Praśrabdhi

For the equivalent term in the Pali tradition, see passaddhi.

Praśrabdhi (P. passaddhi; T. shin tu sbyang ba ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱང་བ་; C. qing'an 輕安) is mental factor with slightly different definitions in the Pali and Sanskrit traditions. In the Pali tradition, passaddhi is translated as "tranquility," "serenity," "calmness," etc., and it is defined as the tranquility of the mental factors and consciousness. In the Sanskrit tradition, praśrabdhi is translated as "pliancy", "flexibility", "alertness," etc.; it is defined as the ability to apply body and mind towards virtuous activity.

Prasrabhi is identified as:

• one of the seven factors of enlightenment (sambojjhangas)
• one of the twenty-five beautiful mental factors within the Pali tradition
• one of the eleven virtuous mental factors within the Abhidharma-samuccaya of the Sanskrit tradition
• one of the ten omnipresent wholesome factors within the Abhidharma-kosa of the Sanskrit tradition
• one of the eight antidotes applied to overcome obstacles in Samatha meditation within the Sanskrit tradition.

Explanation

Pali traditon

Passaddhi is identified as one of the twenty-five beautiful mental factors within the Pali tradition.

A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma states:

Tranquillity (passaddhi): The twofold tranquillity has the characteristic of the quieting down of disturbances (daratha) in the mental body and consciousness, respectively. Its function is to crush such disturbances. It is manifested as peacefulness and coolness. Its proximate cause is the mental body and consciousness. It should be regarded as opposed to such defilements as restlessness and worry, which create distress.

The Buddhist Dictionary states:

passaddhi-sambojjhaṅga: ‘tranquillity as a factor of enlightenment’, consists in tranquillity of mental factors (kāya-passaddhi) and tranquillity of consciousness (citta-passaddhi).

Sanskrit tradition

The Khenjuk states:

Pliancy is the ability to apply body and mind to virtue. Its function is to overcome negative tendencies.

Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics states:

“This mental factor [pliancy] sets a tendency in the mindstream that enables the mind to become serviceable in focusing on a virtuous object exactly as desired and that interrupts the continuum of bodily and mental dysfunction. The Compendium of Knowledge says: “What is pliancy? It is a serviceability of body and mind that has the function of dispelling all hindrances, since it interrupts the continuum of bodily and mental dysfunction.” In general, pliancy has two divisions: bodily pliancy and mental pliancy. The pliancy presented here is mental pliancy.”

The Abhidharma-samuccaya states (Guenther translation):

What is alertness? It is the pliability of body and mind in order to interrupt the continuity of the feeling of sluggishness in body and mind. Its function is to do away with all obscurations.

Alternate translations

• pliancy (Erik Pema Kunsang, Thubten Jinpa)
• alertness (Guenther)
• flexibility
• tranquility, serenity, calmness, etc. (Pali tradition)

References

• Bhikkhu Bodhi, ed. (2000), A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma, Pariyatti Publishing 
• Mipham Rinpoche (2004), Gateway to Knowledge, vol. I, translated by Kunsang, Erik Pema, Rangjung Yeshe Publications 
• Nyanatiloka Thera (2019), Nyanaponika Thera, ed., Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, Pariyatti Publishing 
• Thupten Jinpa, ed. (2020), Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Volume 2: The Mind, translated by Rochard, Dechen; Dunne, John, Wisdom Publications 
• Yeshe Gyeltsen (1975), Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding", translated by Guenther, Herbert V.; Kawamura, Leslie S., Dharma Publishing 

External links

• shin_tu_sbyang_ba, Rangjung Yeshe Wiki
• pliancy, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
• Primary Minds and the 51 Mental Factors, StudyBuddhism