indriyā

neuter

A. On term

Indriya is one of the most comprehensive & important categories of Buddhist psychological philosophy & ethics meaning “controlling principle, directive force, élan, δύναμις” in the foll. applications:

1. with reference to sense-perceptibility “faculty, function”, often wrongly interpreted as “organ”.
2. w. ref. to objective aspects of form and matter “kind, characteristic, determinating principle, sign mark” (cp. woman-hood, hood = Goth. haidus “kind form”).
3. w. ref. to moods of sensation and
4. to moral powers or motives controlling action, “principle, controlling” force.
5. w. ref. to cognition & insight “category”. Definitions of indriya among others at Dhs-a.119; cp Expositor 157; Dhs trsl. lvii; Cpd. 228, 229.

B. Classifications and groups of indriyāni.

An exhaustive list comprises the indriyāni enumerated under A a-e, thus establishing a canonical scheme of 22 Controlling Powers (bāvīsati indriyāni), running thus at Vb.122 sq. (see trsl. at Cpd. 175, 176); and discussed in detail at Vism.491 sq

1. sensorial
   1. cakkh-undriya (“the eye which is a power”, Cpd. 228) the eye or (personal potentiality of vision,
   2. sot-indriya the ear or hearing,
   3. ghān˚; nose or smell,
   4. jivh˚; tongue or taste,
   5. kāy˚; body-sensibility,
   6. man˚; mind.
2. material
   1. itth˚; female sex or femininity,
   2. puris˚; male sex or masculinity
   3. jīvit˚; life or vitality.
3. sensational
   1. sukh˚ pleasure,
   2. dukkh˚; pain,
   3. somanasa˚; joy,
   4. domanass˚; grief,
   5. upekh˚; hedonic indifference
4. moral
   1. saddh˚; faith,
   2. viriy˚; energy,
   3. sat˚ mindfulness,
   4. samādh˚; concentration,
   5. paññ˚ reason.
5. cognitional
   1. anaññāta-ñassāmīt˚; the thought “I shall come to know the unknown”,
   2. aññ˚ (= aññā) gnosis,
   3. aññātā-v˚; one who knows

■ Jīvitindriya (no. 9) is in some redactions placed before itth (no. 7), e.g. at Pts.i.7, Pts.i.137

■ From this list are detached several groups, mentioned frequently and in various connections no. 6 manas (mano, man-indriya) wavering in its function, being either included under a or (more frequently) omitted, so that the first set a is marked off as pañc’ indriyāni, the 6^th being silently included (see below). This uncertainty regarding manas deserves to be noted. The foll. groups may be mentioned here viz 19 (nos. 1–⁠19) at Pts.i.137; Pts.i.10 (pañca rūpīni; pañca arūpīni) at Ne.69; three groups of five (nos 1, 5, 10, 14, 15, 19) at DN.iii.239, cp. DN.iii.278; four (group d without paññā, i.e. nos. 15, 18) at AN.ii.141; three (saddh˚, samādh˚, paññ˚, i.e. nos. 15, 18, 19) at AN.i.118 sq. Under aṭṭhavidhaṃ indriya-rūpaṃ (