be understood as the element of continuity that knits consciousness together in a coherent stream. In meditation contexts this is reinforced by words such as “presence” (parimukhaṁ), “observation” (anupassanā), and “clearly knows” (pajānāti). Thus when practicing “mindfulness of breathing” one pays continuous attention to the breaths, not “forgetting” what one is doing.

↩ sn48.9:3.2

This phrase is only used in the context of the five faculties; for the powers, the jhāna formula is used. A meditator who “lets go” their attachments to the sensory world with its desires and pleasures find the freedom of absorption.

↩ sn48.9:4.2