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+ | ====== Into the Stream: A Study Guide on the First Stage of Awakening ====== | ||
+ | <span hide> | ||
+ | |||
+ | Summary: | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | <div #h_meta> | ||
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+ | |||
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+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div navigation></ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <span # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | going to heaven, | ||
+ | lordship over all worlds: | ||
+ | the fruit of stream-entry | ||
+ | excels them. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Contents ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <dl> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? [[#part1|I: The Way to Stream Entry]] | ||
+ | :: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <ul> | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | ? [[# | ||
+ | :: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <ul> | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | * [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | </dd> | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </dl> | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== I: The Way to Stream Entry ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Introduction ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Pali Canon recognizes four levels of Awakening, the first of which is called stream entry. This gains its name from the fact that a person who has attained this level has entered the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | This study guide on stream entry is divided into two parts. The first deals with the practices leading to stream entry; the second, with the experience of stream entry and its results. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The practices leading to stream entry are encapsulated in four factors: | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | Listening to the true Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry. | ||
+ | Appropriate attention is a factor for stream-entry. | ||
+ | Practice in accordance with the Dhamma is a factor for stream-entry. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | These factors form the framework for the first part of this study guide. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Canon' | ||
+ | |||
+ | For your practice to lead to Awakening, you must develop reliable standards for answering these questions. The Buddha offers some preliminary guidance on developing these standards in his instructions to the brahman teenager, Kapadika Bharadvaja. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | [The Buddha:] "There is the case, Bharadvaja, where a monk lives in dependence on a certain village or town. Then a householder or householder' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on greed, he next observes him with regard to qualities based on aversion... based on delusion: 'Are there in this venerable one any such qualities based on delusion that, with his mind overcome by these qualities, he might say, "I know," while not knowing, or say, "I see," while not seeing; or that he might urge another to act in a way that was for his/her long-term harm & pain?' As he observes him, he comes to know, 'There are in this venerable one no such qualities based on delusion... His bodily behavior & verbal behavior are those of one not deluded. And the Dhamma he teaches is deep, hard to see, hard to realize, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. This Dhamma can't easily be taught by a person who's deluded. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When, on observing that the monk is purified with regard to qualities based on delusion, he places conviction in him. With the arising of conviction, he visits him & grows close to him. Growing close to him, he lends ear. Lending ear, he hears the Dhamma. Hearing the Dhamma, he remembers it. Remembering it, he penetrates the meaning of those dhammas. Penetrating the meaning, he comes to an agreement through pondering those dhammas. There being an agreement through pondering those dhammas, desire arises. With the arising of desire, he becomes willing. Willing, he contemplates [lit: " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "To this extent, Bharadvaja, there is an awakening to the truth. To this extent one awakens to the truth. I describe this as an awakening to the truth. But it is not yet the final attainment of the truth." | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Kapadika Bharadvaja: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Buddha:] "The cultivation, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Association with People of Integrity ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | A monk who is a friend | ||
+ | to admirable people | ||
+ | — who's reverential, | ||
+ | doing what his friends advise — | ||
+ | mindful, alert, | ||
+ | attains step by step | ||
+ | the ending of all fetters. | ||
+ | ]! | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how does a monk who has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues, develop & pursue the noble eightfold path? There is the case where a monk develops right view dependent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops right resolve... right speech... right action... right livelihood... right effort... right mindfulness... right concentration dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go. This is how a monk who has admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues, develops & pursues the noble eightfold path. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And through this line of reasoning one may know how having admirable people as friends, companions, & colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life: It's in dependence on me as an admirable friend that beings subject to birth have gained release from birth, that beings subject to aging have gained release from aging, that beings subject to death have gained release from death, that beings subject to sorrow, lamentation, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what does it mean to be consummate in conviction? There is the case where a noble disciple has conviction, is convinced of the Tathagata' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what does it mean to be consummate in virtue? There is the case where a noble disciple abstains from taking life, abstains from stealing, abstains from illicit sexual conduct, abstains from lying, abstains from taking intoxicants that cause heedlessness. This is called being consummate in virtue. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what does it mean to be consummate in generosity? There is the case of a noble disciple, his awareness cleansed of the stain of miserliness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what does it mean to be consummate in discernment? | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Admirable friends are to be recognized both by what they say and by what they do. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | The person who lies, | ||
+ | who transgress in this one thing, | ||
+ | transcending concern for the world beyond: | ||
+ | there' | ||
