Thirty-Seven Requisites of Enlightenment
Introduction
The thirty seven requisites of enlightenment or bodhipakkhiya dhamma in the Pali language and bodhipaksa dharma in the Sanskrit language are the requisites or qualities (dhamma) related (pakkhiya) to awakening or enlightenment (bodhi) in Buddhism. In many of the discourses, Buddha has referred to the significance of developing these 37 requisites to developing one’s mind and to attain liberation. For example, according to the Mahaparinibbana sutta of the Digha nikaya, the collection of Buddha’s long discourses, while addressing the monks before His passing away Buddha has stated that:
“Monks, 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 practise, so 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” (1).
In the Pasadika sutta of the Digha nikaya, as a means of avoiding any disagreement or dispute about the teaching and referring to these 37 requisites, Buddha advised the disciples:
“All of you, whom I have taught these truths [37 requisites of enlightenment] that I have directly known, should gather together and recite them, comparing meaning with meaning, comparing text with text without dissension, so that the holy life will last long” (2).
The Seven Groups
The 37 requisites of enlightenment are described in the following seven groups:
Four foundations of mindfulness: satipatthana;
Four types of right effort: sammappadana;
Four bases of mental power: iddhipada;
Five spiritual faculties: pancha indriya;
Five spiritual powers: pancha bala;
Seven factors of enlightenment: satta bojjhanga; and
The Noble Eight-fold Path: ariya atthangika magga.
1. Four foundations of mindfulness: Satipatthana
1.1 Contemplation of the body: kayanupassana;
1.2 Contemplation of feelings: vedananupassana;
1.3 Contemplation of the mind: cittanupassana; and
1.4 Contemplation of mind objects: dhammanupassana.
In the Satipatthana sutta, before describing the four foundations of mindfulness and their practical aspects and referring to the benefits of practising them, Buddha stated that:
“Bhikkhus, This is the one and the only way for the purification of beings, for overcoming sorrow and lamentation, for the cessation of physical and mental pain, for attainment of the Noble Paths, and for the realisation of Nibbana. That is the four satipatthanas” (3).
1.1 Contemplation of the body: Kayanupassana
Contemplation of the body just as the body with no sense of mine, “I” or myself is to be practised under six sections or types of practice:
Mindfulness on in and out breathing: anapana pabba;
Mindfulness of the four postures – walking, standing, sitting and lying down: iriyapatha pabba;
Clear understanding of all activities: sampajanna pabba;
Mindfulness of the 32 impurities of the body: paticulamanasika pabba;
Mindfulness of the four elements – earth element, water element, heat element and air element: dhatumanasika pabba; and
Mindfulness of the nine stages of a decaying corpse: navasivathika pabba.
1.2 Contemplation of feelings: Vedananupassana
Contemplation of feelings just as feelings with no sense of mine, “I” or myself, which are of three types;
Pleasant feelings: sukha vedana;
Unpleasant feelings: dukkha vedana; and
Neither pleasant nor unpleasant feelings: adukkhamasukha vedana.
1.3 Contemplation of the mind: Cittanupassana
Contemplation of the mind just as mind and just as a phenomenon with no sense of mine, I or myself is to be done by observing the following:
A mind with greed or without greed;
A mind with anger or without anger;
A mind with delusion or without delusion;
A lazy mind;
A distracted mind;
A developed or undeveloped mind;
An inferior or superior mind;
A concentrated or un-concentrated mind; and
A mind free from defilements or not free from defilements.
