I don’t think this topic has been posted before, I did do a quick search, but if it has, mods please do what you need to do
I’ve been reading some suttas lately from SN, particularly SN 46.51 Aharasutta and was wondering if dhammavicaya (2nd of 7 awakening factors) and vimamsa (last of the 4 iddhipadas) are similar or perhaps even synonyms maybe? They both definitely sound like they’re at least in the ‘same ball park’ so to speak. What do you think?
Also I think vimamsa is both gross (as in actively thinking about something, like reviewing how your meditation went afterwards) and subtle as in during meditation?
The iddhipadas are what will make you successful at anything in general. Vimangsa there is about periodically reflecting on how things are going and whether you’re actually making progress towards your goal, if you need to adjust your strategy, etc. The subtle part in meditation might be for example how you adjust your balance of effort and relaxation to overcome the hindrances and thus would be a component of mindfulness among the factors (not dhammavicaya).
In the awakening factors, dhammavicaya is on the “energizing” side. It’s taking an interest in what is happening, really trying to see it more clearly, to understand it… If I had to correlate it with the iddhipada I’d probably say it belongs a bit more on the “citta” side than the vimamsa side… though there is, of course, also an element of “learning” there that vimamsa shares with dhammavicaya
But I’m curious to hear what the other meditators and scholars here think.
I see some overlap between vimaṃsa and dhammavicaya and see them as both existing within the path factor of Right Effort.
Although the iddhipādas have been co-opted in popular Thai culture to be a handy project management strategy, they tend ot show up in the suttas more in the context of right effort, such as in suttas in SN49. They are the mechanism for which one undertakes the four right efforts.
That is; abandoning the hinderances and developing the awakening factors. Therefore I’d propose that vimaṃsa is a precursor and an aid to dhammavicaya. By practicing the iddhipādas you are learning the principles for developing and maintaining the enlightenment factors. Thus becoming spiritually powerful!
I also think that there is an overlap with paccavekkhana. Probably the most coarse/mundane of the three.
On a practical level; one might notice through a degree of mindfulness that they have a lot aversion coming up in their meditation. Effort, via chanda (intention/willingness), viriya(energy/effort/courage), citta (sticking with it), viṃansa (review) is applied to look at this aversion and learn how it works and how to abandon it. One is learning about and investigating the hinderances and also giving rise to energy and courage to face one’s own less than pure mind. This seems like both dhammavicaya and viraya as the development of enlightenment factors.
Do you have a citation for this? It’s been a while since I studied it, but I was under the impression that that was the traditional exegesis even in the Mahāyāna: far from a parochial Thai invention.
I have heard Western Thai Forrest Tradition monks talk about how it is used as a means for motivating people to do well in school or work and things and that it’s a well known format in Thai culture. Whereas when I ask my Sri Lankan supporters about the iddhipādas and they seem mostly only familiar with the idea within the context of Right Effort. There seems to be more Mahayana influences in Thailand than SL though, so that might explain it.
I don’t know of examples where the iddhipādas are used outside of development of spiritual powers or right effort in the EBTs.
