bala

'powers'

Among various groups of powers the following five are most frequently met with in the texts:

(1) faith (saddhā),
(2) energy (viriya),
(3) mindfulness (sati),
(4) concentration (samādhi),
(5) wisdom (paññā).

Their particular aspect, distinguishing them from the corresponding 5 spiritual faculties (indriya), is that they are unshakable by their opposites:

(1) the power of faith is unshakable by faithlessness (unbelief);
(2) energy, by laziness;
(3) mindfulness, by forgetfulness;
(4) concentration, by distractedness;
(5) wisdom, by ignorance (see Pts.M., Ñāna Kathā).

They represent, therefore, the aspect of firmness in the spiritual faculties.

According to A.V.15,

(1) the power becomes manifest in the 4 qualities of the Stream-winner (sotāpannassa angāni),
(2) in the 4 right efforts (s. padhāna),
(3) in the 4 foundations of mindfulness (satipatthāna),
(4) in the 4 absorptions (jhāna),
(5) in the (full comprehension of the) 4 Noble Truths (sacca).

Cf. S.XLVIII.43; S.L. (Bala Samyutta).

In A.VII.3, the powers of moral shame (hiri) and moral dread (ottappa) are added to the aforementioned five Several other groups of 2 (s. patisankhāna-bala), 4, 5 and more powers are mentioned in the texts. -

About the 10 powers of a Buddha, s. dasa-bala.