The four stages of enlightenment in Buddhism are the four progressive stages culminating in full enlightenment as an Arahant, which an average, instructed person can attain in this life. The four stages are Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami and Arahant.
The teaching of the four stages of enlightenment is a central element of the early Buddhist schools, including the Theravada school of Buddhism, which still survives.
The Ordinary person
An ordinary person or puthujjana (Pali; Sanskrit: pṛthagjanai.e. pritha : without, and jnana : knowledge) is trapped in the endless cycling of saṃsara. One is reborn, lives, and dies in endless rebirths, either as a deva, human, animal, male, female, neuter, ghost, deity, divinity, or hellion, or various other entities on different categories of existence.
There are a total of 31 planes of existence divided into three realms. The lowest realm is the realm of sensuality (kama-loka) with the human world being the lowest fortunate world. Above this realm is the fine material realm (rupa-loka), with numerous deva worlds : The lowest classes of devas (1) the desire realm devas devote their time to enjoying and satisfying sense desires. Higher up are the (2) form and (3) formless devas and brahmas. Having passed beyond sensual desires, the form devas experience the refined bliss of the first four meditative absorptions (jhanas) and possess subtle bodies emanating light. Transcending form, the devas of the formless realm (arupa-loka) reside in subtle conscious states known as unbounded space, unbounded consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception.
Although these devas and brahmas live extremely long lives of ease and luxury in worlds that may be described as paradises, they are not immortal. They will eventually pass away and fall to lower states of existence because their lives are filled with either distractions (because it is difficult for them to find the motivation to practice the Dharma that creates profitable karma), or as the purest deva consciousness within samsara, they still have not overcome ignorance, craving for continued existence, or self-view. Hence some of them having exhausted their merit, or good karma created in past lives, without much spiritual progress can therefore potentially take rebirth in even in subhuman planes.
There are numerous lower or unfortunate planes below the human world: The least painful is (1) the animal realm (e.g., insects, birds, fish, mammals, etc.). Their lives are characterized by instinct and emotions having to do with survival. Then there is (2) the hungry spirit plane, which is characterized by long periods of hunger and thirst and lack that is difficult to bear. Finally, the lowest plane is (3) the hell planes, where beings are relentlessly tormented depending on the plane (pierced, scalded, tortured, frosted, etc.) by the fears arising from their delusional mind as a result of unprofitable karma. The suffering continues for what seems like an eternity but eventually the karma that sustained that existence is exhausted and the hell beings (narakas) pass away and are reborn elsewhere in samsara according to their karma.
Doing good or bad (bodily, verbally, or mentally) as influenced by an entity's mental attachments ( sans. Raga ) and aversions ( sans. Dvvesh ), an ordinary entity is born in higher or lower states of being (heavens, lower states, or even tormenting hells) according to their actions in preceding births.
As these entities have little control over their minds and behaviors, due to the hardships they experience, their destinies are haphazard and subject to great suffering. Worries, "tension", adversaries, and general adversity are their daily grindstone - all projections of their own mind, instigated by the driving force of past karma, subsisting as samskaras, or tendencies, in the thought-stuff, and manifested as vasanas, or predilections, in immediate consciousness and behavior.
An ordinary entity has never seen and experienced the ultimate truth of Dharma and therefore has no way of finding an end to the predicament. It is only when suffering becomes acute, or seemingly unending, that an entity looks for a "solution" to and, if fortunate, finds the Dharma.
[edit] The Noble persons
| Supra-mundane stages, fetters and rebirths (according to the Sutta Piṭaka) | |||
| stage's "fruit"[2] | abandoned fetters | rebirth(s) until suffering's end | |
| stream-enterer | 1. identity view 2. doubt 3. ritual attachment | lower fetters | up to seven more times as a human or in a heaven |
| once-returner | once more as a human | ||
| non-returner | 4. sensual desire 5. ill will | once more in a pure abode | |
| arahant | 6. material-rebirth lust 7. immaterial-rebirth lust 8. conceit 9. restlessness 10. ignorance | higher fetters | none |
One who begins sincere training on the Buddhist path (known as Sekhas in Pali or "those in training") and experiences the truth to the extent of cutting off three or more of the ten mental fetters (Pali: saṃyojana) becomes an ariya puggala (Pali; Sanskrit: āryapudgala): a "noble person" who will surely become an Arahant within seven existences. The length is governed by the degree of attainment reached. "Among whatever communities or groups there may be, the Sangha of the Tathagata's disciples is considered supreme... Those who have confidence in the Sangha have confidence in what is supreme. And for those with confidence in the supreme, supreme will be the result."
