Sotāpanna Explained

In Buddhism, a Pali: sotāpanna (Pali) or Sanskrit: srotāpanna (Sanskrit) (; Burmese: Burmese: သောတာပန်; Tibetan: Tibetan: རྒྱུན་ཞུགས་; Wylie: Tibetan: rgyun zhugs[1])—interpreted variously as a "stream-enterer", "stream-winner",[2] or "stream-entrant"[3] —is a person who has seen the dharma and thereby has dropped the first three fetters (Pāli: Pali: samyojana; Sanskrit: Sanskrit: saṃyojana) that bind a being to a possible rebirth in one of the three lower realms (animals, hungry ghosts, and beings suffering in and from hellish states), namely self-view (sakkāya-ditthi), clinging to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa), and skeptical indecision (Vicikitsa).

The word sotāpanna literally means "one who entered (āpanna) the stream (sota); stream-enterer", after a metaphor which calls the noble eightfold path a stream which leads to a vast ocean, nibbāna.[4] Entering the stream (sotāpatti) is the first of the four stages of enlightenment.[5]

Attainment

The is termed the path of stream-entry (sotāpatti-magga), which cuts through the first three fetters. The person who experiences it is called a stream-winner (sotāpanna).[6] [7]

The sotāpanna is said to attain an intuitive grasp of the dharma[8] —this wisdom being called right view (sammā diṭṭhi)[9] —and has unshakable confidence in the Buddha, dharma, and sangha; this trio is sometimes taken to be the triple refuge, and are at other times listed as being objects of recollection.[10] In general though, confirmed confidence in the Buddha, dharma, and sangha is considered to be one of the four limbs of stream-winning (sotāpannassa angāni).[11] The sotapanna is said to have "opened the eye of the Dhamma" (dhammacakkhu), because they have realized that whatever arises will cease (impermanence).[12] Their conviction in the true dharma would at this point be unshakable.[13]

The sotāpanna has had their first glimpse of the unconditioned element, the asankhata, in which they see the goal, in (magga-phala). Whereas the stream-entrant has seen nibbāna and therefore has verified confidence in it, the arahant[14] can drink fully of its waters, to use a simile from the Kosambi Sutta (SN 12.68) of a "well" encountered along a desert road.[15] The sotāpanna "may state this about himself: 'Hell is ended; animal wombs are ended; the state of the hungry shades is ended; states of deprivation, destitution, the bad bourns are ended! I am a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening!'"[16]

The remaining three paths—namely: once-return (sakadāgāmin), non-return (anāgāmin), and sainthood (arahatta)—become "destined" (sammatta niyāma) for the stream-entrant, whose enlightenment as a disciple (ariya-sāvaka) becomes inevitable within seven lives transmigrating among gods and humans.[17] [18] If they are diligent (appamatta, appamāda) in the practice of the Teacher's (satthāra) message, they may fully awaken within their present life. They have very little future suffering to undergo.[19]

The early Buddhist texts (e.g. the Ratana Sutta) say that a stream-entrant will no longer be born in the animal womb, or hell realms, nor as a hungry ghost. The pathways to unfortunate rebirth destinations (duggati) have been closed to them.[20]

According to Theravada Buddhism, in the period of 5,000 years after the parinirvana of Buddha, we can still attain sotāpanna or even Arhat through practicing satipatthana, and satipatthana is the only way out.[21]

Three fetters

In the Pali Canon, the qualities of a sotāpanna are described as:[22]

The three fetters which the sotāpanna eradicates are:[23] [24]

