In Buddhism, bodhipakkhiyā dhammā are qualities conducive or related to awakening. In the Pali commentaries, the term bodhipakkhiyā dhammā is used to refer to seven sets of such qualities regularly mentioned by the Buddha throughout the Pali Canon. Within these seven sets of Enlightenment qualities, there is a total of thirty-seven individual qualities. These seven sets of qualities are recognized by both Theravadan and Mahayanan Buddhists as complementary facets of the Buddhist Path to Enlightenment. A sutta found in The Senior Collection of Gandhāran Buddhist texts ascribes forty one instead of thirty seven beneficial dharmas. The Gandharan text includes rūpajhānas which the Pali tradition does not. Salomon notes this forty one numbered list appears in both a Chinese translation of the Dirghagama which current scholarship believes to be of the Dharmaguptaka school of Buddhism and a Chinese translation of the Dharmaguptaka vinaya.
Seven sets of thirty-seven qualities
In the Pali Canon's Bhāvanānuyutta sutta, the Buddha is recorded as saying: Elsewhere in the Canon, and in numerous places in the āgamas of other early schools, these seven sets of thirty-seven qualities conducive to Enlightenment are enumerated as:
In the Pali Canon's Nettipakaraṇa forty-three qualities connected with awakening are mentioned which, according to the commentaries, include the aforementioned thirty-seven plus the following 6 contemplations
The contemplation of the three marks of existence:
The technical term, bodhipakkhiyā dhammā, explicitly referring to the seven sets of qualities identified above, is first encountered in the Pali commentaries; nonetheless, the seven sets of bodhipakkhiya dhammas are themselves first collated, enumerated and referenced in the Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka.
Sutta Pitaka
In the Digha Nikāya's famed Maha-parinibbana Sutta, which recounts the Buddha's last days, in the Buddha's last address to his assembly of followers he states: In the Majjhima Nikāya's "Greater Discourse to Sakuludāyin", when asked why his disciples venerated him, the Buddha identified five qualities he possessed: highest virtues ; highest knowledge and vision ; highest wisdom ; his explanation of the Four Noble Truths ; and, his identification of numerous ways to develop wholesome states. The Buddha's elaboration of the last item included the seven sets of thirty-seven bodhipakkhiya dhammas which are enumerated individually in this discourse. In the Samyutta Nikaya, the fifth division's first seven chapters are each devoted to one of the bodhipakkhiya dhammas. While there is a great deal of repetition among these chapters' discourses, these seven chapters include almost 900 discourses. In the Anguttara Nikaya's "", the Buddha recommends five things for a monk to overcome spiritual hindrances: control mental faculties; eat the right amount of food; maintain wakefulness; be aware of merit; and, develop the bodhipakkhiya dhammas throughout the day. In the Khuddaka Nikāya, the bodhipakkhiya dhammas are mentioned at Iti. 82, Th. 900, and Nett. 31, 112, 197, 237, 240 and 261.
The bodhipakkhiyā dhammā are mentioned in several passages of the Abhidhamma, such as at Vbh. sections 571 and 584.
Commentaries
In the Visuddhimagga, Buddhaghosa enumerates the seven sets of bodhipakkhiya dhammas along with a relevant Sutta Pitaka discourse, describes each set, and describes their existence in the consciousness of an arahant. In addition, Buddhaghosa factors the 37 qualities in a manner so as to describe fourteen non-redundant qualities ; thus, for instance, while nine qualities are mentioned only once in the full list of 37 qualities, the other five qualities are mentioned multiple times. Table 1 below identifies the five qualities spanning multiple bodhipakkhiya-dhamma sets. In terms of other Pali commentaries, the bodhipakkhiyā dhammā are also mentioned in Dhammapada-Aṭṭhakathā, Suttanipāta-Aṭṭhakathā, and Jātaka-Aṭṭhakathā.
