A bare list of three faculties, named without further elaboration
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★★☆ — begins to illuminate the discrepancy flagged at SN 48.21: this vagga surveys OTHER categories of “indriya” beyond the five spiritual faculties, not a sixth spiritual one
Why this discourse
This discourse names three faculties entirely different from the five spiritual faculties (faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, wisdom) this saṃyutta has treated throughout: the faculties of femininity, masculinity, and life — beginning to illuminate, though not fully resolve, the discrepancy this project's own SN 48.21 honestly flagged between the vagga's name and its first discourse's content.
Reading guide
The vagga's own name, now partly illuminated
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse introduces an entirely different set of “indriya” than the five spiritual faculties met so far — suggesting Chaḷindriyavagga does not simply add a sixth SPIRITUAL faculty to the standard five, but instead surveys several distinct CATEGORIES the word “indriya” covers in the canon. This project's own SN 48.21 declined to guess at a resolution; this discourse is the first evidence toward one, though the vagga's own remaining discourses have not yet been read.
Three faculties, bare-named without elaboration
Confirmed by direct reading, this is among the shortest discourses this project has translated in this saṃyutta: a bare list of three faculties — femininity, masculinity, and life (itthindriya, purisindriya, jīvitindriya) — with no further definition, simile, or discussion offered in this discourse's own text.
A broader canonical scheme, offered as background only
As general canonical background — NOT a claim about what this specific discourse's own text says — the Abhidhamma tradition catalogues twenty-two indriyas in total, grouping the six sense faculties, these three (femininity, masculinity, life), five feeling faculties, the five spiritual faculties named throughout this saṃyutta, and three supramundane faculties tied to the stages of awakening. This discourse's own three faculties are one piece of that larger scheme.
Key terms
Chaḷindriyavagga — “the vagga of the six faculties” — now beginning to read as a survey of several DIFFERENT indriya categories, not a sixth spiritual one
itthindriyaṁ — “the faculty of femininity” — the first of the three faculties named here
purisindriyaṁ — “the faculty of masculinity” — the second
jīvitindriyaṁ — “the faculty of life” — the third, giving this discourse its own title
Dutiyaṁ — “the second” — the closing colophon marker, confirming this as the vagga's second discourse
The text
The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, there are these three faculties. What three? The faculties of femininity, masculinity, and life. These are the three 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 three faculties does this discourse name?
Correct: A. An entirely different category of "indriya" than the five spiritual faculties met so far.
Question 2 of 3
How does this discourse relate to the discrepancy flagged at SN 48.21?
Correct: A. Evidence toward a resolution, though not yet the vagga's own full picture.
Question 3 of 3
How much elaboration does this discourse give for its three faculties?
Correct: A. One of the shortest discourses in this saṃyutta so far.
