Template:Bodhipakkhiyadhamma/doc

Template:Bodhipakkhiya lists the seven sets of bodhipakkhiyādhammā (Pali for "states conducive to enlightenment") common to many Buddhist schools (cf. Basic Points Unifying the Theravāda and the Mahāyāna). These seven sets are:

1. Four Frames of Reference (satipaṭṭhāna)
2. Four Right Efforts (sammappadhana)
3. Four bases of power (iddhipada)
4. Five Faculties (indriya)
5. Five Powers (bala)
6. Seven Factors of Enlightenment (bojjhanga)
7. Noble Eightfold Path (ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo)

These sets are traditionally listed in this particular ascending order (e.g., in the Visuddhimagga) however this order is not meant to represent any type of progression. See the WP article, Bodhipakkhiyadhamma, for more information.

Usage

This template can be invoked as follows:

{{Bodhipakkhiyadhamma}} — transcludes the template as a right-hand sidebar as shown here.

{{Bodhipakkhiyadhamma|float=left}} — transcludes the template as a left-hand sidebar.

WP source

The main Wikipedia article and set of related citations for this template's content is Bodhipakkhiyādhammā. Questions about the reliability or accuracy of this template's concepts should be addressed on that article's talk page.

Questions about this template's organization, word choices, fonts or color scheme should be addressed on this template's talk page.

Wording

This template is a navigation sidebar related to the 37 bodhipakkhiyādhammā, discussed in this template's linked WP articles. Since the Pali compound term bodhi-pakkhiyā-dhammā would likely be off-putting to most English-speaking WP readers, a compact English translation for this term was decided upon. The current wording, "Dhammā of Enlightenment," was decided upon after considering the following important translations:

• "parts of enlightenment," from the Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary (Rhys Davids & Stede, 1921-25), p. 381, entry for "Pakkhiya" (retrieved 2008-02-07 from the University of Chicago at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.2:1:795.pali).
• "requisites of enlightenment," found in Bhikkhu Bodhi's article on Dana (Buddhist Publication Society Wheel No. 367/369, 1990) (retrieved 2008-02-07 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/various/wheel367.html )
• "states conducive to enlightenment," found in Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation of the Samyutta Nikaya (Wisdom Pubs, 2000), p. 1695, SN 48.51 Sālā Sutta.
• "Factors of Enlightenment," found in U Ba Khin's "The Essentials of Buddha Dhamma in Meditative Practice" (Buddhist Publication Society Wheel No. 231, 1981) (retrieved 2008-02-07 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khin/wheel231.html)
• "Wings to Awakening," found in Thanissaro Bhikkhu's "Wings to Awakening: An Anthology from the Pali Canon" (1996) (retrieved 2008-02-07 from "Access to Insight" at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/wings/index.html)

Based on these prior translations, it was assessed that translations for dhammā varied greatly and could be problemmatic, that pakkhiya was often translated as "of" for simplicity (versus, e.g., "conducive to"), and that bodhi is generally translated as "enlightenment." Thus, given that the word dhamma (Pali, associated with Sanskrit's "dharma") has some English currency, this word was left untranslated here and the remaining words were translated as "of Enlightenment." (Also note that dhammā, with a macron over the final "a," is the nominative plural of dhamma.)

In regards to word choices outside of the header:

• for the sake of user comprehension, English was preferred over Pali
• for the sake of template condenseness, brief terms were preferred over longer ones (e.g., "Efforts" vs. "Exertions," and "Bases" over "Bases of Spiritual Powers")

The one obvious exception to this is the term satipaṭṭhāna (Pali) which was chosen over English equivalents due to:

• problems in translating this properly (e.g., is it sati-paṭṭhāna or sati-upaṭṭhāna? See Satipatthana and Satipatthana Sutta for related translation issues); and,
• this term being likely familiar (perhaps without diacriticals) to most people with a basic education regarding Buddhism.

Grouping of sets

Besides being a simple intra-WP navigational toolbar, this template attempts to group the sets of bodhipakkhiyadhamma in meaningful, memorable ways. Thus, from a numerically cohesive standpoint, the three groups of 4 qualities are collected in a pyramid while the two groups of 5 are in a single row. It is hoped that one can readily recall the visual pattern represented here when in the future one might desire to recall the 37 bodhipakkhiyadhamma (or at least the seven-related sets) from memory.

Moreover, the two groups of 5 qualities (indriya and bala) are clearly related (see their respective articles) and thus keeping them on a single row is conceptually meaningful. In addition, to a lesser degree, there is significant overlap between the 4 Right Efforts (sammappadhana) and the 4 Bases of Spiritual Power (iddhipada) (see the latter article in particular regarding "Corequisites"); thus, pairing these two fourfold sets on a single line also adds conceptual cohesion.

Request to future editors

Wikipedia's policy on verifiability states:

"The burden of evidence lies with the editor who adds or restores material. Material that is challenged or likely to be challenged needs a reliable source, which should be cited in the article."

In addition to providing a reliable source for any change, it would be sincerely appreciated if, before changes are made to this template, an editor would first discuss the planned change on this template's talk page.