Chapter 13 - Faculty-condition

The Pali word "indriya" means strength, governing or controlling principle. Indriyas are "leaders" for the associated dhammas, but they are leaders each in their own field. In the case of indriya-paccaya, faculty-condition, the conditioning dhamma (paccaya dhamma) has leadership, great control, over the conditioned dhammas (paccayupanna dhammas). Some indriyas are rupa and some are nama. We read in the Visuddhimagga (XVI, 1) that there are twenty-two indriyas. They are:

• The five senses which are the faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue and bodysense
• mind faculty
• femininity faculty
• masculinity faculty
• life faculty (one is rupa and one is nama)
• bodily pleasure faculty
• pain faculty
• pleasant feeling faculty
• unpleasant feeling faculty
• equanimity (indifferent feeling) faculty
• faith faculty
• energy faculty
• mindfulness faculty
• concentration faculty
• understanding faculty
• "I-shall-come-to-know-the-unknown" faculty (an-annatan-nassami't'indriya)
• higher knowledge faculty (annindriya)
• faculty of him who knows (annatavindriya)

Of these twenty-two faculties, twenty are faculty-condition and two, namely the femininity faculty and the masculinity faculty, are not faculty-condition as we will see.

The five sense-bases control the functions of the sense-cognitions (seeing, hearing, etc.), they condition these cittas by way of faculty-condition. They arise previously to the sense-cognitions and are still present while they control them, thus, they are base-prenascent faculties. Without the eye faculty there cannot be seeing, it conditions seeing-consciousness and its accompanying cetasikas by way of faculty-condition. The rupa (pasada-rupa) which is eyesense is the eye faculty; it is leader in its own field, in seeing. It cannot be leader in the field of hearing. We read in the "Patthana" (Faultless Triplet, VII, Investigation Chapter, §430) about the faculties which are the five senses, under the section indeterminate dhamma (avyakata, neither kusala nor akusala, including vipakacitta, kiriyacitta or rupa) that indeterminate dhamma which is rupa is related to another indeterminate dhamma which is vipakacitta by way of faculty-condition:

Eye-faculty is related to eye-consciousness by faculty-condition; ear-faculty to ear-consciousness... nose-faculty to nose-consciousness... tongue-faculty to tongue-consciousness... body-faculty is related to body-consciousness by faculty-condition.

The rupas which are the five senses are also physical bases or places of origin, vatthus; they condition the five pairs of sense-cognitions, the dvi-panca-vinnanas, also by dependence-condition, nissaya-paccaya^[1], and by prenascence-condition, purejata-paccaya^[2], since they have to arise previously to the citta for which they are the base. The faculties which are rupa are produced by kamma. The quality of these faculties is different for different people: some have keen eyesense, others have weak eyesense, and the same for the other faculties.

One may wonder why the rupas which are the five senses are faculties and why, for example, the four Great Elements on which the other rupas depend are not faculties. If there were no senses the four Great Elements could not even appear. Objects can only be experienced because there are faculties which condition the experience of objects by way of faculty-condition. If satipatthana is not developed we cannot really understand the functions of the faculties which are the five senses, we will have only theoretical understanding of the faculties. When there is no awareness of realities as they appear one at a time, we do not know when there is seeing and when there is hearing. Different experiences seem to occur at the same time. If there can be awareness of visible object, the reality which appears through the eyesense, we can begin to understand that visible object could not appear without eyesense; and thus the function of the eye faculty, the "leader" in the field of seeing, will be clearer.

Eyesense is different from earsense or bodysense. The senses do not belong to a self who could coordinate the different functions of seeing, hearing and the other experiences. We are inclined to confuse the different realities which appear at different moments; we may not be able to distinguish, for example, the characteristic of seeing from the characteristic of touching.

The "Book of Analysis" (Ch 5, Analysis of the Controlling Faculties, §220) reminds us that the faculties are non-self. We read:

Therein what is controlling faculty of eye? That eye which, derived from the four great essentials (the four great Elements)^[3], is sensitive surface... this is an empty village. This is called controlling faculty of eye.

The same is said of the other senses, they are all empty villages. The "Atthasalini" (II, Book II, Ch III, 309) explains "empty village":

"And this is an empty village", refers to its being common to many and to the absence of a possessor.