The Sangha of the Tathagata's disciples (Ariya Sangha), i.e. the four [groups of noble disciples] when taken as pairs, the eight when taken as individuals. The four groups of noble disciples (Buddhist Sekhas) when taken as pairs are those who have attained:
- I
(1) the path to stream-entry; (2) the fruition of stream-entry;
- II
(3) the path to once-returning ; (4) the fruition of once-returning;
- III
(5) the path to non-returning ; (6) the fruition of non-returning;
- IV
(7) the path to arahantship ; (8) the fruition of arahantship.
Taking each attainment singly gives eight individuals.
Stream-enterer
Main article: Sotāpanna
The first stage is that of Sotāpanna (Pali; Sanskrit: Srotāpanna), literally meaning "one who enters (āpadyate) the stream (sotas)," with the stream being the supermundane Noble Eightfold Path regarded as the highest Dharma. The stream-enterer is also said to have "opened the eye of the Dharma" (dhammacakkhu, Sanskrit: dharmacakṣus).
A stream-enterer reaches arahantship within seven rebirths upon opening the eye of the Dharma.
Due to the fact that the stream-enterer has attained an intuitive grasp of Buddhist doctrine (samyagdṛṣṭi or sammādiṭṭhi, "right view") and has complete confidence or Saddha in the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, that individual will not be reborn in any plane lower than the human (animal, preta, or in hell).
Once-returner Sakadagami
The second stage is that of the Sakadāgāmī (Sanskrit: Sakṛdāgāmin), literally meaning "one who once (sakṛt) comes (āgacchati)". The once-returner will at most return to the human world one more time. Both the stream-enterer and the once-returner have abandoned the first three fetters. The stream-enterer and once-returner are distinguished by the fact that the once-returner has weakened lust, hate, and delusion to a greater degree. The non-returner therefore has fewer than seven rebirths. They may take place in higher planes but will include rebirth in the human world at most only once more. Once-returners do not have only one more rebirth, as the name suggests, for that may not even be said with certainty about the non-returner who can take multiple rebirths in the five "Pure Abodes".
Non-returner
The third stage is that of the Anāgāmī (Sanskrit: Anāgāmin), literally meaning "one who does not (an-) come (āgacchati)". The non-returner, having overcome sensuality, does not return to human world, or any unfortunate world lower than that after death. Instead, non-returners are reborn in one of the five special worlds in Rūpadhātu called the Śuddhāvāsa worlds, or "Pure Abodes", and there attain Nirvāṇa; Pāli: Nibbana; some of them are reborn a second time in a higher world of the Pure Abodes.
An Anāgāmī has abandoned the five lower fetters, out of ten total fetters, that bind beings to the cycle of rebirth. An Anāgāmī is well advanced and close to complete Enlightenment.
Arahant
The fourth stage is that of Arahant, a fully enlightened being who has abandoned all ten fetters and who, upon (Sanskrit: Parinirvāṇa, Pāli: Parinibbāna) will never be reborn in any plane or world, having wholly escaped saṃsāra.
Arhat (Sanskrit: अर्हत arhat; Pali: arahant), in Buddhism, signifies a spiritual practitioner who has realized certain high stages of attainment. The implications of the term vary based on the respective schools and traditions.
The exact interpretation and etymology of words such as arahant and arhat remains disputed. In the Theravada tradition, and in early PTS publications, the word arahant or arhat is interpreted to mean the "worthy one"[1] This has been challenged by more recent research, resulting from the etymological comparison of Pali and early Jain Prakrit forms (arihanta and arahanta).[2] The alternative etymology is "foe-destroyer" or "vanquisher of enemies," which corresponds to the Jain definition. The latter challenges the assumption that the root of the word is Pali araha (cf. Sk. arha); Richard Gombrich has proposed an etymology of ari + hanta, bringing the root meaning closer to Jina (an epithet commonly used of both the leaders of the Jain religion and Buddha).
The term arhat was translated into East Asian languages phonetically as a transliterated term, exemplified in the Chinese āluóhàn, often shortened to simply luóhàn . However, the Tibetan term for arhat was translated by meaning from Sanskrit. This translation, dgra bcom pa, means "one who has destroyed the foes of afflictions." This Tibetan translation of the meaning conforms with the Jain definition as well.
Arhat occurs as 'arhattaa' in the Rig Veda (Hopkins, P. 202The Great Epic of India) and as the first offer of salutation in the main Jain prayer Navakar Mantra. The latter word occurs mostly in Buddhist and Jain texts, but also in some Vaishnava texts, such as the Bhagavata Purana.[6] Arhattaa also occurs in the Vaishnava Srî Narada Pancharatnam (Vijnanananda, P. 203 Srî Narada Pancharatnam).
In the early Buddhist schools
A range of views on the relative perfection of arhats existed amongst the early Buddhist schools. In general, the Mahāsāṃghika branch, such as the Ekavyāvahārikas, Lokottaravādins, Bahuśrutīyas, Prajñaptivādins, and Caitika[9] schools, advocated the transcendental and supramundane nature of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the fallibility of arhats. The Caitikas, for example, advocated the ideal of the bodhisattva (bodhisattvayāna) over that of the arhat (śrāvakayāna), and they viewed arhats as being fallible and still subject to ignorance.
According to A.K. Warder, the Sarvāstivādins held the same position as the Mahāsāṃghika branch regarding arhats, considering them to be imperfect and fallible.[12] The Kāśyapīya school also held the doctrine that arhats were fallible and imperfect, similar to the view of the Sarvāstivādins and the various Mahāsāṃghika sects.[13] The Kāśyapīyas believed that arhats have not fully eliminated desires, that their "perfection" is incomplete, and that it is possible for them to relapse.
In Theravāda Buddhism
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In Theravada Buddhism, it means anyone who has reached the total Awakening and attained Nirvana, including the Buddha. An arahant is a person who has destroyed greed, hatred, and delusion - the unwholesome roots which underlie all fetters - who upon decease will not be reborn in any world, having wholly cut off all fetters that bind a person to the samsara. In the Pali Canon, the word is sometimes used as a synonym for tathagata.
After attainment of Nibbana, the five aggregates (physical forms, feelings/sensations, perception, mental formations and consciousness) will continue to function, sustained by physical bodily vitality. This attainment is termed the nibbana element with a residue remaining. But once the Arahant pass-away and with the disintegration of the physical body, the five aggregates will cease to function, hence ending all traces of existence in the phenomenal world and thus total release from the misery of samsara. It would then be termed the nibbana element without residue remaining. Parinibbana occurs at the death of an Arahant.
In Theravada Buddhism the Buddha himself is first identified as an arahant, as are his enlightened followers, because they are free from all defilements, without greed, hatred, delusion, ignorance and craving, lacking "assets" which will lead to future birth, the arahant knows and sees the real here and now. This virtue shows stainless purity, true worth, and the accomplishment of the end, nibbana.nanda states that he knows monastics to achieve nibbana in one of four ways:[
- one develops insight preceded by serenity (Pali: samatha-pubbaṇgamaṃ vipassanaṃ),
- one develops serenity preceded by insight (vipassanā-pubbaṇgamaṃ samathaṃ),
- one develops serenity and insight in a stepwise fashion (samatha-vipassanaṃ yuganaddhaṃ),
- one's mind becomes seized by excitation about the dhamma and, as a consequence, develops serenity and abandons the fetters (dhamma-uddhacca-viggahitaṃ mānasaṃ hoti).
In Theravada, although the Arahants have achieved the same goals as the Buddha, there are some differences among Arahants due to the way of their practice.
In the Pali Canon, the word "tathagata" is sometimes used as a synonym for arahant, though the former usually refers to the Buddha alone.
These three awakened beings are classified as Arahant:
- Sammasambuddha, usually just called Buddha, who discovers the truth by himself and teaches the path to awakening to others.
- Paccekabuddha, who discovers the truth by himself but lacks the skill to teach others.
- Savakabuddha, who receive the truth directly or indirectly from a Sammasambuddha.
For those that have destroyed greed and hatred (in the sensory context) with some residue of delusion, are called anagami (non-returner). Anagamis will not be reborn into the human world after death, but into the heaven of the Pure Abodes, where only anagamis live. There, they will attain full enlightenment.
In Mahāyāna Buddhism
Mahāyāna Buddhists see the Buddha himself as the ideal towards which one should aim in one's spiritual aspirations. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a hierarchy of general attainments is envisioned, with the attainments of arhats and pratyekabuddha being clearly separate, and below that of fully-enlightened buddhas (Skt. samyaksaṃbuddha), or tathāgatas, such as Gautama Buddha.
