Summary: Indriyapaññatti is the fifth of the six kinds of designation defined in the Puggalapaññatti. It refers to the conceptual labeling and description of the twenty-two faculties (indriya) that represent the controlling powers in mental and physical life. (Pp 1, 7)
Canonical locus
The Puggalapaññatti defines this designation immediately before the designation of persons, marking the final stage of "impersonal" analysis in its opening matrix. (Pp 1)
Pp 1.1 (pp1.1:7.1)
Kittāvatā indriyānaṁ indriyapaññatti?
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"In how many ways is there a designation of faculties for the faculties?"
Analysis
Indriyapaññatti covers the description of the twenty-two directive forces that exercise lordship over their respective domains: (Pp 7)
- Six Sensory Faculties: Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind.
- Faculties of Femininity and Masculinity (the two bhāva-rūpa): itthindriya, purisindriya.
- One Vitality Faculty: Life.
- Five Feeling Faculties: Pleasure, pain, joy, grief, equanimity.
- Five Spiritual Faculties: Faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom.
- Three Supramundane Faculties: The higher stages of the spiritual faculties realized on the paths to liberation.
By including this in its opening matrix, the Puggalapaññatti establishes that the "person" is composed of and influenced by these dominant controlling powers. It frames human experience as a set of interacting capacities and forces rather than a unitary entity. (Pp 1, 7)
Textual notes
- This designation represents the most dynamic layer of Abhidhamma classification in the opening matrix, describing the directive forces of the mind and body.
- It provides the bridge between the structural analysis of aggregates/bases and the dynamic typology of persons.
Related concepts
Related pages
- puggalapannatti (text)
- vibhanga