1.4 Contemplation of mind objects:
Contemplation of mind objects just as mind objects with no sense of mine, I or myself is done on the following mind objects:
Five mental hindrances: sense desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worry, and skeptical doubt
The aggregates; the five aggregates of clinging: the corporeal body (rupa), feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), mental formations (sankhara), and consciousness (vinnana)
Six internal and external sense bases or ayatana pabba: the eye and the visible objects, the ear and the sounds, the nose and the odours, the tongue and the tastes, the body and the tactile objects, and the mind and the mind objects
Seven factors of enlightenment or bojjhanga pabba: the factor of mindfulness (sati sambojjhanaga), the factor of investigation of phenomena (dhammavicaya sambojjhanga), the factor of effort (viriya sambojjhanga), the factor of rapture (piti sambojjhanga), the factor of tranquillity (passaddhi sambojjhanga), the factor of concentration (samadhi sambojjha), and the factor of equanimity (upekkha sambojjhanga) and
The Four Noble Truths or sacca pabba: the Noble Truth of suffering (dukkha sacca), the Noble Truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya sacca), the Noble Truth of the cessation of suffering (nirodha sacca), and the Noble Truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga sacca) (4)
2. Four types of right effort: Sammappadana
Effort to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome mental states (samvara padhana)
Effort to abandon unwholesome mental states that have already arisen (pahana padhana)
Effort to cultivate unarisen wholesome mental states (bhavana padhana) and
Effort to maintain wholesome mental states that have already arisen ( anurakkhana padhana)
The unwholesome mental states that have not arisen yet refer to the five mental hindrances, or pancha nivarana, of sense desire (kamacchanda); ill will (vyapada); sloth and torpor (thina middha); restlessness and remorse (uddaccha kukkuccha); and sceptical doubt (vicikicca). The unwholesome mental states to be abandoned are the thoughts of sensual desire, hatred and cruelty while the wholesome mental states to be cultivated and maintained are the seven factors of enlightenment.
3. Four bases of mental power: Iddhipada
Desire or will to act (chanda)
Effort or energy (viriya)
Consciousness or mind (citta) and
Investigation or discrimination (vimansa)
Iddhi means certain spiritual or mental powers and pada means bases. By practising and developing these four mental qualities, it is possible to attain certain super-normal powers such as the ability to walk on water, ability to travel in the air cross-legged, ability to move through the earth, ability to read others’ minds and the ability to remember one’s past lives. However, on the path of liberation they help to develop wholesome mental states and the supramundane knowledge pertaining to the eradication of mental defilements in order to attain Nibbana or final liberation. Referring to the significance of these four bases of power in the viraddha sutta of the Samyutta nikaya, another collection of Buddha’s discourses, Buddha has stated that:
“Monks, those who have neglected the four bases of spiritual power have neglected the noble path leading to the complete destruction of suffering. Those who have undertaken the four bases for spiritual power have undertaken the noble path leading to the destruction of suffering” (5).
4. Five spiritual faculties: Pancha indriya
Faith or conviction (saddha)
Energy or effort (viriya)
Mindfulness (sati)
Concentration (samadhi) and
Wisdom (panna)
Of the two kinds of faith—blind faith (amulika saddha) and investigative faith (akarawathi saddha)—it is the investigative faith that is considered here as a spiritual faculty. Faith is essential for one to develop skilful mental qualities and engage in skilful activities like meditation to achieve spiritual progress. When one attains the first noble stage of Stream Entry, (Sotapanna), one will possess unshakable faith in the Triple Gem: Buddha – the Enlightened One; Dhamma – Buddha’s teachings; and Sangha – the community of Buddhist monks and nuns who have either attained final liberation or have entered the path of liberation.
Energy or effort is the persistence in avoiding unarisen unskilful mental qualities, abandoning arisen unskilful mental qualities, cultivating unarisen skilful mental qualities and maintaining arisen skilful mental qualities.
Mindfulness is attained by contemplating on the body just as the body, feelings just as feelings, mind just as the mind and mind objects just as mind objects.
In the faculty of concentration, by choosing an appropriate meditation object and focusing attention on that, one develops deep states of concentration called dhyana.
Through wisdom, one realises the suffering, cause of suffering, cessation of suffering and the path leading to the cessation of suffering (6).
