SN 48.22

Jīvitindriya sutta: The Life Faculty

Jīvitindriyasutta

Chaḷindriyavagga

Three faculties: femininity, masculinity, and vitality.

Vertalingen

“Mendicants, there are these three faculties. What three? The faculties of femininity, masculinity, and life. These are the three faculties.”

Here begins a series on faculties other than the main five. The sequence of topics is not clear, and the collection may be disorganized.

The faculty of femininity is described as “feminine moves, feminine appearance, feminine ways, feminine desires, feminine voice, and feminine adornment”, which may be observed and desired in oneself or another (AN 7.51:2.2). It is thus the expression of femininity, the performance of it, and perhaps the potential for such performance, rather than biological sex. The faculty of masculinity is the opposite. That these are “faculties” suggests that everyone has the potential for both. The faculty of life is the life force (SN 47.9:2.5), which, when cut off, means death (DN 22:18.10, MN 9:22.5, Bu Pj 3:3.10). It has both material and mental aspects (Vb 5:11.1).

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Bhikkhu Sujato · CC0

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