+ | he might not do. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where a person of integrity, when asked, doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, a person of integrity, when unasked, reveals another person' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, a person of integrity, when unasked, reveals his own bad points, to say nothing of when asked. Furthermore, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then again, a person of integrity, when asked, doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where one individual, through living with another, knows this: 'For a long time this person has been torn, broken, spotted, splattered in his actions. He hasn't been consistent in his actions. He hasn't practiced consistently with regard to the precepts. He is an unprincipled person, not a virtuous, principled one.' And then there is the case where one individual, through living with another, knows this: 'For a long time this person has been untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered in his actions. He has been consistent in his actions. He has practiced consistently with regard to the precepts. He is a virtuous, principled person, not an unprincipled one.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [2] "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where one individual, through dealing with another, knows this: 'This person deals one way when one-on-one, another way when with two, another way when with three, another way when with many. His earlier dealings do not jibe with his later dealings. He is impure in his dealings, not pure.' And then there is the case where one individual, through dealing with another, knows this: 'The way this person deals when one-on-one, is the same way he deals when with two, when with three, when with many. His earlier dealings jibe with his later dealings. He is pure in his dealings, not impure.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [3] "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where a person, suffering loss of relatives, loss of wealth, or loss through disease, does not reflect: ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [4] "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where one individual, through discussion with another, knows this: 'From the way this person rises to an issue, from the way he applies [his reasoning], from the way he addresses a question, he is dull, not discerning. Why is that? He does not make statements that are deep, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. He cannot declare the meaning, teach it, describe it, set it forth, reveal it, explain it, or make it plain. He is dull, not discerning.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And then there is the case where one individual, through discussion with another, knows this: 'From the way this person rises to an issue, from the way he applies [his reasoning], from the way he addresses a question, he is discerning, not dull. Why is that? He makes statements that are deep, tranquil, refined, beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle, to-be-experienced by the wise. He can declare the meaning, teach it, describe it, set it forth, reveal it, explain it, & make it plain. He is discerning, not dull.' Just as if a man with good eyesight standing on the shore of a body of water were to see a large fish rise. The thought would occur to him, 'From the rise of this fish, from the break of its ripples, from its speed, it is a large fish, not a small one.' In the same way, one individual, in discussion with another, knows this: 'From the way this person rises to an issue, from the way he applies [his reasoning], from the way he addresses a question... he is discerning, not dull.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | In addition to requiring time and clear powers of observation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Good, monks. It's impossible, there' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Could a person of no integrity know of a person of integrity: 'This is a person of integrity'?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Good, monks. It's impossible, there' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Now, monks, could a person of integrity know of a person of no integrity: 'This is a person of no integrity'?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Good, monks. It is possible that a person of integrity would know of a person of no integrity: 'This is a person of no integrity.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Could a person of integrity know of a person of integrity: 'This is a person of integrity'?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Good, monks. It is possible that a person of integrity would know of a person of integrity: 'This is a person of integrity.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "A person of integrity is endowed with qualities of integrity; he is a person of integrity in his friendship, in the way he wills, the way he gives advice, the way he speaks, the way he acts, the views he holds, & the way he gives a gift. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity endowed with qualities of integrity? There is the case where a person of integrity is endowed with conviction, conscience, concern; he is learned, with aroused persistence, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in his friendship? There is the case where a person of integrity has, as his friends & companions, those contemplatives & brahmans who are endowed with conviction, shame, compunction; | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he wills? There is the case where a person of integrity wills neither for his own affliction, nor for the affliction of others, nor for the affliction of both. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he wills. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he gives advice? There is the case where a person of integrity gives advice neither for his own affliction, nor for the affliction of others, nor for the affliction of both. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he gives advice. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he speaks? There is the case where a person of integrity is one who refrains from lies, refrains from divisive tale-bearing, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he acts? There is the case where a person of integrity is one who refrains from taking life, refrains from stealing, refrains from illicit sex. This is how a person of integrity is a person of integrity in the way he acts. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the views he holds? There is the case where a person of integrity is one who holds a view like this: 'There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are contemplatives & brahmans who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a person of integrity a person of integrity in the way he gives a gift? There is the case where a person of integrity gives a gift attentively, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This person of integrity — thus endowed with qualities of integrity; a person of integrity in his friendship, in the way he wills, the way he gives advice, the way he speaks, the way he acts, the views he holds, & the way he gives a gift — on the break-up of the body, after death, reappears in the destination of people of integrity. And what is the destination of people of integrity? Greatness among devas or among human beings." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | Regard him as one who | ||
+ | points out | ||
+ | treasure, | ||
+ | the wise one who | ||
+ | seeing your faults | ||
+ | rebukes you. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Stay with this sort of sage. | ||
+ | For the one who stays | ||
+ | with a sage of this sort, | ||
+ | things get better, | ||
+ | not worse. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Listening to the True Dhamma ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | The opportunity to listen to the Dhamma is considered valuable both because it is rare and because it yields great benefits. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[1] One hears what one has not heard before. [2] One clarifies what one has heard before. [3] One gets rid of doubt. [4] One's views are made straight. [5] One's mind grows serene. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "These are the five rewards in listening to the Dhamma." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | To obtain these benefits, one must come to the Dhamma both with the right karmic background and with the right attitude. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He is not endowed with a (present) kamma obstruction, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | "With what virtue, | ||
+ | what behavior, | ||
+ | nurturing what actions, | ||
+ | would a person become rightly based | ||
+ | and attain the ultimate goal?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "One should be respectful | ||
+ | of one's superiors< | ||
+ | & not envious; | ||
+ | should have a sense of the time | ||
+ | for seeing teachers;< | ||
+ | should value the opportunity | ||
+ | when a talk on Dhamma' | ||
+ | should listen intently | ||
+ | to well-spoken words; | ||
+ | should go at the proper time, | ||
+ | humbly, casting off stubbornness, | ||
+ | to one's teacher' | ||
+ | should both recollect & follow | ||
+ | the Dhamma, its meaning, | ||
+ | restraint, & the holy life. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Delighting in Dhamma, | ||
+ | savoring Dhamma, | ||
+ | established in Dhamma, | ||
