The Buddha teaches on the five spiritual faculties regarding with the divinity sahampati, guiding mendicants in developing faith through wisdom on the path to liberation.

SN 48.57 With the Divinity Sahampati

Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā uruvelāyaṁ viharati najjā nerañjarāya tīre ajapālanigrodhe paṭhamābhisambuddho.

Atha kho bhagavato rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa evaṁ cetaso parivitakko udapādi: “pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni. Katamāni pañca? Saddhindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ. Vīriyindriyaṁ …pe… satindriyaṁ …pe… samādhindriyaṁ …pe… paññindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ. Imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānānī”ti.

Atha kho brahmā sahampati bhagavato cetasā cetoparivitakkamaññāyaseyyathāpi nāma balavā puriso samiñjitaṁ bāhaṁ pasāreyya, pasāritaṁ bāhaṁ samiñjeyya; evameva brahmaloke antarahito bhagavato purato pāturahosi. Atha kho brahmā sahampati ekaṁsaṁ uttarāsaṅgaṁ karitvā yena bhagavā tenañjaliṁ paṇāmetvā bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

“evametaṁ, bhagavā, evametaṁ sugata. Pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni. Katamāni pañca? Saddhindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ …pe… paññindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ. Imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni.

Bhūtapubbāhaṁ, bhante, kassape sammāsambuddhe brahmacariyaṁ acariṁ. Tatrapi maṁ evaṁ jānanti: ‘sahako bhikkhu, sahako bhikkhū’ti. So khvāhaṁ, bhante, imesaṁyeva pañcannaṁ indriyānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā kāmesu kāmacchandaṁ virājetvā kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ brahmalokaṁ upapanno. Tatrapi maṁ evaṁ jānanti: ‘brahmā sahampati, brahmā sahampatī’ti.

Evametaṁ, bhagavā, evametaṁ sugata. Ahametaṁ jānāmi, ahametaṁ passāmi yathā imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānānī”ti.

Sattamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Ekaṁ samayaṁ bhagavā uruvelāyaṁ viharati najjā nerañjarāya tīre ajapālanigrodhe paṭhamābhisambuddho.

At one time, when he was first awakened, the Buddha was staying in Uruvelā at the goatherd’s banyan tree on the bank of the Nerañjarā River.

Atha kho bhagavato rahogatassa paṭisallīnassa evaṁ cetaso parivitakko udapādi:

Then as he was in private retreat this thought came to his mind,

“pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni.

“When these five faculties are developed and cultivated they have freedom from death as their objective, destination, and culmination.

Katamāni pañca?

What five?

Saddhindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ.

The faculties of faith,

Vīriyindriyaṁ …pe…

energy,

satindriyaṁ …pe…

mindfulness,

samādhindriyaṁ …pe…

immersion,

paññindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ.

and wisdom.

Imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānānī”ti.

When these five faculties are developed and cultivated they have freedom from death as their objective, destination, and culmination.”

Atha kho brahmā sahampati bhagavato cetasā cetoparivitakkamaññāyaseyyathāpi nāma balavā puriso samiñjitaṁ bāhaṁ pasāreyya, pasāritaṁ bāhaṁ samiñjeyya; evameva brahmaloke antarahito bhagavato purato pāturahosi.

Then the divinity Sahampati knew the Buddha’s train of thought. As easily as a strong person would extend or contract their arm, he vanished from the realm of divinity and reappeared in front of the Buddha.

Atha kho brahmā sahampati ekaṁsaṁ uttarāsaṅgaṁ karitvā yena bhagavā tenañjaliṁ paṇāmetvā bhagavantaṁ etadavoca:

He arranged his robe over one shoulder, raised his cupped palms toward the Buddha, and said:

“evametaṁ, bhagavā, evametaṁ sugata.

“That’s so true, Blessed One! That’s so true, Holy One!

Pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni.

When these five faculties are developed and cultivated they have freedom from death as their objective, destination, and culmination.

Katamāni pañca?

What five?

Saddhindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ …pe… paññindriyaṁ bhāvitaṁ bahulīkataṁ amatogadhaṁ hoti amataparāyaṇaṁ amatapariyosānaṁ.

The faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom.

Imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānāni.

When these five faculties are developed and cultivated they have freedom from death as their objective, destination, and culmination.

Bhūtapubbāhaṁ, bhante, kassape sammāsambuddhe brahmacariyaṁ acariṁ.

Once upon a time, sir, I lived the spiritual life under the fully awakened Buddha Kassapa.

Tatrapi maṁ evaṁ jānanti:

There they knew me as

‘sahako bhikkhu, sahako bhikkhū’ti.

the mendicant Sahaka.

So khvāhaṁ, bhante, imesaṁyeva pañcannaṁ indriyānaṁ bhāvitattā bahulīkatattā kāmesu kāmacchandaṁ virājetvā kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ brahmalokaṁ upapanno.

Because of developing and cultivating these same five faculties I lost desire for sensual pleasures. When my body broke up, after death, I was reborn in a good place, in the realm of divinity.

Tatrapi maṁ evaṁ jānanti:

There they know me as

‘brahmā sahampati, brahmā sahampatī’ti.

the divinity Sahampati.

Evametaṁ, bhagavā, evametaṁ sugata.

That’s so true, Blessed One! That’s so true, Holy One!

Ahametaṁ jānāmi, ahametaṁ passāmi yathā imāni pañcindriyāni bhāvitāni bahulīkatāni amatogadhāni honti amataparāyaṇāni amatapariyosānānī”ti.

I know and see how when these five faculties are developed and cultivated they have freedom from death as their objective, destination, and culmination.”

Sattamaṁ.

Topics & Qualities:

Faith

Faith

Confidence in the Buddha's awakening and the efficacy of the path. It brightens and steadies the mind, removing doubt and inspiring energy toward wholesome practice. True faith rests on clarity and direct experience rather than mere belief.

Also known as: confidence, trust, belief, conviction, self-assurance
Pāli: saddha, pasanna
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Liberation

Liberation

Liberation can imply a temporary release of the mind, i.e. liberated from certain unwholesome mental qualities or complete liberation from all unwholesome qualities of the mind, i.e. Nibbāna.

Also known as: freedom, release, emancipation, deliverance
Pāli: vimutti, vimokkha, cetovimutti, paññāvimutti, akuppā cetovimutti
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Mindfulness

Mindfulness

Active presence of mind and lucid retention; the faculty that remembers the Dhamma, anchors attention to the chosen object or present experience, and guards the mind against unwholesome states.

Also known as: recollecting, remembering, keeping in mind, presence, awareness
Pāli: sati, anussati
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Spiritual life

Spiritual life

A life of celibacy, contemplation, and ethical discipline lived for the sake of liberation; oriented toward inner development rather than sensual pleasures

Also known as: abstinence, celibacy, chastity, holy life, sexual restraint
Pāli: brahmacariya
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Vigour

Vigour

Energetic effort and resilience in practice. It is the refusal to shrink back, the 'uphill' force that initiates and sustains wholesome actions against the gravity of habit.

Also known as: energy, effort, enthusiasm, zeal, application of will, persistence
Pāli: vīriya
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026