In contrast to the goal of becoming a fully-enlightened buddha, the path of a śrāvaka in being motivated by seeking personal liberation from saṃsāra, is often portrayed as selfish and undesirable. There are even some Mahāyāna texts that regard the aspiration to arhatship and personal liberation as an outside path. Instead of aspiring for arhatship, Mahāyāna Buddhists are urged to instead take up the path of a bodhisattva, and to not fall back to the level of arhats and śrāvakas.[21] Therefore, it is taught that an arhat must go on to become a bodhisattva eventually. If they fail to do so in the lifetime in which they reach the attainment, they will fall into a deep samādhi of emptiness, thence to be roused and taught the bodhisattva path, presumably when ready. According to the Lotus Sūtra (Skt. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra), any true arhat will eventually accept the Mahāyāna path.
The Mahāyāna teachings often consider the śrāvaka path to be motivated by fear of saṃsāra, which renders them incapable of aspiring to buddhahood, and that they therefore lack the courage and wisdom of a bodhisattva. Novice bodhisattvas are compared to śrāvakas and arhats at times. In the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, there is an account of 60 novice bodhisattvas who attain arhatship despite themselves and their efforts at the bodhisattva path, because they lacked ability in prajñā-pāramitā and skillful means to progress as bodhisattvas toward complete enlightenment (Skt. Anuttarā Samyaksaṃbodhi). This is because they are still viewed as having innate attachment and fear of saṃsāra. The Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra compares these people to a giant bird without wings that cannot help but plummet to the earth from the top of Mount Sumeru.
Mahāyāna Buddhism has viewed the śrāvaka path culminating in arhatship as an lesser accomplishment than complete enlightenment, but still accords due respect to arhats for their respective achievements. Therefore, buddha-realms are depicted as populated by both śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. Far from being completely disregarded, the accomplishments of arhats are viewed as impressive, essentially because they have transcended the mundane world. Chinese Buddhism and other East Asian traditions have historically accepted this perspective, and specific groups of arhats are venerated as well, such as the Sixteen Arhats, the Eighteen Arhats, and the Five Hundred Arhats. The first famous portraits of these arhats were painted by the Chinese monk Guan Xiu in 891 CE. He donated these portraits to Shengyin Temple in Qiantang (present day Hangzhou) where they are preserved with great care and ceremonious respect.
In some respects, the path to arhatship and the path to complete enlightenment are seen as having common grounds. However, a distinctive difference is seen in the Mahāyāna doctrine pushing emotional and cognitive non-attachment to their logical consequences. Of this, Paul Williams writes that in Mahāyāna Buddhism, "Nirvāṇa must be sought without being sought (for oneself), and practice must be done without being practiced. The discursive mode of thinking cannot serve the basic purpose of attainment without attainment.As the name suggests, Mahindagamanaya is of great significance to our paradise isle which led it to be identified as Dharmadveepa. Sri Lanka had the good fortune of being blessed with the supreme gift of the Buddha, His doctrine and the message of the Dhamma.
Lanka's links with Jambudveepa are known to date back to the Buddhist era. Later, when Emperor Asoka's mission to propagate the Dhamma at the conclusion of the third Buddhist Council held at Pataliputra after the Mahaparinibbana was launched, Lanka was the first place to attract his attention.
Special importance had been attached to the island. The two kings of the two countries had developed a very special friendship which led to this celebrated religious event. The dedicated duo was responsible for this immortal gift to Sinhaladeepa.
It was in the form of a precious gift from the Emperor to his loyal friend that the Dhammadutha mission was sent here. Emperor Asoka's son Arahant Mahinda Thera led the Buddhist mission to Sri Lanka.
He alighted on Missaka Pawwa on the Poson Full Moon Poya Day in 247BC. King Devanampiyatissa greatly impressed by the intellectual conversation that followed, while engaged in a hunting spree, accepted Buddhism, which action was followed by the people.
Thousands embraced the new faith. Mahinda Thera's first sermon was Chullahattipadopama Sutta, the gem of truth embodied in the philosophical teachings of the Buddha which was mainly responsible for shaping the destiny and future of the country, creating a golden era unparalleled in the annals of Sasanic history.