+ | with a sense of how | ||
+ | to investigate Dhamma, | ||
+ | one should not speak in ways | ||
+ | destructive of Dhamma,< | ||
+ | should guide oneself | ||
+ | with true, well-spoken words. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Shedding | ||
+ | hilarity, chattering, | ||
+ | lamentation, | ||
+ | deception, | ||
+ | greed, pride, | ||
+ | confrontation, | ||
+ | astringency, | ||
+ | one should go about free | ||
+ | of intoxication, | ||
+ | steadfast within. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Understanding' | ||
+ | of well-spoken words; | ||
+ | concentration, | ||
+ | of learning & understanding. | ||
+ | |||
+ | When a person is hasty & heedless | ||
+ | his discernment & learning | ||
+ | don't grow. | ||
+ | While those who delight | ||
+ | in the doctrines taught by the noble ones, | ||
+ | are unexcelled | ||
+ | in word, action, & mind. | ||
+ | They, established in | ||
+ | calm, | ||
+ | composure, | ||
+ | concentration, | ||
+ | have reached | ||
+ | what discernment & learning | ||
+ | have as their heartwood."< | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div notes> | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Notes ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | <dl> | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? <span fn # | ||
+ | :: According to the Commentary, one's superiors include those who have more wisdom than oneself, more skill in concentration and other aspects of the path than oneself, and those senior to oneself. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? <span fn # | ||
+ | :: The Commentary says that the right time to see a teacher is when one is overcome with passion, aversion, and delusion, and cannot find a way out on one's own. This echoes a passage in AN 6.26, in which Ven. Maha Kaccana says that the right time to visit a "monk worthy of esteem" | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? <span fn # | ||
+ | :: The Commentary equates "words destructive of the Dhamma" | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? <span fn # | ||
+ | :: The heartwood of learning & discernment is release. | ||
+ | |||
+ | </dl> | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | Intent on quibbling, | ||
+ | the dullard hears the Conqueror' | ||
+ | He's as far from the True Dhamma | ||
+ | as the ground is from the sky. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Intent on quibbling, | ||
+ | the dullard hears the Conqueror' | ||
+ | He wanes from the True Dhamma | ||
+ | like the moon in the dark half of the month. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Intent on quibbling, | ||
+ | the dullard hears the Conqueror' | ||
+ | He dries up in the True Dhamma | ||
+ | like a fish in next to no water. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Intent on quibbling, | ||
+ | the dullard hears the Conqueror' | ||
+ | He doesn' | ||
+ | like a rotten seed in a field. | ||
+ | |||
+ | But whoever hears the Conqueror' | ||
+ | with guarded intent, | ||
+ | doing away with effluents | ||
+ | — all — | ||
+ | realizing the unshakable, | ||
+ | attaining the foremost peace, | ||
+ | is — effluent-free — | ||
+ | totally unbound. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | It's also important to understand clearly the standards for distinguishing true Dhamma from false. These standards come down to a pragmatic test: How does one behave, and what results come from one's behavior, when one puts the Dhamma into practice? | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of course you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course you are doubtful. When there are reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. So in this case, Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "What do you think, Kalamas: When greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "For harm, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And this greedy person, overcome by greed, his mind possessed by greed: Doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Similarly for aversion & delusion.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When undertaken & carried out, do they lead to harm & to suffering, or not?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When undertaken & carried out, they lead to harm & to suffering..." | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "What do you think, Kalamas: When lack of greed arises in a person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "For welfare, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And this ungreedy person, not overcome by greed, his mind not possessed by greed: He doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, lord." | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Similarly for lack of aversion & lack of delusion.] | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When undertaken & carried out, do they lead to welfare & to happiness, or not?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When undertaken & carried out, they lead to welfare & to happiness..." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As for the qualities of which you may know, 'These qualities lead — to dispassion, not to passion; to being unfettered, not to being fettered; to shedding, not to accumulating; | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As for the qualities of which you may know, 'These qualities lead to utter disenchantment, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | <span hide> 20120228 jtb renumbered; was AN 7.80 </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The test for the true Dhamma being pragmatic, this means that even when you are convinced that you have heard the true Dhamma, you must be careful to realize that simply hearing the truth is not enough to know it for sure. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Kapadika Bharadvaja: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [The Buddha:] "If a person has conviction, his statement, 'This is my conviction,' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Appropriate Attention ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | Having heard the Dhamma, it is important to bring appropriate attention — seeing things in terms of cause and effect — both to what you have heard and to your experiences in general, for this one factor can make all the difference in the success or failure of your practice. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | Appropriate attention | ||
+ | as a quality | ||
+ | of a monk in training: | ||
+ | nothing else | ||
+ | does so much | ||
+ | for attaining the superlative goal. | ||
+ | A monk, striving appropriately, | ||
+ | attains the ending of stress. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then the devata inhabiting the forest thicket, feeling sympathy for the monk, desiring his benefit, desiring to bring him to his senses, approached him and addressed him with this verse: | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | "From inappropriate attention | ||
+ | you're being chewed by your thoughts. | ||
+ | Relinquishing what's inappropriate, | ||
+ | contemplate | ||
+ | appropriately. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Keeping your mind on the Teacher, | ||
+ | the Dhamma, the Sangha, your virtues, | ||
+ | you will arrive at | ||
+ | joy, | ||
+ | rapture, | ||
+ | pleasure | ||
+ | without doubt. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then, saturated | ||
+ | with joy, | ||
+ | you will put an end | ||
+ | to suffering & stress." | ||
