7 Factors of Awakening
‘Buddha’ means ‘the awakened one’. The seven factors help us in the process of awakening. They are also known as the seven inner treasures, qualities we already possess that can be cultivated in meditation and in daily life.
In this series of talks Vaddhaka explores each of the seven factors of awakening and how to cultivate them. In sequence they are mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquillity, unification, and equanimity.
Transcripts of the talks only.
Image by Aloka01 Introduction
Vaddhaka starts with Sangharakshita’s short account of the seven factors of awakening as a sequential or spiral conditional path. He then describes how the awakening factors can be used individually or in groups to create a balanced mind conducive to meditation and the gaining of insight.
02 Mindfulness (Sati): the first factor of awakening
What exactly is ‘mindfulness’? Vaddhaka bases his exploration of the first factor of mindfulness on a detailed examination of its component parts of ‘sati’, ‘sampajanna’, and ‘appamada’.
03 Investigation (Dhammavicaya): the second factor of awakening
Vaddhaka argues that ‘investigation’ or ‘dhammavicaya’ can be seen as an intensification of the process of mindfulness. With dhammavicaya we investigate how our mind works.
04 Energy (Viriya): the third factor of awakening
In this talk Vaddhaka explains how ‘Viriya’ means the energy of achievement, the effort, and the courage, and the power, to see spiritual activity and purpose through to its completion.
05 Joy (Piti): the fourth factor of awakening
As we act with more awareness of purpose and energy this can bring with it a sense of joy, of gladness, and of a deepening sense of calm contentment. And, as we shall see in this week’s and in next week’s talk, this deepening sense of calm contentment takes us into the next factor of awakening, tranquillity.
06 Tranquillity (Passaddhi): the fifth factor of awakening
Here Vaddhaka shows that the shift from piti (or joy) to passaddhi (or tranquillity) indicates an important dividing line in the practice of the seven factors of awakening.
07 Unification (Samadhi): the sixth factor of awakening
In this talk Vaddhaka engages in an extensive discussion of the meaning of ‘samadhi’ with contributions from Andrew Olendzki, Jaya Rudgard and Christina Feldman, Ratnaguna, and Sangharakshita.
08 Equanimity (Upekkha): the seventh factor of awakening
Here Vaddhaka looks at equanimity in the context of meditation and of the brahma viharas.
09 Some concluding thoughts on the seven factors of awakening
Vaddhaka finishes the series with a brief summary, and a few concluding thoughts born of the particular circumstances of the time of the talk. This was the war in Ukraine, and the very live issues raised by that war in Estonia where Vaddhaka was living when he gave this talk.