Among the five spiritual faculties, the faculties of faith and wisdom are paired together while effort and concentration are paired together in a reciprocal relationship. There has to be a balance between faith and wisdom as well as between effort and concentration in order to facilitate spiritual progress. The faculty of mindfulness acts as the moderator to ensure that each pair maintains the correct balance without resorting to either extreme, which can adversely affect the spiritual development. If, for example, faith dominates over wisdom, the ability of analysis and investigation will weaken whereas should wisdom dominate over faith it will lead to doubt and uncertainty. Similarly, if effort or energy dominates over concentration it will cause restlessness and agitation whereas when concentration dominates over effort it will cause sloth and torpor.
5. Five spiritual powers: Pancha bala
Faith or conviction (saddha)
Energy or effort (viriya)
Mindfulness (sati)
Concentration (samadhi) and
Wisdom (panna)
As can be seen, the five spiritual faculties and the five spiritual powers are very similar in number and terminology. When the five spiritual faculties are developed and cultivated well they become firm, strong and powerful enough to oppose and control the factors that can oppose the five spiritual faculties. As powers, faith controls doubt, energy controls laziness, mindfulness controls heedlessness, concentration controls distraction and wisdom controls ignorance. When faith becomes a power, it manifests as the four immeasurables, or brahma vihara, namely loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. When energy and concentration become powers, they lead to deep states of concentration, or Jhana, and when wisdom becomes a power it leads to the insight into the three universal characteristics of impermanence: unsatisfactoriness (anicca); suffering (dukkha); and not self (anatta). Mindfulness becomes a power when one is able to develop mindfulness by contemplating on the body, feelings, mind and the mind objects (7).
6. Seven factors of enlightenment: Satta bojjhanga
Mindfulness (sati)
Investigation of dhammas (dhamma vicaya)
Energy or effort (viriya)
Rapture or joy (piti)
Tranquillity (passaddhi)
Concentration (samadhi) and
Equanimity (upekkha)
The Pali term bojjhanga, consisting of bodhi meaning ‘enlightenment’ and anga meaning ‘causative factors’, refers to the seven factors or necessary conditions which, when cultivated by a disciple, lead to awakening or enlightenment through the realisation of the Four Noble Truths. They have also been described as qualities of a noble person or an enlightened person. Beginning with the first factor of mindfulness, they tend to flow in a progression towards the last factor of equanimity with each factor’s development based on the preceding ones.
Mindfulness, the first factor of enlightenment, means non-judgemental awareness from moment to moment and is also the 7th factor of the Noble Eight-fold Path. It is developed by contemplating on the body, feelings, the mind and the mind objects.
The second factor of investigation refers to the quality of mind that critically discriminates and investigates into the nature of mind and matter or mental and physical phenomena. Through investigation, one gains an analytical knowledge of their true nature consisting of the three universal characteristics of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and absence of a self. Well-developed mindfulness helps the process of critical investigation into the phenomena as they arise.
The third factor of determined effort, energy, exertion, vigour or diligence is essential throughout the enlightenment process from beginning to end. With determined effort, one acts to prevent the development of mental defilements—sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and sceptical doubt—that have not yet arisen. Subsequently, effort is directed to abandon the unwholesome mental states that have already arisen by abandoning thoughts of sensual desire, hatred and cruelty. With determined effort, one also acts to cultivate unarisen wholesome mental states and to maintain the wholesome mental states that have already arisen. Here, the wholesome mental states are the seven factors of enlightenment. There are three stages of effort required to accomplish a particular task from beginning to completion: the effort required to begin a task (arambha dhatu viriya); sustained effort required to carry on with the task (nikkama dhatu viriya); and the effort required to continue till the completion of the task (parakkama dhatu viriya).
The fourth factor of rapture or joy is the non-sensual (niramisa) happiness and satisfaction felt in the mind as well as the lightness and the waves of bliss felt in the body. Five types or degrees of rapture have been described based on how strong and mature the mental development is: lesser rapture, momentary rapture, overwhelming rapture, uplifting rapture and pervasive rapture (8).