+ | ]! | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The monk, chastened by the devata, came to his senses. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Appropriate attention is essentially the ability to frame your understanding of experience in the right terms. In many cases, this means framing the right questions for gaining insight into suffering and its end. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As he attends inappropriately in this way, one of six kinds of view arises in him: The view //I have a self// arises in him as true & established, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The well-instructed noble disciple... discerns what ideas are fit for attention, and what ideas are unfit for attention. This being so, he does not attend to ideas unfit for attention, and attends [instead] to ideas fit for attention... And what are the ideas fit for attention that he attends to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the unarisen effluent of sensuality does not arise, and the arisen effluent of sensuality is abandoned; the unarisen effluent of becoming... the unarisen effluent of ignorance does not arise, and the arisen effluent of ignorance is abandoned... He attends appropriately, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Appropriate attention can also mean framing the way you understand events as they occur. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. Sariputta:] "A virtuous monk, Kotthita my friend, should attend in an appropriate way to the five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. MahaKotthita: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. Sariputta:] "A monk who has attained stream-entry should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. MahaKotthita: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. Sariputta:] "A monk who has attained once-returning should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. MahaKotthita: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. Sariputta:] "A monk who has attained non-returning should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. MahaKotthita: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Ven. Sariputta:] "An arahant should attend in an appropriate way to these five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Practice in Accordance with the Dhamma ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | In developing dispassion for the clinging-aggregates, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "For a monk practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, this is what accords with the Dhamma: that he keep focused on inconstancy... stress... not-self with regard to form, that he keep focused on inconstancy... stress... not-self with regard to feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness. As he keeps focusing on inconstancy... stress... not-self with regard to form... feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The practice leading to disenchantment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on the upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies... the little ponds... the big lakes... the little rivers... the big rivers. When the big rivers are full, they fill the great ocean, and thus is the great ocean fed, thus is it filled. In the same way, when associating with truly good people is brought to fulfillment, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Mindfulness & Alertness ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk alert? There is the case where feelings are known to the monk as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Thoughts are known to him as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Discernment //[vl:// perception] is known to him as it arises, known as it persists, known as it subsides. This is how a monk is alert. So stay mindful, monks, and alert. This is our instruction to you all." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Restraint of the Senses ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== The Three Forms of Right Conduct ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is one made pure in three ways by bodily action? There is the case where a certain person, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from the taking of life. He dwells with his rod laid down, his knife laid down, scrupulous, merciful, compassionate for the welfare of all living beings. Abandoning the taking of what is not given, he abstains from taking what is not given. He does not take, in the manner of a thief, things in a village or a wilderness that belong to others and have not been given by them. Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma; those with husbands, those who entail punishments, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is one made pure in four ways by verbal action? There is the case where a certain person, abandoning false speech, abstains from false speech. When he has been called to a town meeting, a group meeting, a gathering of his relatives, his guild, or of the royalty, if he is asked as a witness, 'Come & tell, good man, what you know': If he doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is one made pure in three ways by mental action? There is the case where a certain person is not covetous. He does not covet the belongings of others, thinking, 'O, that what belongs to others would be mine!' He bears no ill will and is not corrupt in the resolves of his heart. [He thinks,] 'May these beings be free from animosity, free from oppression, free from trouble, and may they look after themselves with ease!' He has right view and is not warped in the way he sees things: 'There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are contemplatives & brahmans who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== The Four Establishings of Mindfulness ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[2] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in...& | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[3] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in...& | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[4] On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in...& | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This is how mindfulness of in-& | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== The Seven Factors for Awakening ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how are the four establishings of mindfulness developed & pursued so as to bring the seven factors for awakening to their culmination? | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[1] On whatever occasion the monk remains focused on the //body// in & of itself — ardent, alert, & mindful — putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world, on that occasion his mindfulness is steady & without lapse. When his mindfulness is steady & without lapse, then // | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[2] Remaining mindful in this way, he examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment. When he remains mindful in this way, examining, analyzing, & coming to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[3] In one who examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that quality with discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[4] In one whose persistence is aroused, a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises. When a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises in one whose persistence is aroused, then //rapture// as a factor for awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[5] For one who is enraptured, the body grows calm and the mind grows calm. When the body & mind of an enraptured monk grow calm, then // | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[6] For one who is at ease — his body calmed — the mind becomes concentrated. When the mind of one who is at ease — his body calmed — becomes concentrated, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "[7] He oversees the mind thus concentrated with equanimity. When he oversees the mind thus concentrated with equanimity, // | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Similarly with the other three establishings of mindfulness: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This is how the four establishings of mindfulness are developed & pursued so as to bring the seven factors for awakening to their culmination. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Clear Knowing & Release ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how are the seven factors for awakening developed & pursued so as to bring clear knowing & release to their culmination? | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This is how the seven factors for awakening, when developed & pursued, bring clear knowing & release to their culmination." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The ability to follow this path to completion is not just a matter of mastering technique. It also depends on the ability to develop strong character traits. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk one with a sense of Dhamma? There is the case where a monk knows the Dhamma: dialogues, narratives of mixed prose & verse, explanations, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk one with a sense of meaning? There is the case where a monk knows the meaning of this & that statement — 'This is the meaning of that statement; that is the meaning of this.' If he didn't know the meaning of this & that statement — 'This is the meaning of that statement; that is the meaning of this' — he wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk one with a sense of himself? There is the case where a monk knows himself: 'This is how far I have come in conviction, virtue, learning, generosity, discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk one with a sense of moderation? There is the case where a monk knows moderation in accepting robes, almsfood, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for curing the sick. If he didn't know moderation in accepting robes, almsfood, lodgings, & medicinal requisites for curing the sick, he wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk one with a sense of time? There is the case where a monk knows the time: 'This is the time for recitation; this, the time for questioning; | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk one with a sense of social gatherings? There is the case where a monk knows his social gathering: 'This is a social gathering of noble warriors; this, a social gathering of brahmans; this, a social gathering of householders; | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how is a monk one with a sense of distinctions among individuals? | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of two people — one who wants to see noble ones and one who doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of two people who want to see noble ones — one who wants to hear the true Dhamma and one who doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of two people who want to hear the true Dhamma — one who listens with an attentive ear and one who listens without an attentive ear — the one who listens without an attentive ear is to be criticized for that reason, the one who listens with an attentive ear is, for that reason, to be praised. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of two people who listen with an attentive ear — one who, having listened to the Dhamma, remembers it, and one who doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of two people who, having listened to the Dhamma, remember it — one who explores the meaning of the Dhamma he has remembered and one who doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of two people who explore the meaning of the Dhamma they have remembered — one who practices the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning, and one who doesn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Of two people who practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma, having a sense of Dhamma, having a sense of meaning — one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others, and one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others — the one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others is to be criticized for that reason, the one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others is, for that reason, to be praised. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This is how people are known to a monk in terms of two categories. And this is how a monk is one with a sense of distinctions among individuals. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "A monk endowed with these seven qualities is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | To practice the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma not only makes one worthy of respect, it also is a way of showing respect and gratitude to the Buddha for his admirable friendship in creating the opportunity for hearing the true Dhamma. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== II: Stream Entry & its Results ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Introduction ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | When treating the experience of stream entry and its results, the Canon uses all three of its typical modes of discourse: the narrative mode — stories about people who have attained stream entry; the cosmological mode — descriptions of the after-death destinations awaiting those who have attained stream entry; and what might be called the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | The material in this part of the study guide is presented in five sections. The first section, **The Arising of the Dhamma Eye,** discusses the experience of stream entry, and concludes with a passage indicating why the experience is described in terms of the faculty of vision. The second section, **The Three Fetters,** discusses the three fetters of renewed existence that are cut with the arising of the Dhamma eye: self-identity views, uncertainty, | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | The term " | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This noble eightfold path, lord, is the stream: right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Very good, Sariputta! Very good! This noble eightfold path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right action? Abstaining from taking life, from stealing, & from sexual intercourse: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood. This is called right livelihood. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right effort? There is the case where a monk generates desire, endeavors, arouses persistence, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right mindfulness? | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is right concentration? | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The coming-together of these factors is called the stream because it leads inevitably to two things, just as the current of a tributary will lead inevitably to a major river and then to the sea. In the immediate present, the stream leads directly to the arising of the Dhamma eye, the vision that actually constitutes this first awakening. Over time, the stream ensures that — in no more than seven lifetimes — one will be totally unbound. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== The Arising of the Dhamma Eye ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | What does the Dhamma eye see when it arises? | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | Their cause | ||
+ | & their cessation. | ||
+ | Such is the teaching of the Tathagata, | ||
+ | the Great Contemplative." | ||
+ | ]! | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Then to Sariputta the wanderer, as he heard this exposition of Dhamma, there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: //Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.// | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | This standard formula — it is repeated throughout the Canon — may not seem that remarkable an insight. However, the texts make clear that this insight is not a matter of belief or contemplation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | Forms... Sounds ... Aromas... Flavors... Tactile sensations... Ideas are inconstant, changeable, alterable. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The earth property... The liquid property... The fire property... The wind property... The space property... The consciousness property is inconstant, changeable, alterable. | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "One who has conviction & belief that these phenomena are this way is called a faith-follower: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "One who, after pondering with a modicum of discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "One who knows and sees that these phenomena are this way is called a stream-enterer, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Part of what makes the arising of the Dhamma eye such a powerful experience is that the realization that " | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Yes, my friend, I have..." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | The connection between Ven. Assaji' | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones notices: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When this is, that is. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From the arising of this comes the arising of that. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When this isn't, that isn't. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In other words: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From fabrications as a requisite condition comes consciousness. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-& | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From name-& | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From the six sense media as a requisite condition comes contact. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From clinging/ | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Now from the remainderless fading & cessation of that very ignorance comes the cessation of fabrications. From the cessation of fabrications comes the cessation of consciousness. From the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of name-& | ||
+ | |||
+ | "This is the noble method that he has rightly seen & rightly ferreted out through discernment." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The insight of a stream-enterer into the truths of causality on the one hand, and of the Deathless on the other, is accurate as far as it goes, but it does not equal the intensity of the insight of the arahant — one who has reached the final level of awakening. The differences between the two are suggested in the following simile. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== The Three Fetters ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | The four levels of Awakening are defined by the extent to which they cut the ten fetters by which the mind binds itself to conditioned experience. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of the five lower fetters, are due to be reappear [in the Pure Abodes], there to be totally unbound, never again to return from that world... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of [the first] three fetters, and with the attenuation of passion, aversion, & delusion, are once-returners, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of [the first] three fetters, are stream-winners, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | For the stream-enterer, | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Canon contains passages that amplify what it means to cut the first three of these fetters. First, **self-identity views:** | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Sister Dhammadinna: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He assumes feeling to be the self... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He assumes perception to be the self... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He assumes fabrications to be the self... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He assumes consciousness to be the self, or the self as possessing consciousness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Visakha:] "But, lady, how does self-identity not come about?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Sister Dhammadinna: | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He does not assume feeling to be the self... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He does not assume perception to be the self... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He does not assume fabrications to be the self... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He does not assume consciousness to be the self, or the self as possessing consciousness, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Sister Dhammadinna: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Visakha:] "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Sister Dhammadinna: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Visakha:] "' | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Sister Dhammadinna: | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | [The Buddha:] "There is the case, Ananda, where a disciple of the noble ones considers this: ' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then suppose his friends, companions, & relatives took him to a doctor, and the doctor treated him with medicine: purges from above & purges from below, ointments & counter-ointments, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, Magandiya, if I were to teach you the Dhamma — this freedom from Disease, this Unbinding — and you on your part were to understand that freedom from Disease and see that Unbinding, then together with the arising of your eyesight, you would abandon whatever passion & delight you felt with regard for the five aggregates for sustenance. And it would occur to you, 'My gosh, how long have I been fooled, cheated, & deceived by this mind! For in clinging, it was just form that I was clinging to...it was just feeling... just perception... just fabrications... just consciousness that I was clinging to. With my clinging as condition, there is becoming... birth... aging & death... sorrow, lamentation, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the following passage, Ven. Khemaka — a monk who has attained the level of non-returner, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "No, friend." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Then how would he describe it if he were describing it correctly?" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "As the scent of the flower: That's how he would describe it if he were describing it correctly." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, friends, it's not that I say 'I am form,' nor do I say 'I am other than form.' It's not that I say, 'I am feeling... perception... fabrications... consciousness,' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **The fetter of uncertainty** is defined as doubt in the Awakening of the Buddha, the truth of his Dhamma, and the practice of his noble disciples. What this uncertainty boils down to is doubt as to whether there is a Deathless dimension, and whether one can realize it through one's own efforts. The experience of the Deathless — following on the practice of the Dhamma to the point of entering the stream — cuts this fetter by confirming the possibility of a human being' | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He is endowed with unwavering confidence in the Dhamma: 'The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He is endowed with unwavering confidence in the Sangha: 'The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced well... who have practiced straight-forwardly... who have practiced methodically... who have practiced masterfully — in other words, the four types of noble disciples when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as individual types[1] — they are the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples: worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, | ||
+ | |||
+ | NOTE 1. The four pairs are (1) the person on the path to stream entry, the person experiencing the fruit of stream entry; (2) the person on the path to once-returning, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | **The fetter of grasping at habits and practices** is often described in the Pali Canon with reference to the view that one becomes pure simply through performing rituals or patterns of behavior. This view in turn is related to the notion that one's being is defined by one's actions: If one acts in accordance with clearly defined habits and practices, one is //ipso facto// pure. Although the Canon recognizes the importance of habits and practices in the attaining the stream, the experience of the Deathless shows the person who has attained the stream that one cannot define oneself in terms of those habits and practices. Thus one continues to follow virtuous practices, but without defining oneself in terms of them. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | in terms of view, | ||
+ | learning, | ||
+ | knowledge, | ||
+ | habit or practice. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Nor is it found by a person | ||
+ | through lack of view, | ||
+ | of learning, | ||
+ | of knowledge, | ||
+ | of habit or practice. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Letting these go, without grasping, | ||
+ | one is independent, | ||
+ | at peace. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== The Character of a Stream-winner ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | A standard formula in the Canon describes a stream-enterer in terms of four factors. The first three of these four factors of stream entry are directly related to the cutting of the fetter of uncertainty. The fourth is related to the cutting of the fetter of grasping at habits and practices. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Although this is the standard list of the four factors of stream entry, there are other lists that replace the fourth factor with other factors. | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[en: | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[en: | ||
