A formulation of the five faculties by the Buddha, along with the way of practice in cultivating these.

"Bhikkhus, these are the five faculties. Which five? The faculty of confidence (faith), persistence (energy), mindfulness, collectedness (samādhi) and wisdom.

And what, bhikkhus, is the faculty of confidence (faith)?

Here, bhikkhus, a disciple of the noble ones has confidence (faith), is convinced in the enlightenment of the Tathāgata, acknowledging: ‘Indeed, the Blessed One is an Arahant and perfectly awakened, accomplished in wisdom and conduct, well-gone, knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide for trainable individuals, a teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’ This is called the faculty of confidence.

And what, bhikkhus, is the faculty of persistence (energy)?

Here, bhikkhus, a disciple of the noble ones keeps his persistence aroused for the giving up of unwholesome mental qualities and for the cultivation of wholesome mental qualities. With steadfast determination and unwavering effort, he generates desire, strives, arouses persistence, comprehends with his mind, and makes an effort, both to prevent the arising of unarisen harmful unwholesome mental qualities and to abandon existing ones, and to bring forth and develop unarisen wholesome mental qualities and enhance those that have arisen. This, bhikkhus, is called the faculty of persistence.

And what, bhikkhus, is the faculty of mindfulness?

Here, bhikkhus, a disciple of the noble ones is fully attentive, equipped with utmost mindfulness, able to recall and reflect upon things done and said long ago. He practices by observing the body in and of itself, ardently, with clear comprehension and mindfulness, having put away greed (lust, desire, attachment) and dissatisfaction (aversion, ill-will, resentment) for the world. Similarly, he applies this practice to feelings, mind, and mental qualities, dwelling as an observer who fully understands and remains mindful, eradicating worldly desires and dissatisfaction. This is called the faculty of mindfulness.

And what, bhikkhus, is the faculty of collectedness (samādhi)?

Here, bhikkhus, a disciple of the noble ones, having made letting go his basis, attains stability of mind, attains unification of mind.

  1. Having secluded from sensual pleasures and unwholesome states, he enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which includes reflection and examination (of thoughts), born of (physical) seclusion, filled with rapture (joy) and pleasure.

  2. With the subsiding of reflection and examination (of thoughts), experiencing internal tranquility and unification of mind, he enters and dwells in the second jhāna, which is devoid of reflection and examination, and has rapture (joy) and pleasure born of a stable mind.

  3. With the fading of rapture, he dwells equanimous, mindful, and clearly aware, experiencing pleasure with the body, which the noble ones declare, ‘He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful’ - he enters and dwells in the third jhāna.

  4. With the letting go of pleasure and pain, and the disappearance of previous joy and grief, he enters and dwells in the fourth jhāna, characterized by neither pain nor pleasure, which possesses purification of awareness by equanimity.

This, bhikkhus, is called the faculty of collectedness.

And what, bhikkhus, is the faculty of wisdom?

Here, bhikkhus, a disciple of the noble ones is wise, endowed with the wisdom that understands the arising and passing away of phenomena, a wisdom that is noble and penetrative, and leads directly to the cessation of suffering. Such a disciple truly understands, ‘This is suffering’, ‘This is the origin of suffering’, ‘This is the cessation of suffering’, and ‘This is the path leading to the cessation of suffering’. This is called the faculty of wisdom.

These, bhikkhus, are the five faculties."

Way of Practice (SN 48.18)

  1. "Among these, bhikkhus, when the five faculties are fully developed, one is an Arahant (perfectly enlightened). Those who are lesser in the development of these faculties are practicing for the realization of the fruit of Arahantship.

  2. Those milder still are non-returners; those even milder are practicing for the fruit of non-returning.

  3. Those milder still are once-returners; those even milder are practicing for the fruit of once-returning.

  4. Those milder still are stream-enterers (awakened to the truth of enlightenment); those even milder are practicing for the fruit of stream-entry.

If anyone, bhikkhus, is completely devoid of these five faculties, I declare that such a person stands outside, in the faction of the ordinary person."

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These faculties are developed gradually starting with confidence (faith). One develops confidence by closely examining and reflecting on the teachings to independently verify.

Doing the above on a regular basis, consistently, then gives rise to development of the faculty of persistence (energy).

Practicing per the gradual training guidelines alongside doing the above then gives rise to mindfulness. There are five practice areas that one can train in here, a sequential practice until one is finding the described practice become easy, automatic, or second nature is a good place to be at before training in the next.

  1. Practice of ethical conduct | The five precepts (AN 8.39)

  2. Application of sense restraint | All is Burning (SN 35.28) | Causes of diverse quests (SN 14.7)

  3. Practice of moderation in eating | A Bucket of Rice (SN 3.13)

  4. Dedicating to wakefulness (meditate 2x or 3x per day) | Meditation Practise and Guided Meditations ↗️

  5. Practice clear comprehension and mindfulness (refer to the gradual training guidelines post for details on this)

An important quality of mindfulness is the gradual growth in recollection, being able to remember what was said and done long ago and then being able to apply that through the practice of the four foundations of the mindfulness. Until one has greed and aversion present, i.e. one is not a non-returner, one should particularly focus on being established in the practice of mindfulness of the body (See benefits).

One then gradually develops the faculty of collectedness (samādhi). I’m choosing the word collectedness over concentration to avoid the misconception of it as a single point focusing. This faculty is about harmonizing all aspects of the mind.

Once one has cultivated the jhānas and is abiding in them, one furthers development of the faculty of wisdom by experientially penetrating the four noble truths by observing for their arising and passing away (the four noble truths are mental qualities and covered under mindfulness of mental qualities). At this point, one is effectively able to do this as they’re tuned in to observe for:

  • Arising and passing of mental hindrances (negative mental qualities of sensual desires, ill-will, complacency, doubt and restlessness/agitation),

  • Arising and passing away of the seven factors of awakening,

  • Arising and passing away of the attachment to the five aggregates, i.e. effectively observing the arising of discontentment in the experience and its cessation as the attachment arises and then ceases through letting go of it.

Here is an organized teaching collection: Handful of leaves to deeply understand the core teaching of the Buddha that he emphasized on understanding more than any other teachings he ever shared.