Reaching Anagami stage – How to?

Thank you, Vilas, for that description.
– Let me add a few words.

“Uppada Vayatena Anicca – All that arises is going to pass away”.
All existences arise and end. Some are good and most are bad. So, the overall effect is dukkha.

In order to end this process (rebirth process), we need to see how those different types of existence arise. They arise due to our own sankhara.
– Good sankhara lead to good rebirths. Bad ones lead to bad rebirths.
– This is the conclusion we made in the post, “Origin of Life – One Creates One’s Own Future Lives.”

So, one must start with removing causes that give rise to “bad rebirths.” Those are bad sankhara that lead to bad kamma.
– However, even though we know this basic fact in this life, we may be born into conditions where we may not realize this in the next life (even if it is a good existence.)
– That is why we need to realize the unfruitful, dangerous, and never-ending nature of the rebirth process.
– When one has this “broad picture” one becomes a Sotapanna Anugami. At that point, one has the “right vision” but still has the tendency to “enjoy worldly pleasures (without harming others.)
– Then one keeps on contemplating that anicca nature and makes progress on the Path. When one loses all cravings for sensory pleasures (kama raga) one becomes an Anagami.

I do not agree on Vilas, we had chat in our discourse here my answers for other people about it:

Christian Today at 4:25 AM
@anagārikā vilas What do you mean by “Nama-rupa link is broken”, how it is broken?

anagārikā vilas Today at 5:03 AM
nama-rupa link is to understand about nama kaya and rupa kaya along with adhivachana samphassa and pathigha samphassa through which vedana arises and then moves into the PS cycle.

One can cut that link and is called as nama-rupa pariccheda naana and is said in Mahanidana sutta

@Christian an example in this regard would make sense:

Let us say there is a coffee – this is nama or name. To this one can create a rupa kaya or form as under:

1. Black coffee
2. Coffee with milk
3. Coffee with milk and sugar
4. Coffee with only sugar
5. Filter coffee
6. Capuccino etc.,

One name has multiple forms and then gives rise to each individual unit. This is called as “adhivachana samphassa” or proliferation of objects using language, concept and connotation and the name side which is called now becomes patigha samphassa which means giving a formal name as soon as the rupa strikes.

Which means, if one were to say black coffee (name) immediately one will imagine the form of black coffee knowing that there is neither milk in that or sugar
in reality, this is just a connotation and concept and just empty at core. One has been named to be so.

If we were to put to a person, the same rule can be made:

Satta – Person consisting of:

1. Pathavi dhatu – earth element as in various solid body parts
2. Apo dhatu – water element as in various liquid body parts
3. Tejo dhatu – heat / cold of the body
4. Vayo dhatu – movement

Then this gets further named as “a formal name” and “title”
Once this gets formed, becomes as under:

1. This person is so and so son or daughter
2. This person is from so and so place
3. This person is from so and so country
4. This person is from so and so belief systems
5. This person is a veg or non veg
6. This person is working in so and so stream
7. This person has so and so designation, title, roles and responsibilities
8. This person is married or unmarried
9. This person’s parents are still together or not together or dead
10. This person has children or not

and we can keep on listing endlessly and this is what we are doing as nama-rupa to keep on categorising in order to have a symbol, shape and structure, gender (male, female, neutral) and purpose of what is being done
this again can be verified in Mahanidana Sutta too
once you see these links here which creates back to PS cycle, then one gets to break the link
Nama rupa paccaya vinnana
vinnana paccaya nama rupa

and also nama paccaya rupa and rupa paccaya nama

This is the vortex which is what causes the next step of sense doors etc.,
once a person sees this vortex, he will not desire it nor fear it nor reject it…with that, the nama-rupa to vinnana link is broken

Christian Today at 6:57 AM
I’m not sure if it would lead to Anagamihood to be honest because I see the same mistake here that focusing on the object. I pointed this before too, it’s not the object but wrong views and perception about the object. The sanna that breaks and leads one into Anagamihood is not about the things you explained but the idea of having a “child” or “coffee” whatever will lead to fulfillment of the senses. It’s not concept itself that are problem
I spoke with @Archemis on this. It’s seems you mixing Dhamma with some quasi-advaita or hindu stuff which I do not think is right thing to do as it will inevitably block way to even Sotapanna

anagārikā vilas Today at 7:11 AM

@Christian – To be honest, there is nothing to add there since all that what is in the sutta…but then if you have this view, do not want to argue this way or that way because it does not make sense. One needs to understand and experience Dhamma by himself/herself by referring to various sutta’s and each one can experience to it for sure
and that’s the reason, I did not commit or write the steps since people can take in some views and that is the sammaditti sutta is all about. Many times, we see either there is self or no self, but what arises and passes away is just the dhamma and once one sees it, there is nothing to latch on to in terms of views and that is the feeling right now from what you have said about discussion with @Archemis

Christian Today at 2:42 PM
I think overfocus on “I” etc. is not proper as it does not lead to Nibbana but fake cut off of certain mind factors which does not cease suffering or anything, it may trigger some experiences that why is dangerous to follow it in the sense that one can think he attained Nibbana while in just different state because of that contemplation. I would say @anagārikā vilas would be right when he would explain “Pathavi dhatu – earth element as in various solid body parts which does not lead to happiness” “Apo dhatu – water element as in various liquid body parts which does not lead to fulfillment”
If you just explaining the nature of object it would mean that the biologist or surgeon would attain Nibbana
What is important here is TRUE nature of this world which was hidden before Buddha coming, just nature or explaining nature of the object will not do anything, especially focusing on “I” which they do in advaita
I can see thru it simple because I have experience in those “spiritual” traditions

anagārikā vilas Today at 3:54 PM

@Christian – I did not mean the “I” as in any tradition, but one needs to get out this “I” and all that we say “I” is just 5 aggregates. Thus I’m not adding anything from any traditions be it Advaita or anything else
I’m aware of how Buddha dhamma works and hence do not require to take shelter in any other Dhamma however it might be presented

Christian Today at 3:55 PM
one needs to get out this “I” and all that we say “I” is just 5 aggregates

How it would lead to getting out of “I” by focusing on the “I” as you explained?

anagārikā vilas Today at 3:56 PM
Wanted to explain on how one name creates various forms as in Nama kaya and rupa kaya. It would be interesting to see what Mahanidana Sutta says with relation to Nama Kaya and Rupa Kaya along with Adhivachana Samphassa and Patigha Samphassa
one needs to get out this “I” and all that we say “I” is just 5 aggregates – this is what precisely what nama-rupa in combination all about when the arising of 5 aggregates and passing away of 5 aggregates gives a feeling of “I’m” doing this or that. One picks up 3 kinds of views when comes to “I” – eso mama, eso aham asmi and eso me atta.

Translation: This is mine, This I’ve become and This is myself which can be said to be craving, conceit and views.
If one cannot contemplate on “Udaya Vyaya Naana” which means “Arising and Passing Away” then the person always keeps the opinion as “I” forever
once he does that, he will get rid of this view since he sees that all that is arising is dukkha and all that is passing is dukkha since there is anicca nature in it. What is this anicca nature? – Uppada vayatena anicca – which means, whatever arises will cease to exist

Christian Today at 4:01 PM
Sorry, it’s not clear enough, there is no shortcut to this Path. 4 Noble truth, Three marks and 8 fold path that leads to Nibbana does not speak about it. Still there is lacking “Nibbana factor” in what you say

anagārikā vilas Today at 4:03 PM
well, that is the pre-requisite Christian…without proper understanding of Samma Dhitti (please refer to Samma Dhitti Sutta) and 4 Noble truths, will be difficult..not sure how to explain back to you

Christian Today at 4:04 PM
You are explaining things without meat on the bone so to speak, “dry water” so to speak. I think this is your interpretation of Dhamma not the way Buddha explained as it’s missing a lot of points that should be there to trigger insight in other person.
Any explanation of Dhamma need to have “whole package” and point out to the doors so that person can attain Nibbana – that the work of Ariyas who wants to share Dhamma (but they do not need to do it)

anagārikā vilas Today at 4:05 PM
well, nothing that I can do @Christian. I cannot explain the way you expect me to explain and thus no good for me to argue on anything…I normally don’t argue with anyone since the basic is “anicca” nature and if that itself causes complication, then no point..the way you are asking is to make me confirm something to your liking and that is not possible

Christian Today at 4:10 PM
We do not argue, this is very important to talk about because maybe other people could see that there is lack of “Nibbana factor” in those explanations that why I mentioned to look between words. It’s not to be to my liking but to the way Dhamma is and should be explained. One will not attain Anagami and not even Sotapanna with that understanding because it does not have “substance” to trigger insight like bamboo stick, empty inside. That is why we have #buddhist-talks to purify understanding of Dhamma and those who have achieve something get deeper and keep Dhamma the way it should be so at this moment the way you explaining it is some different dry interpretation of Dhamma, more like school teacher who can not enjoy his own understanding of math even if he can count to ten and explain how to subtract things inside it’s kind of burden that he keeps in mind. I’m saying this so you can do better and rethink/re contemplate approach to Dhamma because I think it’s blind spot

For example if one wants coffee and one gets cappuccino but he wanted americano – what is factor of suffering here, nama rupa or ignorance about it?

Mental fabrication does not lie in the object or nama rupa but in the mind of the person who sees thru his ignorance at that moment and time. Advaita focus on the mental fabrication of the object itself that why I’m saying you got it wrong

Sticking to the basics and following them with patience will bring much more results then getting into advance Dhamma with wrong ideas

So if one get your understanding he would be like math teacher who is still unhappy and suffering even with understanding of math as he would not be able to make use of it to attain happiness thru that understanding. There were plenty of people like that in the suttas

When people studied suttas and everything but they do had been even on Sotapanna stage
Plus most people have hard time to understanding the basics with clarity, Dhamma and people are still are on “baby” stage when one grows, one grows naturally into those advanced concepts properly not pre-maturely

Become Sotapanna first. Observe the Four Foundations of Mindfulness in light of the three Great Marks. The Three Great Marks are keys to develop the understanding to surmount the first three fetters and step over the threshold onto the path of Sotapanna. Then walk the middle way. Anagami comes. Work diligently. Many make anagami. Arahant, not so many- in this world.