+ | |||
+ | When these lists are collated, we arrive at four qualities that describe a stream-enterer: | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Conviction** in the Triple Gem of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha is not simply a matter of belief or devotion. It forces one to place trust in the principle of kamma — the principle of action and result in line with which one first gained entry to the stream. | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Virtue,** as practiced by the stream-enterer, | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "There is the case where a monk is wholly accomplished in virtue, moderately accomplished in concentration, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Generosity**is actually a characteristic that must precede stream entry. However, the attainment of stream entry gives generosity a distinctive integrity. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | **Discernment** is the character trait of the stream-enterer that is most directly related to the cutting of the fetter of self-identity views. However, its implications spread to other facets of right view as well. In fact, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He discerns that, 'There is no enthrallment unabandoned in me that, enthralled with which, my enthralled mind would not know and see things as they actually are. My mind is well directed for awakening to the truths.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He discerns that, 'When I cultivate, develop, and pursue this view, I personally obtain serenity, I personally obtain Unbinding.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He discerns that, 'There is no other contemplative or brahman outside [the Dhamma & Vinaya] endowed with the sort of view with which I am endowed.' | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He discerns that, 'I am endowed with the character of a person consummate in view.' This is the fourth knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He discerns that, 'I am endowed with the character of a person consummate in view.' This is the fifth knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He discerns that, 'I am endowed with the strength of a person consummate in view.' This is the sixth knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "He discerns that, 'I am endowed with the strength of a person consummate in view.' This is the seventh knowledge attained by him that is noble, transcendent, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "A disciple of the noble ones thus possessed of seven factors has well examined the character for the realization of the fruit of stream entry. A disciple of the noble ones thus possessed of seven factors is endowed with the fruit of stream entry." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is the manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is a learner, standing at the level of a learner, can discern that 'I am a learner'? | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what is the manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is an adept, standing at the level of an adept, can discern that 'I am an adept'? | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Well, well. So you don't know entirely what views the contemplative Gotama has. Then tell us what views the monks have." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I don't even know entirely what views the monks have." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So you don't know entirely what views the contemplative Gotama has or even that the monks have. Then tell us what views you have." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "It wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | When this had been said, one of the wanderers said to Anathapindika the householder, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Another wanderer said to Anathapindika, | ||
+ | |||
+ | Another wanderer said, //"The cosmos is finite..." | ||
+ | |||
+ | When this had been said, Anathapindika the householder said to the wanderers, "As for the venerable one who says, //'The cosmos is eternal.// Only this is true; anything otherwise is worthless. This is the sort of view I have," his view arises from his own inappropriate attention or in dependence on the words of another. Now this view has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated. Whatever has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated, that is inconstant. Whatever is inconstant is stress. This venerable one thus adheres to that very stress, submits himself to that very stress." | ||
+ | |||
+ | When this had been said, the wanderers said to Anathapindika the householder, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "So, householder, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | When this was said, the wanderers fell silent, abashed, sitting with their shoulders drooping, their heads down, brooding, at a loss for words. Anathapindika the householder, | ||
+ | |||
+ | [The Blessed One said:] "Well done, householder. Well done. That is how you should periodically & righteously refute those foolish men." Then he instructed, urged, roused, and encouraged Anathapindika the householder with a talk on Dhamma. When Anathapindika the householder had been instructed, urged, roused and encouraged by the Blessed One with a talk on Dhamma, he got up from his seat and, having bowed down to the Blessed One, left, keeping the Blessed One on his right side. Not long afterward, the Blessed One addressed the monks: " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Rewards ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | Many of the passages describing the rewards of stream entry focus on the stream-enterer' | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Or, not breaking through to that, not penetrating that, with the wasting away of the three fetters they are ' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Or, not breaking through to that, not penetrating that, with the wasting away of the three fetters they are ' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "I tell you this, Nandaka, not having heard it from any other contemplative | ||
+ | |||
+ | When this was said, a certain man said to Nandaka, the chief minister of the Licchavis, "It is now time for your bath, sir." | ||
+ | |||
+ | [Nandaka responded,] " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Canon often places great importance on the power of the last mental state before death in determining one's future plane of existence. However, the power of stream entry is so great that it can overcome even a muddled state of mind at death, ensuring that the next rebirth will be a good one. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Have no fear, Mahanama. Have no fear. Your death will not be a bad one, your demise will not be bad. If one's mind has long been nurtured with conviction, nurtured with virtue, nurtured with learning, nurtured with generosity, nurtured with discernment, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And even though a disciple of the noble ones lives off lumps of almsfood and wears rag-robes, still — because he is endowed with four qualities — he is freed from hell, freed from the animal womb, freed from the realm of hungry ghosts, freed from the plane of deprivation, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And what are the four? There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with unwavering confidence in the Awakened One... unwavering confidence in the Dhamma... unwavering confidence in the Sangha... He/she is endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones... He/she is endowed with these four qualities. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And between the gaining of the four continents and the gaining of these four qualities, the gaining of the four continents is not equal to one sixteenth of the gaining of these four qualities." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | going to heaven, | ||
+ | lordship over all worlds: | ||
+ | The fruit of Stream entry | ||