Just as an empty village is unoccupied, so the eye and the other senses have no possessor, they are anatta, non-self.

The five faculties which are the five senses (pasada rupas) are sense-doors as well as physical bases (vatthus). The heart-base (hadaya-vatthu) is the rupa which is the physical base for the cittas other than the sense-cognitions. One may wonder why the heart-base is not a faculty, indriya. Objects do not impinge on the heart-base, the heart-base is not a doorway through which objects are experienced; it is not a "leader", a controlling principle in the experiencing of objects. The heart-base is different from the mind-door. The mind-door through which objects are experienced is a citta, the last bhavanga-citta arising before the mind-door adverting-consciousness which is the first citta of the mind-door process^[4]. As regards the five faculties which are the senses, they control the strength or weakness of the cittas dependent on them. The eye faculty, for example, controls seeing; keen and bad eyesight are due to the quality of the eye faculty and it is the same with the other four sense faculties. The heart-base does not in this way control the cittas which are dependent on it since it is not a faculty^[5].

As regards mind faculty, manindriya, all eighty-nine types of citta are mind faculty. This faculty, unlike the five sense faculties, arises together with the realities it conditions by way of faculty-condition, indriya-paccaya. Citta is the "leader" in cognizing an object, in this field it rules over the associated dhammas. The accompanying cetasikas share the same object, but they do not cognize it in the same way as citta which is the leader. If there would be no citta, cetasikas could not arise; citta is the basis and foundation for the cetasikas. Citta conditions the accompanying cetasikas and also the rupa it produces by way of conascent faculty-condition. When we gesticulate or speak there are rupas conditioned by citta by way of faculty-condition; citta has controlling power over these rupas. However, mind faculty does not last, it falls away immediately. We should not, while we speak or gesticulate, take the citta which produces rupas for self. Neither should we take those rupas for self; they arise because of conditions and fall away again. The mind-faculty which is the patisandhi-citta arising at the moment of rebirth does not produce rupa but it conditions the kamma produced rupa by way of conascent faculty-condition^[6].

The rupas which are femininity faculty and masculinity faculty (itthindriya and purisindriya) have been classified as faculties, since they condition the characteristic marks, appearance and disposition of the sexes. However, they are not faculty-condition; they do not condition other phenomena by way of faculty-condition.

As to life faculty, jivitindriya, there are two kinds: nama-jivitindriya and rupa-jivitindriya. Nama-jivitindriya which is a cetasika, one of the seven "universals"^[7] arising with every citta, controls and maintains the life of the associated dhammas. It conditions the associated dhammas and the rupa produced by them by way of faculty-condition. As to rupa-jivitindriya, this is classified separately in the "Patthana"^[8]. It maintains the life of the kamma-produced rupas it has arisen together with in one group. It is related to them by way of faculty-condition. In the groups of rupa produced by kamma there is always jivitindriya, whereas in the groups of rupa produced by citta, temperature and nutrition there is no jivitindriya.

So long as there is life faculty, there will be feelings. The five kinds of feelings which are pleasant bodily feeling, painful bodily feeling, pleasant (mental) feeling, unpleasant (mental) feeling and indifferent feeling are faculties. We can experience that bodily pain is a faculty, a "leader" or controlling principle in its own field. It controls the experiencing of the "flavour" of an unpleasant object and it can make us suffer intensely. Even though we are in pleasant surroundings we cannot rejoice when we suffer pain. At such a moment we cannot experience anything else but pain. The faculties of pleasant bodily feeling, pleasant mental feeling, unpleasant (mental) feeling or indifferent feeling condition the dhammas arising together with them by way of conascent faculty-condition. We read in the Visuddhimagga (XVI, 10) about the functions of the faculties which are the five feelings:

... That of the faculties of pleasure, pain, joy and grief, is to govern conascent states and impart their own particular mode of grossness to those states. That of the equanimity faculty is to impart to them the mode of quiet, superiority and neutrality.

According to the Visuddhimagga (XVI, 128) pain makes the associated states "wither" and pleasant bodily feeling "intensifies" the associated states. When there is awareness of feelings we will understand that they "govern" or rule over dhammas arising together with them, that they are controlling faculties. As to indifferent feeling, this is quiet in comparison with the other feelings.