  1. Self-view — The view of substance, or that what is compounded (sankhata), could be eternal in the five aggregates (form, feelings, perception, intentions, cognizance) and thus possessed or owned as 'I', 'me', or 'mine'. A sotāpanna lacks a view about self (sakkāya-ditthi), as that doctrine is proclaimed to be a subtle form of clinging.[25]
  2. Clinging to rites and rituals — The view that one becomes pure simply through performing rituals (animal sacrifices, ablutions, chanting, etc.), adhering to rigid moralism, or relying on a god for non-causal delivery (issara nimmāna). Rites and rituals now function more to obscure than to support the right view of the sotāpanna's now-opened dharma eye. The sotāpanna realizes that deliverance can be won only through the practice of the Noble Eightfold Path. It is the elimination of the notion that there are shortcuts to perfecting all virtues.
  3. Skeptical doubt — Doubt about the Buddha, his teaching (dharma), and his community (sangha) is eradicated because the sotāpanna personally experiences the true nature of reality through insight, and this insight confirms the accuracy of the Buddha's teaching. Seeing removes doubt, because the sight is a form of vision (dassana), that allows one to know (ñāṇa).

Defilements

According to the Pali commentary, six types of defilement are eventually abandoned by a sotāpanna:[26]

  1. Envy
  2. Jealousy
  3. Hypocrisy
  4. Fraud
  5. Denigration
  6. Domineering

Rebirth

A sotāpanna is safe from falling into the states of misery (they will not be born as an animal, ghost, or hell being). Their lust, hatred, and delusion are not strong enough to cause rebirth in the lower realms. A sotāpanna will have to be reborn at most only seven more times in the human or heavenly worlds before attaining nibbāna.[27] It is not necessary for a sotāpanna to be reborn seven more times before attaining nibbāna, as an ardent practitioner may progress to the higher stages in the same life in which he/she reaches the sotāpanna level by making an aspiration and persistent effort to reach the final goal of nibbāna.[28]

According to Buddha, there are three types of sotāpannas, classifiable according to their possible rebirths:

  1. "If a man, after the disappearance of the 3 fetters [the ''samyojana'': personality-belief, skeptical doubt, attachment to rules and rituals], has entered the stream [to ''Nibbāna''], he is no more subject to rebirth in lower worlds, is firmly established, destined to full enlightenment. After having passed amongst the heavenly and human beings only seven times more through the round of rebirths, he puts an end to suffering. Such a man is called 'one with 7 births at the utmost' [''sattakkhattu-parama'']."
  2. "If a man, after the disappearance of the 3 fetters.... is destined to full enlightenment, he, after having passed among noble families two or three times through the round of rebirths, puts an end to suffering. Such a man is called 'one passing from one noble family to another' [''kolankola'']."
  3. "If a man, after the disappearance of the 3 fetters.... is destined to full enlightenment, he, after having only once more returned to human existence, puts an end to suffering. Such a man is called 'one germinating only once more' [''eka-bījī'']."

Six actions that are not committed

A sotāpanna will not commit six wrong actions:[29]

  1. Murdering one's own mother.
  2. Murdering one's own father.
  3. Murdering an arahant.
  4. Maliciously injuring the Buddha to the point of drawing blood.
  5. Deliberately creating a schism in the monastic community.
  6. Taking another Teacher [besides Buddha].[30]

Textual references

Suttas

The Buddha spoke favorably about the sotāpanna on many occasions. Even though it is (only) the first of ariya sangha members, he or she is welcomed by all other sangha members for he or she practices for the benefit and welfare of many. In the literature, the arya sangha is described as "the four" when taken as pairs, and as "the eight" when taken as individual types. This refers to the four supra-mundane fruits (attainments: "phala") and the corresponding four supra-mundane paths (of those practicing to attain those fruits: "magga").[31]

This is called "the recollection of the Sangha" (sanghanussati). It can also be interpreted as: "They are the Blessed One's disciples, who have practiced well, who have practiced directly, who have practiced insight-fully, those who practice with integrity (to share what they have learned with others). They give occasion for incomparable goodness to arise in the world because gifts to them bear great fruit and benefit to the giver."

The fifty-fifth Samyutta of the Samyutta Nikaya is called the "Sotāpatti-saṃyutta", and concerns sotāpannas and their attainment. In that chapter's discourse-numbers 1–4, 6–9, 11–14, 16–20, 22–36, 39–49, 51, 53, and 54, sotāpannas are praised as sangha members—by and to: the sick, lay followers, people on their deathbed, bhikkhunis, bhikkhus, and devas—and end up becoming the well-being and benefit of many.

