Last month, I wrote about contemplation of the five hindrances.
Overcoming these defiled states of mind leads to purification of your conduct in its mental, verbal, and physical dimensions. With such solid foundation established, you are ready for the next step in your practice — mindfulness of the seven awakening factors.
“Cultivation of the seven awakening factors has as its starting point their sequential build-up, starting from mindfulness [sati] and culminating in equipoise [upekkha],” Bhikkhu Analayo writes in his book Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide. Then he adds, “Upekkha stands for superb balance of the mind.” The seven awakening factors are:
mindfulness
[investigation]
energy
joy
tranquility
concentration
equipoise
Analayo starts with the instruction for the first awakening factor as described in an ancient Buddhist sutra:
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If [mindfulness] is present within, one knows, “[mindfulness] is present within me;” or if [mindfulness] is not present within, one knows, “[mindfulness] is not present within me;” and one knows how unarisen [mindfulness] arises, and one knows how arisen [mindfulness] is perfected by development.
Then he notes that “this type of instruction applies to all seven awakening factors” and then adds:
Comparable to the two-stage procedure in contemplation of the hindrances, the present exercise also seems to involve two stages: the first stage requires recognition of the presence or absence of an awakening factor; the second stage then concerns exploring conditionality. This takes place by turning awareness to the conditions that lead to the arising of an awakening factor and those that will further strengthen it.
He continues by suggesting that the first stage of recognizing the awakening factors should be “based on the experience of joy due to the absence of the hindrances experienced with the previous contemplation:”
Such wholesome joy has manifested as a result of having become established in [1] mindfulness as the all-important foundation, and then having investigated the mind to check for the presence or absence of the five hindrances. This [2] investigation has been carried out with sufficient [3] energy to make sure the hindrances have indeed gone into abeyance. The [4] joy that has arisen at such times naturally leads on to [5] tranquility, [6] concentration, and [7] equipoise.
Analayo writes that the basic “tone” that accompanies the whole practice is mindfulness, which is “always required.” Then he adds:
The remaining six awakening factors fall into two ensembles with three members each. [Investigation], energy, and joy make up the members of the first ensemble, which serves to energize the practice. Tranquility, concentration, and equipoise make up the member of the second ensemble, which serves to bring calmness to the practice. … [T]he concert pitch of these two ensembles could be summarized under the headings of “joyfully sustained interest” and “calmly composed balance.”
He concludes:
An important implication of the very presence of these seven awakening factors in our own mind is that it testifies to our capacity to awaken. However weak these awakening factors may be at present, through sustained cultivation they can be made to grow and become stronger. This in a way serves as a complement to our insight that body, feeling, and mind are empty, that they are not something we can truly own. At the same time, we do own something rather precious: the potential to awaken.
How to Practice Mindfulness of the Seven Awakening Factors
Mindfulness of the seven awakening factors depends on the gradual build-up of all previous satipatthanas. Once you’ve mastered them, use this guided meditation by Bhikkhu Analayo, courtesy of Windhorse Publications:
In Buddhism, mindfulness of the seven awakening factors is a part of Satipatthana Meditation that leads to Nirvana and is preceded by mindfulness of the five hindrances, mindfulness of mental states, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of death, mindfulness of the four elements, mindfulness of anatomical parts, mindfulness of bodily activities, and mindfulness of bodily postures. Complement with our article on the four sublime states of mind.
About the book’s author: Ven. Bhikkhu Analayo was born in 1962 in Germany, was ordained in 1995 in Sri Lanka, and completed his PhD on satipatthana at the University of Peradeniya in 2000. At present, he is mainly engaged in the practice of meditation, and among other things contributes to the Encyclopaedia of Buddhism. He has authored several books on Buddhist practice, including Satipatthana and Compassion and Emptiness in Early Buddhist Meditation.
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Editor’s note: This article was updated with guided meditation by Bhikkhu Analayo.
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