Iddhipada | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

Iddhipāda (Pali; Skt. ddhipāda) is a compound term composed of "power" or "potency" (iddhi; ddhi) and "base," "basis" or "constituent" (pāda). In Buddhism, the "power" referred to by this compound term is a group of spiritual powers. Thus, this compound term is usually translated along the lines of "base of power" or "base of spiritual power." In the Buddhist pursuit of bodhi (awakening, understanding) and liberation, the associated spiritual powers are secondary to the four "base" mental qualities that achieve such powers. These four base mental qualities are: concentration on intention; concentration on effort; concentration on consciousness; and, concentration on investigation. These four base mental qualities are used to develop wholesome mental states and rid oneself of unwholesome mental states. In traditional Buddhist literature, this set of four mental qualities is one of the seven sets of qualities lauded by the Buddha as conducive to Enlightenment (bodhipakkhiyādhammā). In the Pali Canon, a major source of information on the iddhipāda is in the Samyutta Nikaya, ch. 51, entitled, "Connected Discourses on the Bases for Spiritual Power" (Iddhipāda-sayutta). In the "Neglected" discourse (Viraddha Sutta, SN 51.2), it states: "Bhikkhus, those who have neglected the four bases for 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." The four bases of such power are concentration (samādhi) due to: Intention or purpose or desire or zeal (chanda) Effort or energy or will (viriya) Consciousness or mind or thoughts (citta) Investigation or discrimination (vīmasā; Skt: mīmāṃsā) In most canonical discourses these four bases of power are developed in tandem with "volitional formations of striving" (padhāna-sakhāra). For instance, in the "Concentration due to Desire" discourse (Chandasamādhi Sutta, SN 51.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (3)

Buddhist paths to liberation

The Buddhist path (marga) to liberation, also referred to as awakening, is described in a wide variety of ways. The classical one is the Noble Eightfold Path, which is only one of several summaries presented in the Sutta Pitaka. A number of other paths to liberation exist within various Buddhist traditions and theology. Sutta Pitaka and Early Buddhist schools There are various expositions of the path to liberation in the Early Buddhist texts, the following examples are drawn from the Pali Nikayas.

Bodhipakkhiyādhammā

In Buddhism, the bodhipakkhiyā dhammā (Pali; variant spellings include bodhipakkhikā dhammā and bodhapakkhiyā dhammā; Skt.: bodhipakṣa dharma) are qualities (dhammā) conducive or related to (pakkhiya) awakening/understanding (bodhi), i.e. the factors and wholesome qualities which are developed when the mind is trained (bhavana). In the Pali commentaries, the term bodhipakkhiyā dhammā is used to refer to seven sets of such qualities regularly attributed to the Buddha throughout the Pali Canon.

Enlightenment in Buddhism

The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti. The abstract noun bodhi (ˈboʊdi; Sanskrit: बोधि; Pali: bodhi), means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakened intellect, of a Buddha. The verbal root budh- means "to awaken," and its literal meaning is closer to awakening. Although the term buddhi is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of Buddhism. Vimukti is the freedom from or release of the fetters and hindrances.