The three mental feelings condition the citta and other cetasikas arising together with them and also mind produced rupa by way of faculty-condition. Pleasant and painful bodily feeling accompany body-consciousness which is vipakacitta. As we have seen, the vipakacittas which are the five pairs of sense-cognitions (seeing, hearing, etc.) do not produce rupa. At rebirth, feeling conditions the associated dhammas and rupa produced by kamma by way of faculty-condition.

We attach great importance to feeling, we let ourselves be carried away by the feelings which arise on account of pleasant or unpleasant objects we experience through the senses. If there would not be feelings on account of what we see, hear or experience through the other senses, there would not be so much sorrow in life. We are enslaved to our feelings, but they are only realities which arise because of the appropriate conditions and do not last.

As we have seen, some of the faculties are rupa and some are nama. The faculties which are nama condition other phenomena while they are conascent with them. The faculties which are the five senses have to arise prior to the namas they condition by way of faculty-condition. Without the faculties there could not be the experience of the different objects which impinge on the senses. Without the eye faculty visible object could not appear and without the ear faculty sound could not appear. The "world" appears through the six doorways because there are the faculties performing their functions. So long as we do not distinguish the sense faculties from each other we cling to a concept of self who can see, hear and think, all at the same time. In reality there is only one citta at a time which experiences one object. Each experience arises because of its appropriate conditions and falls away immediately, it is non-self. The following sutta stresses the importance of understanding the faculties which are the senses and the mind. They have to be understood as impermanent, dukkha and anatta. If they are not understood as they are one cannot attain enlightenment. We read in the "Kindred Sayings" (V, Maha-vagga, Book IV, Kindred Sayings on the Faculties, Ch III, §6, Streamwinner):

Monks, there are these six sense-faculties. What are the six? The sense-faculty of eye, that of ear, of nose, tongue, body and the sense-faculty of mind. These are the six sense-faculties. When the ariyan disciple understands, as they really are, the arising and the perishing of, the satisfaction in, the misery of and the escape from these six sense-faculties, such an ariyan disciple, monks, is called "Streamwinner (sotapanna), one not doomed to Purgatory^[9], one assured, one bound for enlightenment."

Furthermore, there are five faculties which are: faith or confidence (saddha), energy (viriya), mindfulness (sati), concentration (samadhi) and understanding (panna). They control the accompanying dhammas and mind produced rupa, they condition them by way of faculty-condition. Among these five cetasikas energy and concentration can be akusala or sobhana, the other three are always sobhana. The five faculties are sometimes referred to as the "spiritual faculties" but in that case they are sobhana. They are included in the "factors of enlightenment" (bodhipakkiya dhammas) which should be developed for the attaining of enlightenment. The five "spiritual faculties" condition maha-kusala cittas, maha-vipakacittas and maha-kiriyacittas and also mind produced rupa by way of faculty-condition.

The five spiritual faculties are developed in samatha and then they lead to the attainment of jhana. When someone has accumulated skill in jhana, different stages of rupa-jhana and arupa-jhana can be attained. The five spiritual faculties condition the rupavacara cittas and arupavacara cittas by way of faculty-condition. They also condition rupa produced by these cittas. Arupavacara vipakacitta does not produce rupa since it arises in the arupa-brahma planes where there is no rupa.

The five spiritual faculties are also developed in vipassana. They overcome their opposites. Faith or confidence in wholesomeness overcomes lack of confidence. Wholesomeness cannot be developed when we do not see its benefit. We may believe that we see the disadvantage of anger, but in the different situations in daily life we are negligent. Before we realize it we have spoken angry words and at such moments we do not see the disadvantage of akusala, there is no confidence in kusala. There can be training in wholesomeness little by little, and then it can be accumulated so that there will be more conditions for its arising. Energy which is wholesome overcomes indolence. The "Book of Analysis" (Ch 5, 123, 124) states about the faculty of energy:

Therein what is controlling faculty of energy? That which is the arousing of mental energy, toiling, endeavour, aspiring, effort, zeal, perseverance, vigour, stability, unfaltering endeavour, not relinquishing wish, not relinquishing the task, firm hold of the task, energy, controlling faculty of energy, power of energy. This is called controlling faculty of energy.

