The Five Spiritual Faculties

This is a series of talks by Gil Fronsdal on the Five Spiritual Faculties (Indriya). The Buddha was very pragmatic. He didn't philosophize about "the nature of reality"; he gave us simple, basic guidelines about how we can manage the challenges and difficulties of life. The Buddha started with the basic human condition: we often suffer. Suffering can take many forms: anxiety, tension, stress, grief, fear, or dissatisfaction, to name a few. He emphasized that suffering is workable, that we can engage with our suffering in such a way as to be freed from it. He described five faculties that we need to develop to do so: confidence (faith), effort, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment (wisdom). These five qualities are present in varying degrees in almost every activity. They are useful in developing any skill, be it playing a musical instrument, training in a sport, or cultivating a meditative mind. The Buddha recognized these universal human capacities and taught us how to use them to develop the craft of meditation.

Recordings:

Title Speaker Date Length Length/
Date
Actions
Faith - Saddhā Gil Fronsdal 2020.03.16 1:25:57 1:25:57
2020.03.16
Effort - Viriya Gil Fronsdal 2020.03.23 1:26:04 1:26:04
2020.03.23
Mindfulness - Sati Gil Fronsdal 2020.03.30 1:29:07 1:29:07
2020.03.30
Concentration - Samadhi Gil Fronsdal 2020.04.06 3:50:14 3:50:14
2020.04.06
Wisdom - Paññā Gil Fronsdal 2020.04.13 1:08:29 1:08:29
2020.04.13
Faith / Confidence Gil Fronsdal 2004.05.10 43:13 43:13
2004.05.10
Effort Gil Fronsdal 2004.05.17 38:08 38:08
2004.05.17
Mindfulness Gil Fronsdal 2004.05.24 41:08 41:08
2004.05.24
Concentration Gil Fronsdal 2004.06.14 45:31 45:31
2004.06.14
Wisdom / Discernment Gil Fronsdal 2004.06.21 42:56 42:56
2004.06.21

Appears in Series:

Title Speaker Date Length Length/
Date
Actions
Deepening Practice Gil Fronsdal 2007.01.14 65:08:29 65:08:29
2007.01.14
Deepening Practice Gil Fronsdal 2007.01.14 65:08:29 65:08:29
2007.01.14
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