In this forty-sixth installment of the ongoing live series with Wendy Nash, we continue our inquiry into meditation practice both on and off the cushion this time keeping on with a kind of 37 theme from last month’s “The 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva” and now to the 37 Factors of Awakening from the Theravada tradition essential to realizing awakening. We will likely just approach some of these in a non-systematic manner to see what insights and wisdom come up from our studies, experiences and practices. As usual we invite questions and comments live, beforehand and after
Overview of the 37 Factors of Enlightenment
The 37 factors of enlightenment in Theravada Buddhism are essential teachings that guide practitioners toward spiritual development and liberation. These factors are categorized into several groups, each contributing to the path of awakening.
Categories of the 37 Factors
| Category | Factors Included |
|---|---|
| 1. Four Ways of Attending to Mindfulness | – Mindfulness of the body (kāyānupassanā) – Mindfulness of feelings (vedanānupassanā) – Mindfulness of the mind (cittānupassanā) – Mindfulness of mental objects (dhammanupassanā) |
| 2. Four Right Strivings | – Efforts to prevent unwholesome states – Efforts to abandon unwholesome states – Efforts to develop wholesome states – Efforts to maintain wholesome states |
| 3. Four Paths to Power | – Concentration (iddhipāda) – Effort (sammāppadhāna) – Mindfulness (sati) – Investigation (dhamma vicaya) |
| 4. Five Faculties | – Faith (saddhā) – Energy (viriya) – Mindfulness (sati) – Concentration (samādhi) – Wisdom (paññā) |
| 5. Five Strengths | – Faith (saddhā) – Energy (viriya) – Mindfulness (sati) – Concentration (samādhi) – Wisdom (paññā) |
| 6. Seven Factors of Awakening | – Mindfulness (sati) – Investigation of the Dhamma (dhamma vicaya) – Energy (viriya) – Joy (pīti) – Tranquility (passaddhi) – Concentration (samādhi) – Equanimity (upekkhā) |
| 7. Noble Eightfold Path | – Right view (sammā diṭṭhi) – Right intention (sammā saṅkappa) – Right speech (sammā vācā) – Right action (sammā kammanta) – Right livelihood (sammā ājīva) – Right effort (sammā vāyāma) – Right mindfulness (sammā sati) – Right concentration (sammā samādhi) |
*There’s naturally an ongoing open call for meditation (related) questions for the (roughly) monthly “Meditation Q & A” either by the various social media means listed; integratingpresence[at]protonmail.com or just showing to type/ask live.*
Background
Regular, current and past visitors to Integrating Presence may recall the monthly series “Ask Us Anything” I did with Denny K Miu from August 2020 until January 2022 — partially including and continuing on with Lydia Grace as co-host for awhile until March 2022.
For a few months thereafter I did various Insight Timer live events exploring potential new directions and/or a continuation of the Ask Us Anything format while weaving in other related teachings to these events.
Then, after chats with meditation coach Wendy Nash, it became clear to start a new collaboration similar to “Ask Us Anything” simply and clearly called “Meditation Q & A” especially due to the original intent of the Ask Us Anything’s being “discussions about meditation and related topics.”
Audio: 37 Factors Of Awakening | “Meditation Q & A With Wendy Nash” #46
Past chats with Wendy:
Unedited transcript via YouTube:
Full Raw Verbatim Transcript (with timestamps removed via ai):
Integrating Presence 