Getting to Enlightenment: The 37 Requisites

Rupert M. L. Gethin (p. 243), Ellie Askew, Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Buddhist Path to Awakening (Getlin)

The bringing to a state of full development of any one of the seven sets [seven sets amounting to 37 Requisites of Enlightenment or bodhi-pakkhiyā-dhammā] involves also the bringing to a state of full development each of the other sets.

One set cannot be fully developed without at the same time the other sets being fully developed. That is to say, any one of the seven sets is seen as embracing all seven.

This kind of notion has already in part been [foreshadowed] especially in Chapters One and Two.

There I drew attention to the way in which the nikāyas [collections or divisions of Buddhist texts] on occasion fit the stages of the Buddhist path into the structure of either the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (satipaṭṭhānas) or the Four Right Efforts (sammappadhānas).

Moreover, one has only to consider for a moment the items that constitute the seven sets and the way in which these are defined in the nikāyas in order to realize the extent of the overlap and cross-referencing inherent in the basic nikāya treatment of the sets.

The Buddhist Path to Awakening

Just 36 more things to go and, bam, I'm there!

This is an authoritative and critically acclaimed book in which the author traces the path of enlightenment as it is found in the Buddhist literature of the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment, known as the bodhi-pakkhiya dhamma or "things related to awakening." The result is a thorough and engrossing piece of work that provides a unique insight into the nature of both Buddhism and the mystic experience generally. More