4.2.5. Faculty of Wisdom (Paññindriya or Prajñā)

[Full title: The Five Faculties (pañcindriyani; Sanskrit: indriya)—Faculty of Wisdom (Paññindriya or Prajñā)]

The paññā is explained in the Āpaṇa Suttaof Saṃyutta Nikāya under the following:

It is indeed to be expected, Sāriputta that a faithful noble disciple whose energy is roused, and whose mindfulness is established, and whose mind is concentrated, will know [understand] thus:

‘Without a discoverable beginning is this samsara [cycle of existence]. Not discernible is a first point of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving. But the remainderless fading away and ending of ignorance, the mass of darkness—this is the peaceful state; this is the sublime state; that is, the stilling of all formations, the letting-go of all acquisitions, the destruction of craving, dispassion, cessation, nibbāana.’

That wisdom of his, Sāriputta, is his faculty of wisdom.^[1]

The reason why the preaching that “Bhikkhus…. These nine kinds of Supra mundane dhammas can be fulfilled only in the continuum of the person who has got wisdom (called vipassanā knowledge, the noble path-knowledge) but not in the continuum of the person who is lacking in wisdom (called vipassanā knowledge, the noble path-knowledge),” is that–bhikkhus…. Under this noble admonishment, the practicing bhikkhu has got wisdom (called vipassanā knowledge, the noble path-knowledge); he has fulfilled the wisdom (called vipassanā knowledge, the noble path-knowledge), which is capable of penetrative knowing and seeing on conditioned things called five clinging aggregates together with causal dhammas; which is capable of breaking down the bulk of greediness, bulk of hatred, bulk of delusion; which is capable of knowing and seeing on phenomena of arising and perishing away of those conditioned dhammas; which is the course leading to nibbāna which is extinguishing of suffering of round dhammas; which is pure and noble realization. That preaching in a way that “Bhikkhus…. These nine kinds of Supra mundane dhammas can be fulfilled only in the continuum of the person who has got wisdom (called vipassanā knowledge, the noble path-knowledge) but not in the continuum of the person who is lacking in wisdom (called vipassanā knowledge, the noble path-knowledge),” is worth preaching with regarding to these facts.^[2]

Wisdom is different from the other four faculties. In fact, it is the most important of the five faculties. Indeed, the Pubbārāma Sutta, the Buddha says this^[3] of the fruit of the spiritual faculties (phalindriya) with regards to the key role of wisdom:

Bhikkhus, it is because he has cultivated and developed the one faculty that a monk who hasdestroyed the cankers declare final knowledge thus [“I understand: Destroyed is birth. The holylife has been lived. What needs to be done has been done. There is no more of this state ofbeing.”]. What is that one faculty? The faculty of wisdom;

For a noble disciple who has wisdom,

the faith that follows from it becomes stable [is established];
the effort that follows from it becomes stable;
the mindfulness that follows from it becomes stable;
the concentration that follows from it becomes stable.^[4]

Paññā is wisdom, or knowing things as they really are. It is here called a faculty because it exercises predominance in comprehending things as they really are. In the Abhidhamma, the three terms “wisdom” (paññā), “knowledge” (ñāṇa), and “non-delusion” (amoha) are interchangeable, that is, they are treated as synonyms. Wisdom has the characteristic of penetrating things according to their intrinsic nature (yathāsabhāvapa ṭivedha). Its function is to illuminate the objective field like a lamp. It is manifested as non-bewilderment. Its proximate cause is wise attention (yoniso manasikāra).

The faculty of wisdom dispels confusion and haziness. The faculties of faith, energy and mindfulness, which precede those of concentration and wisdom, are like those who raise a king to kingship. They raise the latter two faculties until the topmost excellence is attained.

After the setting up of body contemplation and the attainment of mastery over one’s mind, if the samatha road is taken, the faculty of concentration becomes the eight meditative attainments (samāpatti or jhāna), while the faculty of wisdom becomes the five higher spiritual knowledges (abhiññā), such as the supernormal powers etc. If the vipassanā road be taken, the faculty of concentration becomes the voidness concentration (suññatā-samādhi), conditionless concentration (animitta-samādhi), or desireless concentration (appaṇihita-samādhi), while the faculty of wisdom becomes the five purifications (visuddhi) pertainning to wisdom, the knowledge of the three contemplations (anupassanā-ñāṇa), the ten insight knowledges (vipassanā-ñāṇa), the knowledges pertaining to the four paths and the four fruitions and the nineteen of reviewing (paccavekkhaṇa-ñāṇa).

Kattha paññiṅdriyaṃ daṭṭhabbaṃ? Catūsu ariyasaccesu ettha paññindri-yaṃ daṭṭhabbaṃ.

Where should one look for the faculty of wisdom? One should look for it in the four noble truths.

