Iddhipada


Iddhipāda is a compound term composed of "power" or "potency" and "base," "basis" or "constituent". In Buddhism, the "power" referred to by this compound term is a group of spiritual powers. Thus, this compound term is usually translated along the lines of "base of power" or "base of spiritual power." In the Buddhist pursuit of Enlightenment, the associated spiritual powers are secondary to the four "base" mental qualities that achieve such powers. These four base mental qualities are: concentration on intention; concentration on effort; concentration on consciousness; and, concentration on investigation. These four base mental qualities are used to develop wholesome mental states and rid oneself of unwholesome mental states.
In traditional Buddhist literature, this set of four mental qualities is one of the seven sets of qualities lauded by the Buddha as conducive to Enlightenment.

Canonical analysis

In the Pali Canon, a major source of information on the iddhipāda is in the Samyutta Nikaya, ch. 51, entitled, "Connected Discourses on the Bases for Spiritual Power".

Four components

In the "Neglected" discourse, it states:
The four bases of such power are concentration due to:
In most canonical discourses these four bases of power are developed in tandem with "volitional formations of striving". For instance, in the "Concentration due to Desire" discourse, it states:
This discourse similarly analyzes the latter three bases of powers as well.

Associated spiritual powers

In terms of the spiritual powers associated with the development of these bases, the "Before" Discourse states: