The distinction between indriya and bala seems to be that indriya, 'faculty', means a qualitative range of capacity or extent of dominion in a given province, whereas bala, 'power', implies rather a quantitative superiority of endowment. As faculties the five items, saddhá, viriya, sati, samádhi, and paññá, are, in the ariyasávaka, either effective or latent all at once (see Indriya Samy. vi,2 <S.v,228>) and are totally absent from the puthujjana (ibid. ii,8 <S.v,202>[11]). As powers they are the strength of the ariyasávaka, who has equipment for practice of the Dhamma that is lacking in the puthujjana.
| Katamañ ca bhikkhave bhávanábalam. Tatra bhikkhave yam idam bhávanábalam sekhánam etam balam sekhamhi. | And which, monks, is the development-power? Herein, monks, as to the development-power, this is the trainers' power, in trainers. |
(Anguttara II,ii,1 <A.i,52>) It is sometimes supposed that
a puthujjana possesses these faculties and powers, at
least in embryo, and that his task is to develop them. This is
a misunderstanding. It is the puthujjana's task to
acquire them. It is for the sekha, who has
acquired them, to develop them.
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