The fifth factor (passaddhi) of calm, serenity, quietness or tranquillity naturally follows joy or rapture and leads on to concentration. It is of two types: kaya passaddhi, meaning tranquillity of the mental qualities; and citta passaddhi, meaning tranquillity of the mind or consciousness. The mental qualities that are quietened in kaya passaddhhi are the aggregates of feeling (vedana); perception (sanna); and the mental formations (sankhara). When tranquillity develops, the opposite factors of restlessness and remorse (uddaccha kukkuccha) are controlled.
The sixth factor of concentration, which is calm one-pointedness of the mind focussed on a particular internal or external object, follows the factor of tranquillity while the other factors of faith, investigation, effort and joy are also conducive to the development of concentration. In concentration meditation (samatha bhavana), the main objective is to develop tranquillity and deep states of concentration (Jhana) by focusing attention exclusively on one of 40 meditation objects. There are three levels of concentration that one is able to attain in concentration meditation: preliminary concentration (parikamma samadhi); access concentration (upacara samadhi); and fixed concentration (appana samadhi). As the concentration becomes stronger and deeper, the five mental hindrances of sensual desire ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and sceptical doubt are gradually overcome. There has to be a proper balance between the factors of effort and concentration in order to facilitate the development of concentration as an enlightenment factor. There are certain necessary factors that one needs to consider before one begins concentration meditation: moral discipline, a suitable place for meditation, correct effort, determination, and a spiritual friend. The spiritual friend can help the meditator choose the right object for meditation and can also provide guidance and support.
The development of the seventh factor (upekkha) of equanimity or perfect neutrality is facilitated by the preceding six factors and is the mental quality of being non-reactive and neutral with a perfectly balanced mind in the face of experiences such as pleasure and pain. Someone with well-developed equanimity, such as an Arahat, will not react to worldly experiences such as gain and loss, fame and ill repute, praise and blame or pleasure and pain. Equanimity is the last of the four immeasurables (brahma vihara), the others being loving kindness, compassion and sympathetic joy. Equanimity is also a factor associated with Jhana or deep meditative stages in concentration meditation.
7. The Noble Eight-fold Path: Ariya atthangika magga
Right view (samma ditthi)
Right intention (samma sankappa)
Right speech (samma vaca)
Right action (samma kammanta)
Right livelihood (samma ajiva)
Right effort (samma vayama)
Right mindfulness (samma sati) and
Right concentration (samma samadhi)
From a practical standpoint, the eight factors above can be divided into three groups of practice:
Wisdom (panna) consisting of right view and right intention;
Morality(sila) consisting of right speech, right action and right livelihood; and
Concentration (samadhi) consisting of right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
The Noble Eight-fold Path is of two kinds: i) The initial mundane path when one begins to purify morality and develop concentration with some degree of insight; and ii) The supramundane path that develops with the right view and leads to final enlightenment.
Right view is of two types: mundane right view and supramundane right view. Mundane right view is having a correct understanding of the mechanism of volitional actions, or kamma, in which wholesome actions will lead to good results and unwholesome actions will lead to bad results. Supramundane right view is the correct understanding of the Four Noble Truths of suffering (dukkha), the cause of suffering (samudaya), cessation of suffering (nirodha) and the path leading to the cessation of suffering (magga).
Right intention or right thought evolves as a result of right view and leads to the development of morality or sila. It has three aspects—the intention of renunciation, intention of good will and intention of harmlessness—that are in opposition to the wrong intentions of greed, ill will and harmfulness.
Right speech has four aspects: abstinence from false speech; abstinence from slanderous speech; abstinence from harsh speech; and abstinence from idle chatter.
Right action has three aspects: abstinence from killing any living beings; abstinence from stealing; and abstinence from sexual misconduct.
