Reading guide
Five faculties, named without elaboration
“Pañcindriyāni” — “the five faculties” — covers faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom as one named group, presupposed rather than spelled out in this compressed discourse.
The same five, twice over
This discourse and the next (SN 43.9) name the identical five qualities under two different collective terms — indriya (faculty) and bala (power) — confirmed by reading both discourses directly rather than assumed; neither discourse itself explains why the tradition counts the same five twice under different names.
Key terms
pañcindriyāni — “the five faculties” — named here as one group, its own five members not individually listed
saddhindriyaṁ — “the faculty of faith” — the first of the five, presupposed rather than spelled out in this discourse's own text
paññindriyaṁ — “the faculty of wisdom” — the fifth and last, likewise presupposed here
asaṅkhatagāmimaggo — “the path that leads to the unconditioned” — the question this discourse opens directly on
aṭṭhamaṁ — “eighth” — this vagga's own internal count-marker, left untranslated in the root
The text
The complete discourse, as genuinely translated — this vagga's own compressed form. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“And what is the path that leads to the unconditioned? The five faculties. …”
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Self-check quiz
3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 3
What does this discourse name as "the path that leads to the unconditioned"?
Correct: A. Faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom — the five faculties, presupposed rather than individually spelled out here.
Question 2 of 3
What is notable about this discourse's own list compared to SN 43.9's?
Correct: A. Faculties here, powers next — the same five qualities counted twice under different collective names, unexplained by either discourse.
Question 3 of 3
Which faculty is named last in the conventional list of five?
Correct: A. Faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom — the conventional order, though not individually spelled out in this compressed discourse.