Dhammapada

From Dhammapada verse 178:

Chán

See also Sudden Enlightenment

According to Mahāyāna Master Bhikshu Hsuan Hua's commentary on the Vajra Sutra,

Hsuan Hua continues:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism. Lati Rinpoche. Denma Locho Rinpoche. Leah Zahler Rinpoche. Jeffrey. Hopkins. Wisdom Publications. 63.
  2. Web site: A Glossary of Pali and Buddhist Terms. Access to Insight. 2010-08-22.
  3. Web site: Snyder. David. Definition of a Buddhist. The Dhamma. https://web.archive.org/web/20170214214416/https://www.thedhamma.com/definition.htm/. 2017-02-14.
  4. Web site: Bhikkhu. Thanissaro. Intro the Stream: A Study Guide on the First Stage of Awakening. 2012. Access to Insight. Very good, Sariputta! Very good! This noble eightfold path — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration — is the stream..
  5. Web site: Sujato. Bhikkhu. Bhante Sujato. A Swift Pair of Messengers. Santipada. https://web.archive.org/web/20180605120005/http://santipada.org/aswiftpairofmessengers/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/A_Swift_Pair_of_Messengers_Bhikkhu_Sujato.html. 2018-06-05.
  6. Web site: All of Us. 1994. 2009-03-16. Access to Insight. Sister Ayya Khema.
  7. Web site: The Noble Eightfold Path. 1999. 2009-03-16. Access to Insight. Bhikkhu Bodhi.
  8. Web site: Tan. Piya. Sarakani Sutta 1. The Dharmafarers. 25 June 2015. Even these great sal trees, 43 Mahanama, if they could understand what is well spoken and what is ill spoken, I would declare them to be streamwinners, no longer bound to the lower world, of fixed destiny, sure of awakening!. 26 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150626110858/http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/3.6-Sarakani-S-1-s55.24-piya.pdf. dead.
  9. Book: 2008 . Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . Maha-cattarisaka Sutta . The Great Forty . http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.117.than.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . And what is the right view that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path? The discernment, the faculty of discernment, the strength of discernment, analysis of qualities as a factor for awakening, the path factor of right view in one developing the noble path whose mind is noble, whose mind is without effluents, who is fully possessed of the noble path. This is the right view that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path..
  10. Web site: Tan. Piya. (Agata, phala) Mahanama Sutta.
  11. Book: Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . Nandiya Sutta . To Nandiya . https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN55_40.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One... And further, the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Dhamma... And further, the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Saṅgha....
  12. Book: Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . Upatissa-pasine . Upatissa's (Sariputta's) Question . http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/vin/mv/mv.01.23.01-10.than.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . 1996 . 25 June 2015 . Then to Sariputta the wanderer, as he heard this Dhamma exposition, there arose the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye: "Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.".
  13. Web site: Tan. Piya. Sarakani Sutta 1. The Dharmafarers. 2003. 25 June 2015. 11 The 4 qualities of a streamwinner: (1) unshakable faith in the Buddha, (2) in the Dharma, and (3) in the Sangha; and (4) moral virtue dear to the saints..
  14. Book: Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . Sekha Sutta . The Learner . http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn48/sn48.053.than.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . 2005 . 25 June 2015.
  15. Book: Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . Kosambi Sutta . At Kosambi (On Knowing Dependent Co-arising) . https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.068.than.html . 2000 . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . "My friend, although I have seen properly with right discernment, as it actually is present, that 'The cessation of becoming is Unbinding,' still I am not an arahant whose fermentations are ended. It's as if there were a well along a road in a desert, with neither rope nor water bucket. A man would come along overcome by heat, oppressed by the heat, exhausted, dehydrated, & thirsty. He would look into the well and would have knowledge of 'water,' but he would not dwell touching it with his body. In the same way, although I have seen properly with right discernment, as it actually is present, that 'The cessation of becoming is Unbinding,' still I am not an arahant whose fermentations are ended." . 12.