Right livelihood is the avoidance of five particular trades: i) Trading in living beings; ii) Trading in arms and weapons; iii) Trading in alcohol and other intoxicants; iv) Trading in poisons; and v) Trading in meat.
Right effort provides necessary energy to develop the other seven factors, particularly the factor of right concentration that is necessary to develop right wisdom. It has four aspects: i) Effort to prevent the development of unwholesome mental states that have not arisen; ii) Effort to abandon unwholesome mental states that have arisen; iii) Effort to develop the wholesome mental states that have not arisen; and iv) Effort to maintain the wholesome mental states that have arisen.
Right mindfulness is to be developed through the four foundations of mindfulness: i) contemplation of the body; ii) contemplation of feelings; iii) contemplation of the mind; and iv) contemplation of the mind objects.
When developed properly, the other seven factors of the path from right view to right mindfulness become supportive and requisite conditions for the development of right concentration. Unlike the higher levels of concentration developed in other mundane situations in life, right concentration has to be wholesome and accompanied by the suppression of the mental hindrances. With proper development and progress, right concentration will lead to deep meditative absorption states, or Jhana, and attainment of insight and wisdom (9).
Although 37 requisites of enlightenment have been described in Buddhist teachings, in actuality there are only fourteen different requisites since five requisites seem to appear repeatedly in the seven groups of requisites while the remaining nine qualities appear only once. Examples of this are as follows:
The requisite of effort appears nine times as the four types of effort; as effort in the four bases of power; as effort in the five spiritual faculties and powers; as effort in the seven factors of enlightenment; and as right effort in the Noble Eight-fold Path.
The requisite of mindfulness appears eight times as the four foundations of mindfulness; as the factor of mindfulness in the five spiritual faculties and powers; as mindfulness in the seven factors of enlightenment; and as the right mindfulness in the Noble Eight-fold Path.
The requisite of wisdom appears five times as the factor of investigation in the four bases of mental power; as wisdom in the five spiritual faculties and powers; as investigation of dhammas in seven factors of enlightenment; and as right view in the Noble Eight-fold Path.
The requisite of concentration appears four times as concentration in the five spiritual faculties and powers; as concentration in the seven factors of enlightenment; and as the right concentration in the Noble Eight-fold Path.
The requisite of faith appears twice in the five spiritual faculties and powers (10).
Pre-requisites to requisites of enlightenment
In the Sambodhi sutta of the Anguttara Nikaya, the Buddha has enumerated the following nine qualities as pre-requisites for the development of the 37 requisites of enlightenment.
Having admirable friends, companions and comrades
Virtuous behaviour with restraint observing the training rules
Hearing of talk that is sobering and conducive to understanding. This would include talk on modesty, contentment, value of seclusion and quiet, non-entanglement, effort, morality, concentration, wisdom and knowledge of true vision and release from craving
Effort in abandoning unskilful mental qualities and developing skilful mental qualities
Has developed the wisdom of arising and passing away
Contemplation of the unattractive to abandon lust
Develop good will to abandon ill-will
Practise mindfulness of in and out breathing to remove distractive thinking
Develop the perception of impermanence to uproot the conceit “I am” (11)
These 37 requisites of enlightenment, also known as 37 limbs of awakening described under seven different groups, are believed to be the essence of the entirety of the Buddha’s teaching in relation to the final goal of attaining enlightenment, or the liberation from all suffering, and are recognised as such by both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions of Buddhism. According to Buddhist teachings, the final goal is the attainment of Nibbana that has been described as a supramundane state of the highest bliss and eternal happiness devoid of the sufferings of birth, disease, old age, death, grief, lamentation and despair. Nibbana is attained through the four noble stages of Stream Entry (Sotapanna), Once Returner (Sakadagami), Non Returner (Anagami) and Arahathood. Any Buddhist disciple aspiring to attain them must invariably develop these 37 factors of enlightenment.
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