It is said that a Sakadagami returns to the kama loka ( in a realm above the human) only once more, that is, to ONE more bhava in an appropriate deva realm. Does this mean that he may attain a rupa or an arupa existence during or after that according to his striving there, or that he inevitably attains Nibbana directly after that deva existence?
I ask this because the Buddha on more than one occasion stated that such-and-such a person has ascended to a particular realm ‘and will attain release from there’. Can the attainment of that release be a gradual one, first through still higher states before attaining Nibbana…..or is it implied that he (in this case,the Sakadagami) will automatically attain Nibbana directly, that is, either during that bhava (through magga phala anantariya kamma ) or right after it is ended.?