Pre-Mahinda era
The earliest available documentary sources Deepavamsa and Mahavamsa give an elaborate account of the sacred visits of the Buddha to Sri Lanka long before the introduction of His doctrine. The Buddha’s visits are considered as a landmark gift to Buddhist heritage which tells us about the unforgettable events, during the time of the living Buddha, which in a way is even more important than the Thera's visit.
The soil of Lanka has been sanctified and blessed by the Buddha on several occasions, very clearly supported by historical as well as archaeological evidence.
More modern scholars such as Ven. Walpola Rahula Thera and Dr. E. W. Adikaram who had done intense research on the subject are of the view that Buddhism was known in Ceylon before the advent of Mahinda Thera.
According to them Sri Lanka was the only country to preserve the Theravada doctrine - the original form of Buddhism coming direct from the Buddha's time.
To be very brief, the Buddha visited Sri Lanka thrice. The most sanctified places which he visited are Mahiyangana, Nagadeepa, Kelaniya and Sri Pada. You can well and truly say that each visit of the truly wonderful master occupies a unique place in the history of the island as one that brought about peace and harmony among the inhabitants.
But with the passage of time, the sanctity and serenity bestowed by the Buddha during His visits had disappeared until it was renewed by Mahindagamanaya. His arrival here 236 years after the Parinibbana was too long a time for anything to continue, and therefore, it is perfectly correct in concluding that this wonderful faith had to be started afresh in Sinhaladeepa.
Then what was the country like before the advent of Thera Mahinda? According to chronicles, the people were steeped in animism, primitive beliefs and superstitious practices. During the Buddha's visits to which reference was made earlier there had been Yakkha and Naga tribes (subdued by the Buddha) who would have had practices such as worshipping tree gods, rock gods, demons and devils and even the dead. Some had even worshipped objects of nature - the sun, moon and rain.
History records that King Pandukabhaya built a temple for Yakka Chittaraja and had a banyan tree set apart as the abode of Vais Ravana and a palmyrah tree for Vyadackva both supposed to be tree deities.
He is also said to have built dwellings for Jains (Nigantas) and Brahmins. These are good examples for the religious state of pre-Buddhist Lanka. To these people the message of the Buddha gave a definite way of life. One could call this the greatest civilising force in the history of the island.
With the introduction of Buddhism, the three great symbols of the Triple Gem - the Chetiya enshrining Buddhas relics, Vihara Ge with the Buddha image and the Bo tree symbolising the enlightenment - became the associated places of worship, giving inspiration and cultivating devotion, creating a serene religious atmosphere as well as the observance of discipline.
Compassion, Metta or loving kindness, boundless and limitless, extended to all as Buddhism emphasises, gave them happiness and peace of mind as never experienced before. The lofty moral code made them apply Dhamma in their everyday life.
For the Buddha Sasana to flourish, Arahant Mahinda advised the King to ordain the youth of the country to propagate the Dhamma and they formed the nucleus of the Sangha.
A nephew of the King was the first to be ordained as Maharitta Thera. Soon the numbers increased. Novices were trained for the Sangha. Monasteries became centres of learning. The discourses on morality delivered to the devotees were of great spiritual value to them.
The honour of preserving the Thripitaka where Buddhist philosophy is enshrined, which remained unwritten but continued to survive in the memory of the Mahasangha, goes to Mahinda Thera. Lankans are greatly indebted to Him for this. He also brought here the literature of Buddhism - the Pali canon, Jataka stories and the Kathavathu, orally preserved by the Sangha which later become the source of the island's history.
The great chronicles came into being with written history. The art of writing too was introduced by Arahant Mahinda. The Brahmi Alphabet, the script found in Asokan inscriptions, paved the way for the development of modern Sinhala. Pali words and phrases crept into Sinhala and Pali grammar influenced the structure of the language.
Cultural developments
Besides the spiritual message, Buddhism brought the island into contact with the cultural developments in India. Brick and stone architecture prevalent in India came to be used here for the viharas and dagabas erected here. With massive dagabas, the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa became impressive centres of cultural values. Anuradhapura was known as the citadel of Buddhist civilisation.
Art flourished with great splendour. With the rise of schools of art in India, sculpture and painting also became popular. Hence the Mahindagamanaya and Mihintale played an important role in nurturing and spreading Buddhism islandwide. The introduction of Buddhism by Arahant Mahinda is therefore an event of great historical importance.
