Five Spiritual Faculties
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor Rich Howard

The faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom are our constant helpers on the path of awakening. They operate as a spiral rather than a straight line, deepening and supporting each other as we progress. This evening we will begin  our exploration of these faculties. This evening will serve as good preparation for the bilingual daylong (with Andrea Castillo) on Saturday August 26, where we will explore and discuss the faculties in greater depth.

Several suttas that mention the five faculties are presented in Chapter X, Planes of Realization, of “In the Buddha’s Words.” Text X,4(2) on pages 406-407 (The Trainee and the Arahant; SN 48.53) is one example; Bhikkhu Bodhi’s brief introduction to this text is in the first full paragraph on page 381. However, the introduction and texts in this chapter discuss the five faculties in the context of stages on the path to awakening. This will not be the focus of our discussion.

A more useful text for our purpose of a general introduction to the Five Spiritual Faculties can be found in Thanissaro Bhikkhu’s translation of the Indriya-vibhanga Sutta (SN 48.10).

There is also a brief but useful essay by Bhikkhu Bodhi on the Five Spiritual Faculties.

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