There is no self who exerts energy, energy is a cetasika, a faculty, arising because of its appropriate conditions. Energy is "not relinquishing the task". When one develops insight energy is not relinquishing the task of being mindful of nama and rupa, not shrinking back from considering their characteristics over and over again. When there is the faculty of energy one does not lose courage even if one does not see much result. We cannot expect spectacular results immediately. The faculty of sati overcomes negligence of kusala, including negligence of developing right understanding of nama and rupa. Concentration overcomes distraction. In the development of insight it conditions the citta to focus on the reality appearing at the present moment. One should not force oneself to concentrate on any reality, because then there is bound to be clinging to a concept of self who concentrates. Concentration performs its function already while it arises together with right understanding. The faculty of panna overcomes ignorance of the four noble Truths. The five spiritual faculties have to be developed together so that the four noble Truths can be realized.

These faculties will not develop merely by having faith in one's teacher, one has to develop them oneself. We read in the "Kindred Sayings" (V, Book IV, Kindred Sayings on the Faculties, Ch V, §4, Eastern Gatehouse) that the Buddha, while he was staying at Savatthi, in Eastern Gatehouse, asked Sariputta:

"Do you believe, Sariputta, that the controlling faculty of faith... of energy... of mindfulness... of concentration... that the controlling faculty of insight, if cultivated and made much of, plunges into the Deathless, has the Deathless for its goal, the Deathless for its ending?"

The "Deathless" is nibbana. We read that Sariputta answered:

"In this matter, lord, I walk not by faith in the Exalted One, to wit: that the controlling faculty of faith... of energy... of mindfulness... of concentration... that the controlling faculty of insight, if cultivated and made much of, plunges into the Deathless, has the Deathless for its goal, the Deathless for its ending.

They, lord, who have not realized, not seen, not understood, not made sure of, not attained this fact by insight,-- such may well walk by faith in others (in believing) that the controlling faculty of faith... that of insight, if cultivated and made much of, may so end.

But, lord, they who have realized, seen, understood, made sure of, they who have attained this fact by insight,-- such are free from doubt, free from wavering, (in believing) that the controlling faculty of faith, of energy, of mindfulness, of concentration, of insight, if cultivated and made much of... will so end.

But I, lord, have realized it, I have seen, understood and made sure of it, I have attained it by insight, I am free from doubt about it, that the controlling faculty of faith, of energy, of mindfulness, of concentration, of insight, does plunge into the Deathless, has the Deathless for its goal, the Deathless for its ending."

We then read that the Buddha approved of Sariputta's words.

We read in the same section of the "Kindred Sayings" (§10, Faith) that the Buddha, while staying among the Angas at Market, asked Sariputta:

"Tell me, Sariputta, could an ariyan disciple who is utterly devoted to, who has perfect faith in the Tathagata,-- could an ariyan disciple have any doubt or wavering as to the Tathagata or the Tathagata's teaching?"

Sariputta said that the ariyan disciple who has perfect faith in the Tathagata could have no doubt as to the Tathagata or his teaching and that he develops the controlling faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and insight. We read that he said about the controlling faculty of insight:

"Again, lord, of a faithful ariyan disciple who is established in mindfulness, whose thought is tranquillized, this may be expected: he will fully understand `A world without end is the round of rebirth. No beginning can be seen of beings hindered by ignorance, bound by craving, who run on, who fare on through the round of rebirth. The utter passionless ceasing of ignorance, of this body of darkness, is this blissful state, this excellent state, to wit:- the calming down of all the activities, the giving up of all bases (for rebirth), the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbana.' His insight, lord, is the controlling faculty of insight.

Lord, that faithful ariyan disciple, thus striving and striving again, thus recollecting again and again, thus again and again composing his mind, thus clearly discerning again and again, gains utter confidence, when he considers: `As to those things which formerly I had only heard tell of, now I dwell having experienced them in my own person: now by insight have I pierced them through and see them plain.' Herein, lord, his confidence is the controlling faculty of confidence."

We then read that the Buddha approved of Sariputta's words.

When the five "spiritual faculties" are still weak we should realize that also in the past they were weak. That is the reason why there are not enough conditions for their arising at the present time. When we keep on listening to the Dhamma and considering what we heard the five "spiritual faculties" can develop. They lead to the experiencing of the "Deathless", of nibbana, but we do not know in which life that will happen. It is useless to have desire for the attainment of enlightenment, desire is counteractive to the development of understanding. We should only be intent on our task of this moment: developing more understanding of the reality which appears now.

