The four bases of power (iddhipāda), called the four spiritual bases in the Vietnamese translation of the Great Discourse on the Final Nibbāna, are four foundations that carry practice through to success: desire, energy, mind and investigation. The Connected Discourses on the Bases of Power (SN 51) states all four in one formula: one develops the base of power “accompanied by concentration due to desire and volitional formations of striving”, and then in turn concentration due to energy, due to mind and due to investigation. Put simply, the mind becomes concentrated by relying on wholesome desire, on diligence, on the mind itself or on examination; that concentration goes together with the four right efforts — preventing and abandoning what is unwholesome, arousing and keeping what is wholesome. The texts link these four to supernormal powers, but they also say they lead to dispassion, awakening and Nibbāna. For beginners, this is a lesson in keeping practice steady: a wish, strength, a gathered mind and examination — neither too slack nor too tense.
From the discourse: the four bases of power (SN 51.1)
Quoted verbatim from the Vietnamese translation by Ven. Thích Minh Châu in the Inti Dharma library (SN 51.1).
Có bốn như ý túc này, này các Tỷ-kheo, được tu tập, được làm cho sung mãn, đưa từ bờ bên này đến bờ bên kia. Thế nào là bốn?
Ở đây, này các Tỷ-kheo, Tỷ-kheo tu tập như ý túc, câu hữu với dục định tinh cần hành; tu tập như ý túc, câu hữu với tinh tấn định tinh cần hành; tu tập như ý túc, câu hữu với tâm định tinh cần hành; tu tập như ý túc, câu hữu với tư duy định tinh cần hành. Những pháp này, này các Tỷ-kheo, là bốn như ý túc, được tu tập, được làm cho sung mãn, đưa từ bờ bên này đến bờ bên kia.
Desire (chanda) here means the wish to do what is good, not sensual craving; in places the translation spells it out as “wish”. Energy (viriya) is diligence that keeps going. Mind (citta) is the mind itself, nurtured and gathered into one. Investigation (vīmaṃsā) is examining and inquiring until things are clear. The discourse SN 51.13 explains: when, relying on desire, the mind becomes concentrated and unified, that is called concentration due to desire; the other three work the same way. The “volitional formations of striving” are four efforts: arousing desire, striving and resolve so that unarisen evil does not arise, arisen evil is abandoned, unarisen good arises and arisen good grows. So each base of power has three parts: a quality to rely on, a concentrated mind and effort in the right direction.
Using desire to let go of desire
In SN 51.15, Venerable Ānanda tells the brahmin Uṇṇābha that the holy life is lived to abandon desire, and that the way there is the four bases of power. The brahmin objects: removing desire with desire would never end. The Venerable asks: before you went to the park, desire, energy, mind and investigation drove you to go; once you arrived, did they subside? He agrees. In the same way, for an arahant, the desire, energy, mind and investigation once used to reach the goal all subside when the goal is reached. Wholesome desire is therefore a means for going forward, not something to be wary of.
Neither too slack nor too tense
The Analysis discourse (SN 51.20) teaches developing each base with the thought: my desire will be neither too slack nor too eager, neither constricted inwardly nor scattered outwardly. It explains: too slack means joined with laziness; too eager means joined with restlessness and agitation; constricted inwardly means joined with sloth and torpor; scattered outwardly means running after the five cords of sensual pleasure. Energy, mind and investigation follow the same pattern. The practitioner keeps the practice the same before and after, by day and by night, with a mind that is open, unconfined and bright. SN 51.11 relates that the Buddha, while still a bodhisatta, reflected in this way.
The bases of power and supernormal powers
The word “iddhi” in the discourses refers to supernormal power: SN 51.19 calls powers such as being one and becoming many iddhi, and calls the path leading to gaining them a base of power. SN 51.20 ends with various supernormal powers, and then the destruction of the taints with liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom. In the same collection, SN 51.4 says the four bases lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, peace, awakening and Nibbāna; SN 51.19 says the way to develop them is the Noble Eightfold Path. The Kevaddha discourse (DN 11) records that the Blessed One saw danger in using displays of power to win faith, and spoke of the “miracle of instruction”: teaching people how to think, what to attend to and what to give up. So practitioners do not make supernormal powers their goal, nor claim to have attained them.
Its place among the 37 aids to awakening
In the Great Discourse on the Final Nibbāna (DN 16), three months before his passing, the Blessed One urged the monks to learn well and practise the things he had realised: the four establishments of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four spiritual bases, the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening and the eight factors of the noble path. Tradition calls these seven groups the 37 aids to awakening. The four bases of power stand third and are closely tied to the second group: the “volitional formations of striving” in each base are exactly the four right efforts, while the concentration in each base shows that it is also a way of nurturing a concentrated mind. SN 51.2 also says: whoever misses the four bases misses the noble path to the complete end of suffering.
Free reading preview
No account needed to try one practice step
Open a short excerpt from this article, practice right here, then create an account if you want to save progress and unlock realms.
Tap to open a short passage and try one practice step before signing up.
Practice today
1.Before a sitting or a good deed, state one specific wholesome wish to yourself, for example: for these ten minutes, simply know the breath clearly.
2.Midway through practice, check for the four imbalances named in SN 51.20 — too slack, too tense, drowsily constricted or scattered outward — and adjust gently.
3.If you notice yourself hoping for unusual sensations or special abilities, gently bring the wish back to the aim of less greed, hatred and delusion.
Frequently asked questions
What do the four bases of power consist of?
Four bases of power accompanied by concentration due to desire, energy, mind and investigation, each together with “volitional formations of striving”, that is, the four right efforts. In short: desire, energy, mind and investigation.
What does the term “base of power” mean?
“Iddhi” means supernormal power and, more broadly, success; “pāda” means foot or support. SN 51.19 calls a base of power the path leading to gaining iddhi. The Great Discourse on the Final Nibbāna (DN 16) calls this group the four spiritual bases.
Are the four bases of power a technique for developing psychic powers?
The discourses say these four can lead to supernormal powers, but they place them within the Noble Eightfold Path and point them toward dispassion and Nibbāna. The Blessed One also saw danger in using such powers to win faith (DN 11). Practitioners use these four to nourish what is good, not to seek unusual abilities.
Where do the four bases of power stand among the 37 aids to awakening?
They are the third group, after the four establishments of mindfulness and the four right efforts, and before the five faculties, the five powers, the seven factors of awakening and the Noble Eightfold Path, in the order listed in the Great Discourse on the Final Nibbāna (DN 16).
How should a beginner practise the four bases of power?
Start from familiar qualities: one clear wholesome wish, manageable diligence, a mind gathered on one object and a review of how you practise. Use the four imbalances in SN 51.20 to adjust yourself. If practice increases anxiety, sleeplessness or distress, stop; practice does not replace professional support when it is needed.
This discourse analyses how to develop each base of power so that it is neither too slack nor too tense, neither constricted nor scattered, and names the fruits of that practice.