Among persons who encounter a Buddha-sāsana, knowledge of the four noble truths is of supreme value. Only when this knowledge is acquired can they obtain release from the realm of sakkāya-diṭṭhi, and that of the duccaritas, and from the āpaya saṃsāra. Hence, in order to acquire a knowledge of the Four Noble Truths, they should at least attempt to obtain insight into the six dhātus (or basic constituent elements) of paṭhavī, āpo, tejo, vāyo, ākāsa and viññāṇa, or insight into their fleeting and unstable nature—how they do not last for more than the twinkling of an eye at a time (so to say) and how they are continually being destroyed. They should attain to such insight through such methods of practice as studying, memorizing, reciting, reflecting, listening, discussing, questioning, practicing insight exercises, and contemplating. If a clear insight is obtained into these six elements, there is no necessity for special practice with regard to the remaining dhammas. If the nature of anicca, (impermanence) can be clearly realized, the realization of anattā (impersonality) follows as a matter of course.^[5]

Saddhindriyaṃ bhāveti, viriyindriyaṃ bhāveti, satindriyaṃ bhāveti, samādhindriyaṃ bhāveti, paññindriyaṃ bhāveti.^[6]

The meaning of this Pāli passage uttered by the Buddha is that the five indriyas (mental faculties) should be practised and developed in order to facilitate the great work of samatha and vipassanā.

A person who has not developed these five indriyas is like a country without a ruler or king. It is like the forests and mountains inhabited by wild tribes where no administration exists. In a rulerless country there is no law. There the people are unrestrained. Like animals, the strong prey on the weak. In the same way, the mind of a person who has not developed the five indriyas is distracted and runs riot with defilements. Just as a person possessed by evil spirits cannot bear to hear the sound of such recitations as “iti pi so” or “hetupaccayo,” when persons without developed indriyas hear talk connected with the cause of contentment (paccaya-santosa) or with the practice of mental development (bhāvanārambha), they quickly discover antagonistic criticisms. In them, the desire to exert themselves in the work of samatha and vipassanā never arises.

On the other hand, a person who develops the five indriyas resembles a country ruled by a just and lawful king. It resembles the towns and hamlets of the majjhimadesa (central region) where governmental administration exists. Such a person is not disturbed by the variegated theories of various persons. He is confirmed in the sole way of the Buddha’s teachings. When such a person hears talk connected with the cause of contentment, or the practice of mental development, his mind is clear and cool. He is confirmed in the desire to exert himself in the work of samatha and vipassanā.

In this way, the arising of the two kinds of desires in this world is not the work of beings or individuals, but depends on the existence or otherwise of development of the five indriyas. If there is no development of the indriyas, one kind of desire arises. If there is development of the indriyas, that desire disappears and a new kind of desire invariably appears. The more the development of the indriyas proceeds, the more does this new desire increase and gather strength. When all the five indriyas are set up, the desire for the paths and the fruits will immediately appear. Thus must beings develop the five indriyas in order to raise them from their ordinary level (pakati-saddhā, etc.) to the great heights of their developed (or meditative) plane (bhāvanā-saddhā, etc.).

In the practice of the dhamma each of these faculties has simultaneously to perform its own specific function and to harmonize with the other faculties to establish the balance needed for clear comprehension. The five come to fullest maturity in the contemplative development of insight, the direct road to awakening. In this process the faculty of faith provides the element of inspiration and aspiration which steers the mind away from the quagmire of doubt and settles it with serene trust in the Triple Gem as the supreme basis of deliverance. The faculty of energy kindles the fire of sustained endeavor that burns up obstructions and brings to maturity the factors that ripen in awakening. The faculty of mindfulness contributes clear awareness, the antidote to carelessness and the prerequisite of penetration. The faculty of concentration holds the beam of attention steadily focused on the rise and fall of bodily and mental events, calm and composed. And the faculty of wisdom, which the Buddha calls the crowning virtue among all the requisites of enlightenment, drives away the darkness of ignorance and lights up the true characteristics of phenomena.

Just as much as the five faculties, considered individually, each perform their own unique tasks in their respective domains, as a group they accomplish the collective task of establishing inner balance and harmony. To achieve this balanced striving the faculties are divided into two pairs in each of which each member must counter the undesirable tendency inherent in the other, thus enabling it to actualize its fullest potential. The faculties of faith and wisdom form one pair, aimed at balancing the capacities for devotion and comprehension; the faculties of energy and concentration form a second pair aimed at balancing the capacities for active exertion and calm recollection. Above the complementary pairs stands the faculty of mindfulness, which protects the mind from extremes and ensures that the members of each pair hold one another in a mutually restraining, mutually enriching tension.

Born of humble origins in everyday functions of the mind, through the Dhamma the five faculties acquire a transcendent destiny. When they are developed and regularly cultivated, says the master, "they lead to the deathless, are bound for the deathless, culminate in the deathless."

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

SN 48.50/V, p. 225

[2]:

AN III, p. 67

[3]:

SN 48.45

[4]:

SN 48.45/V, p. 222

[5]:

Udāna, Meghiya Vagga, Sutta 1

[6]:

SN, Indriya Saṃyutta, Vagga 6, sutta 8