There are three faculties which are lokuttara panna. They control the purity of understanding at the moment of enlightenment and they condition the accompanying dhammas by way of conascent faculty-condition. The first one is the faculty of "I-shall-come-to-know-the-unknown" and this is the lokuttara panna which accompanies the magga-citta (lokuttara kusala citta) of the sotapanna. The sotapanna comes to know what was not known before, nibbana. Lokuttara panna is conditioned by the sobhana cetasikas which have been accumulated from life to life. These cetasikas which are included in sankharakkhandha (the khandha of "formations", consisting of all cetasikas except feeling and remembrance, sanna) are supporting one another and together they constitute the conditions for attaining enlightenment. It is encouraging to know that all good qualities such as generosity, patience and kindness, all the "perfections"^[10] developed together with right understanding, are never lost. They have to be developed life after life and thus they can constitute the conditions for the realisation of the four noble Truths later on. When we think of the accumulation of wholesome qualities we may believe that there is a mere "heaping up" of wholesome inclinations, but there is more to it. Conditions are formed for a completely new situation, namely, the arising of the lokuttara magga-citta which eradicates defilements and experiences nibbana.

The "higher knowledge faculty" is lokuttara panna which accompanies the phala-citta (fruition consciousness, lokuttara vipakacitta) of the sotapanna, the magga-citta and the phala-citta of the sakadagami (once-returner who has realised the second stage of enlightenment), and those of the anagami (non-returner, who has realised the third stage of enlightenment), and also the magga-citta of the arahat. The "faculty of him who knows" arises with the phala-citta of the arahat. These three faculties which are lokuttara condition the lokuttara cittas and cetasikas they accompany by way of faculty-condition^[11]. When the third lokuttara faculty arises there is nothing more to be realized, all defilements have been eradicated.

When the characteristics of conditioned dhammas are not yet fully known nibbana cannot be realized. The "five spiritual faculties" have to be developed during countless lives so that eventually the three faculties which are lokuttara can arise.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See Ch 6.

[2]:

See Ch 9.

[3]:

The eyesense arises in a group of rupas which includes the four great Elements of solidity, cohesion, temperature and motion which are present in each group of rupas. All rupas other than the four great Elements are "derived rupas", upada-rupas and these are dependent on the four great Elements. There cannot be eyesense without solidity, cohesion, temperature and motion.

[4]:

See Appendix 1.

[5]:

See Guide to Conditional Relations I, Ch II, 16 b, Base-Prenascence-Faculty, by U Narada.

[6]:

The first citta in life, the patisandhi-citta, is too weak to produce rupa. At that moment kamma which produces the patisandhi-citta also produces rupas at the same time.

[7]:

The first citta in life, the patisandhi-citta, is too weak to produce rupa. At that moment kamma which produces the patisandhi-citta also produces rupas at the same time.

[8]:

The seven universals are the following cetasikas: contact (phassa), volition (cetana), vitality (jivita or jivitindriya), concentration (ekaggata cetasika) and attention (manasikara).

[9]:

This rupa has not been classified among the prenascent faculties, the sense bases, neither has it been classified among the conascent faculties. It does not control the dhammas it arises together with at the moment of its arising, but after that moment, at the "static phase". That is why it has been classified separately. When compared with nama, rupa lasts as long as seventeen moments of citta, or, when we take into consideration that there are three moments of citta: its arising moment, the moment of its presence and the moment of its falling away, rupa lasts as long as three times seventeen moments, fifty-one moments of citta. At its aring moment rupa is too weak to condition other realities. During the moments of its presence, before it falls away, rupa-jivitindriya conditions the dhammas it has arisen together with by way of faculty-condition.

[10]:

Hell, or hell planes. Existence in a hell plane is not eternal, therefore the translator uses "purgatory".

[11]:

The Bodhisatta developed the "perfections" during aeons, with the purpose of becoming a Buddha. They are the following wholesome qualities: liberality, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, lovingkindness and equanimity.

[12]:

Realities can be considered under different aspects and they can be a condition for other realities in different ways. As we will see, lokuttara panna is also a condition as Path factor. When lokuttara panna is considered under the aspect of faculty, as faculty-condition, there are three kinds.