The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga) are traditionally defined as:
1.Mindfulness (sati)
2.Investigation (dhamma vicaya)
3.Energy (viriya)
4.Joy (pīti)
5.Tranquility (passaddhi)
6. Concentration (samadhi)
7.Equanimity (upekkha)
In the suttas the Buddha taught that the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga) were an important key factor in developing ones meditation.
Could you please explain briefly each of the factors and show how one arouses/practices them in ones meditation?
Hello Michel, the Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga) are key to understanding the path to liberation and enlightenment.
The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga) according to Jhananda:
1. Sati is not just mindful. It is also self-awareness and the practice of meditation; and it is the 7th fold of the Noble Eightfold Path.
2. Dhamma vicaya, is not just investigation. Dhamma means beliefs and philosophy; it really is unpacking our belief systems and philosophy, at the root of which is critical thinking.
3. Viriya is not just energy, it is also the raising of the kundalini, which is a charismatic phenomena of profound energy. It is virtue in English.
4. I prefer to translate pīti as bliss, because, while joy (sukha) is s component of the religious experience, bliss tends to take over the experience.
5. Passaddhi is not just tranquility. It is also the stilling of the mind.
6. Samadhi is not concentration at all, so you know anyone who translates samadhi thus has never had the experience. Samadhi is a religious experience, which is characterized by bliss, joy and ecstasy.
7. Upekkha equanimity is a deeper state of calm and stillness of the mind, which arises in the 3rd jhana.
One of the classic examples of how the Buddhist priesthood have completely corrupted the dhamma is none of them get that all Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga) come from jhana, or what we call in the West, the religious experience.
