Phala

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Phala is a Sanskrit term that means “fruit” and refers to charisms in Hinduism and Buddhism. They are also known in Buddhism as Maha-phala, which are the Great fruit (phala) of the contemplative life.

The fruit (phala) of Buddhism and Hinduism are very much like the charisms of Charismatic Christianity which are known as the "sign-gifts” of the Holy Spirit, which are the charisms of prophesy, healing, and speaking in tongues, as described in the Christian Gospels 1 Corinthians 12. Ecstatic Buddhists look to the Discourses of the Buddha^[1], where the fruit (phala) of the contemplative life is described in detail, and most notably in the Samaññaphala Sutta (DN 2)^[2]. Hindus and Yogis would look to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali^[3] for a clear description of the fruit (phala) of yoga.

[edit] Notes

The 10 “Great fruit” of the contemplative life (Maha-Phala) (DN 2)^[4] are:

1) Equanimity (upekkha)
2) Fearlessness (nibbhaya)
3) Freedom from unhappiness & suffering (Asukhacaadukkha)
4) Meditative Absorption (jhana/samadhi)
5) Out-of-Body experience (OOBE) (Manomaya)
6) Clairaudience(dibba-sota)
7) Intuition and mental telepathy (ceto-pariya-ñána)
8) Recollection of past lives (Patisandhi)
9) Clairvoyance(dibba-cakkhu)
10) Ends anxiety & mental agitation (samatha)|}