Faculties (CloudMonk.io)

According to the Abhidharma teachings, all physical and mental faculties (Skt. indriya; Tib. དབང་པོ་, wangpo, Wyl. dbang po) are encompassed by a list of twenty-two faculties.List based on Mipham Rinpoche’s Khenjuk, Gateway to Knowledge, vol. I (Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1984 & 1997), page 67 & Philippe Cornu's article facultés, in Dictionnaire encyclopédique du bouddhisme, nouvelle édition augmentée (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 2006), page 218.

1-6) The six sense faculties


These six control the apprehending of their individual objects. They are:
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7) Life faculty


The life faculty (Skt. jīvitendriya) controls the remaining in a similar class of sentient beings.

8-9) The male and female faculties


The
*male sexual faculty (Skt. puruṣendriya) and
*female sexual faculty (Skt. strīndriya)
form the respective physical supports for being male or female, are the basis for sexual pleasure, and control the unbroken continuity of births from a womb.

10-14) The five faculties of sensations


The five faculties of sensations control the experiences of the fully ripened results of karma. They are:
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15-19) The five faculties that control mundane virtues


These faculties control the mundane virtues or the purity of detachment. They are:
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20-22) The three pure faculties that control supramundane virtues


The three pure faculties that control supramundane virtues of noble beings are:
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Other Divisions


*The first five sense faculties (1-5) and the male and female faculties (8-9) are form faculties.
*Mental faculty is main mind.
*The five faculties of sensations (10-14) and the five faculties that control mundane virtues (15-19) are mental states.
*Life faculty (7) is a formation that belongs neither to mind nor form.
*The three pure faculties that control supramundane virtues (20-22) belong to mind and mental states.

References




Further Reading


*Mipham Rinpoche, Gateway to Knowledge, vol. I (Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 1984 & 1997), Ch. 6 'The Faculties, Indriya'

Internal Links


*Twelve ayatanas

Category: Abhidharma
Category: Enumerations
Category: 20s-Twenties