Question

Are the Seven Factors of Enlightenment stages which depend on the progress of others, and have to be developed in the same order, or can they be developed separately and independently?

Answer

When we think of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, as I understand the basic description, they are a process, they are a collection of seven parts which are going to work together in a certain time frame to bring forth deeper understanding or actual enlightenment in a small time frame. They are actually a process. Now, when we think of each one individually, though, they are also a quality, equanimity is a quality, mindfulness is a quality, etc. So certainly they can be developed individually, but if we are developing equanimity in general, standing in line, waiting for the food, whatever, it's not actually part of the process of the seven factors of enlightenment at that time. But it's still developing the quality. So that's a little variation, it's really looking at something from different angles which is actually the same thing. So we don't want to get too confused over terminology, you can certainly develop them individually and they also can go together as a process.

Our apologies if there are any errors in the above text. If anything seems to be wrong or confusing in any way, please feel free to contact the teachers for further clarification.