+ | excels them. | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The great earth is far greater, lord. The little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail is next to nothing. It's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — this little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail — when compared with the great earth." | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream entry], the suffering & stress totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "The water in the pond would be far greater, lord. The water drawn out with the tip of the blade of grass would be next to nothing. It wouldn' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Lord, the water in the great ocean that had gone to extinction, to its total end, would be far greater. The two or three remaining drops of water would be next to nothing. They wouldn' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream entry], the suffering & stress totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | Not all of the rewards of stream entry concern one's fate at death. Many of them pertain also to the here-and-now. | ||
+ | |||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Now, which five forms of danger & animosity are stilled? | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When a person takes life, then with the taking of life as a requisite condition, he produces fear & animosity in the here & now, produces fear & animosity in future lives, experiences mental concomitants of pain & despair; but when he refrains from taking life, he neither produces fear & animosity in the here & now nor does he produce fear & animosity in future lives, nor does he experience mental concomitants of pain & despair: for one who refrains from taking life, that fear & animosity is thus stilled. | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When a person steals... engages in illicit sex... tells lies... | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When a person drinks distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "These are the five forms of fear & animosity that are stilled." | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | "When the truly good people in the world show compassion, they will first show compassion to people of conviction, and not to people without conviction. When visiting, they first visit people of conviction, and not people without conviction. When accepting gifts, they will first accept those from people with conviction, and not from people without conviction. When teaching the Dhamma, they will first teach those with conviction, and not those without conviction. A person of conviction, on the break-up of the body, after death, will arise in a good destination, | ||
+ | |||
+ | "Just as a large banyan tree, on level ground where four roads meet, is a haven for the birds all around, even so a lay person of conviction is a haven for many people: monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers." | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div freeverse> | ||
+ | A massive tree | ||
+ | whose branches carry fruits & leaves, | ||
+ | with trunks & roots | ||
+ | & an abundance of fruits: | ||
+ | There the birds find rest. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In that delightful sphere | ||
+ | they make their home. | ||
+ | Those seeking shade | ||
+ | come to the shade, | ||
+ | those seeking fruit | ||
+ | find fruit to eat. | ||
+ | |||
+ | So with the person consummate | ||
+ | in virtue & conviction, | ||
+ | humble, sensitive, gentle, | ||
+ | delightful, | ||
+ | To him come those without effluent — | ||
+ | free from passion, | ||
+ | free from aversion, | ||
+ | free from delusion — | ||
+ | the field of merit for the world. | ||
+ | |||
+ | They teach him the Dhamma | ||
+ | that dispels all stress. | ||
+ | And when he understands, | ||
+ | he is freed from effluents, | ||
+ | |||
+ | totally unbound. | ||
+ | ]! < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Advice ===== | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | Although it would be pleasant to conclude this study guide with the above passages of encouragement, | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "And how, Nandiya, does a disciple of the noble ones live heedfully? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones is endowed with unwavering confidence in the Awakened One... Not content with that unwavering confidence in the Awakened One, he exerts himself further in solitude by day or seclusion by night. For him, living thus heedfully, joy arises. In one who has joy, rapture arises. In one who has rapture, the body becomes serene. When the body is serene, one feels pleasure. Feeling pleasure, the mind becomes concentrated. When the mind is concentrated, | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt>" | ||
+ | |||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If he should say, "My concern for my mother & father has been abandoned,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If he should say, "My concern for my wife & children has been abandoned,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If he should say, 'My mind is raised above human sensual pleasures and is set on the Devas of the Four Great Kings,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If he should say, 'My mind is raised above the Devas of the Four Great Kings and is set on the Devas of the Thirty-three,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If he should say, 'My mind is raised above the Devas Wielding Power over the Creations of Others and is set on the Brahma world,' | ||
+ | |||
+ | "If he should say, 'My mind is raised above the Brahma worlds and is brought to the cessation of identity,' | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div excerpt> | ||
+ | < | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== Glossary ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <dl class=' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Arahant: | ||
+ | :: A " | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Asava: | ||
+ | :: Effluent; fermentation. Four qualities — sensuality, views, becoming, and ignorance — that "flow out" of the mind and create the flood of the round of death and rebirth. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Deva (devata): | ||
+ | :: Literally, " | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Dhamma: | ||
+ | :: (1) Event; action; (2) a phenomenon in and of itself; (3) mental quality; (4) doctrine, teaching; (5) nibbana (although there are passages describing nibbana as the abandoning of all dhammas). Sanskrit form: //Dharma.// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Jhana: | ||
+ | :: Mental absorption. A state of strong concentration focused on a single sensation or mental notion. This term is derived from the verb // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Kamma: | ||
+ | :: Intentional act. Sanskrit form: //Karma.// | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Nibbana: | ||
+ | :: Literally, the " | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Sangha: | ||
+ | :: Community. On the conventional // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Tathagata: | ||
+ | :: Literally, "one who has become authentic // | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Vinaya: | ||
+ | :: The monastic discipline. The Buddha' | ||
+ | |||
+ | </dl> | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ====== Abbreviations ====== | ||
+ | <div chapter> | ||
+ | <span anchor # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <dl class=' | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? AN: | ||
+ | :: Anguttara Nikaya | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Dhp: | ||
+ | :: Dhammapada | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? DN: | ||
+ | :: Digha Nikaya | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Iti: | ||
+ | :: Itivuttaka | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? MN: | ||
+ | :: Majjhima Nikaya | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Mv: | ||
+ | :: Mahavagga | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? SN: | ||
+ | :: Samyutta Nikaya | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Sn: | ||
+ | :: Sutta Nipata | ||
+ | |||
+ | ? Thag: | ||
+ | :: Theragatha | ||
+ | |||
+ | </dl> | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <span # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div showmore> | ||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div f_zzecopy> | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | [[http:// | ||
+ | " | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # | ||
+ | |||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | </ | ||
+ | |||
+ | ---- | ||
+ | |||
+ | <div # |