The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature c8.s7.4

c8.s7.4

We may also surmise that an attempt was made by some thinkers to add the two terms *vimukti* and *vimukti-jñāna-darśana* to the group of the five *balas*. The innovators failed in this case, though they succeeded in tacking these notions on to the three old *skandhas* of *śīla, samādhi* and *prajñā*.²⁷⁰ The five *balas* and *indriyas* represent important and fundamental Buddhist concepts. They are related more to the needs of the heroic monk than to those of the ordinary layman. They begin with Faith, take up three *aṅgas* (parts, limbs) of the eightfold Way (*vīrya* = *vyāyāma*, *smṛti* and *samādhi*), and end with the highest Wisdom. The formula was found so helpful that the Yoga school borrowed it from the Buddhists. It is found in identically the same form in the *Yoga-sūtras* (i, 20, page 23).