  16. Book: Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . 2000 . Vera Sutta . Animosity . http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.092.than.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . 10.
  17. Book: Thera . Piyadassi . Ratana Sutta . The Jewel Discourse . 1999 . http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.01.piya.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight.
  18. Web site: Tan . Piya . Velama Sutta . 2005 . The Dharmafarers . Furthermore, Sariputta, here a certain person fulfills moral virtue, but gains only limited concentration, gains only limited wisdom. With the total destruction of the three fetters, he is a seven-at-most, having re-arisen and wandered amongst gods and humans for seven lives at the most, makes an end of suffering. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170215224437/http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/16.6-Velama-S-a9.20-piya.pdf . 2017-02-15.
  19. Book: Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . Nakhasikha Sutta . The Tip of the Fingernail . https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN13_1.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . 2023-04-29.
  20. Book: Bhikkhu . Thanissaro . Cakkhu Sutta . The Eye . https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN25_1.html . dhammatalks.org . Access to Insight . 2023-04-29 . He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry..
  21. Web site: 《大念处经》白话文-网友文摘内容-佛教在线 . 2021-05-19. 2022-03-02 . www.fjnet.com.
  22. Book: Bhikkhu. Thanissaro. Alagaddupama Sutta. The Water-Snake Simile. 2023-04-29. dhammatalks.org.
  23. Web site: Into the Stream. 2023-04-29. Access to Insight. Thanissaro Bhikkhu. 2012.
  24. Web site: The Noble Eightfold Path. 2023-04-29. 1999. Access to Insight. Bhikkhu Bodhi.
  25. Web site: Cula-sihanada Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Lion's Roar .
  26. Web site: The Simile of the Cloth & The Discourse on Effacement. 2009-03-16. Access to Insight. 1994. Nyanaponika Thera.
  27. Web site: Transcendental Dependent Arising. 2009-03-16. Access to Insight. 1995. Bhikkhu Bodhi.
  28. Web site: The Jhanas in Theravada Buddhist Meditation. 2023-04-29. Access to Insight. 1995. Henepola Gunaratana.
  29. Book: Majjhima Nikāya 115. Many Elements - Bahudhātukasutta. 2019-01-20.
  30. Book: Tan . Piya . Bahu Dhatuka Sutta . The Discourse on the Many Elements . 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170313223321/http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/29.1a-Bahudhatuka-S-m115-piya.pdf . 2017-03-13 . The Dharmafarers . 25 June 2015 . 8 . (4) He understands that it is impossible, there is no chance, that an individual attained to right view, would deprive his mother of life—this is not possible. And he understands that it is possible, there is the chance, that an ordinary worldling, would deprive his mother of life—this is possible. (5) He understands that it is impossible, there is no chance, that [65] an individual attained to right view, would deprive his father of life—this is not possible. And he understands that it is possible, there is the chance, that an ordinary worldling, would deprive his father of life—this is possible. (6) He understands that it is impossible, there is no chance, that an individual attained to right view, would deprive an arhat of life—this is not possible. And he understands that it is possible, there is the chance, that an ordinary worldling, would deprive an arhat of life—this is possible. (7) He understands that it is impossible, there is no chance, that an individual attained to right view, would draw the Tathagata’s blood—this is not possible. And he understands that it is possible, there is the chance, that an ordinary worldling, would draw the Tathagata’s blood—this is possible. (8) He understands that it is impossible, there is no chance, that an individual attained to right view, would divide the monastic order [the Sangha]—this is not possible. And he understands that it is possible, there is the chance, that an ordinary worldling, would divide the monastic order—this is possible. (9) He understands that it is impossible, there is no chance, that an individual attained to right view, would proclaim another Teacher—this is not possible. And he understands that it is possible, there is the chance, that an ordinary worldling, would declare another Teacher—this is possible..
  31. Web site: Sangha. 2005. 2010-08-22. Access to Insight.

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