[Yessaniloas]

hello Woodscooter,

the Iddhipada is not a subject that is widely taught. much of the subject matter in the sutta is about psychic power & at least displaying psychic power to laypeople is prohibited by the Vinaya

in Thailand, the Iddhipada are sometimes taught to laypeople, however, in a worldly way, as follows:

B. The principles of success: practicing according to the four conditions that lead to the success of any undertaking, known as the iddhipada (pathways to success):

Chanda: having a heart of zeal; to be keen to do something, and to do it for the love of it; to wish to bring an activity or task to its optimum fruition, not simply doing it to get it out of the way or merely for reward or material gain.

Viriya: doing with effort; to be diligent and apply oneself to a task with effort, fortitude, patience and perseverance, not abandoning it or becoming discouraged, but striving ever onward until success is attained.

Citta: committing oneself to the task; to establish one's attention on the task in hand and do it thoughtfully, not allowing the mind to wander; to apply one's thought to the matter regularly and consistently and do the task or action devotedly.

Vimamsa: using wise investigation; to diligently apply wise reflection to examine cause and effect within what one is doing and to reflect on, for example, its pros and cons, gains and shortcomings or obstructions. This can be achieved by experimenting, planning and evaluating results, and devising solutions and improvements in order to manage and carry out the activity in hand so as to achieve better results.

When applied to the work situation, for example, these four conditions may, in short, be remembered as love of work, tenacity, dedication and circumspection.

http://www.mahidol.ac.th/budsir/Part2_2.htm#9 The four iddhipada are chanda, love of duty; viriya, effort in duty; citta, thoughtfulness regarding duty; and vimamsa, investigation of duty through practicing Dhamma.

All Practical Dhammas (Dhammas to be practiced) fall into two categories: Dhamma tools and Dhamma fruits. Sila, samadhi, and pañña (moral responsibility, mental integration, and wisdom) are Dhamma tools; magga, phala, and nibbana (paths, fruitions, and Nibbana) are Dhamma fruits. The Dhamma tools can be further divided into two kinds: primary Dhammas such as the four satipatthana (foundations of mindfulness) and the supplementary Dhammas such as the four iddhipada (paths to success) and the four sammappadhana (right strivings). You ought to know these Dhammas so they can be applied correctly according to the circumstances of practice.

http://www.suanmokkh.org/archive/asiti/leg3.htm



http://www.what-buddha-taught.net/Bo...napanasati.pdf