Reply To: Four Conditions for Attaining Sōtapanna Magga/Phala

#20996
upekkha100
Participant

Thanks for bringing attention to that sutta again Lvalio.

I’m curious myself.

English:
“Wandering for alms — weak, leaning on a staff, with trembling limbs — I fell down right there on the ground. Seeing the drawbacks of the body, my mind was then set free. ”

In Pali it is:
“Vīrā vīrehi dhammehi,
bhikkhunī bhāvitindriyā;
Dhāreti antimaṃ dehaṃ,
jetvā māraṃ savāhinin”ti ”

That sutta implies one of the stages of Nibbana was attained without listening to a desana by an Ariya. There are other instances like that in the Tipitaka. But they were for the higher stages of Nibbana after the Sotapanna stage(Sakadagami, Anagami, Arahant). However, the numerous cases of beings attainting the Sotapanna stage was AFTER listening to a desana by the Buddha or another Ariya.

It is important to know what is meant by:
“my mind was then set free” in that sutta.

Question is: did she attain the Sotapanna stage or Arahant stage?
I could be wrong, but if I had to guess, I’d think it’d be one of the higher stages beyond the Sotapanna stage.

In short:
An anariya and Sotapanna Anugami needs the trigger from an Ariya to become a Sotapanna.

An Anagami does not need the trigger from an Ariya to become an Arahant. They can do that on their own.

To be more detailed:
To me it seems the anariya on the mundane Path and the Sotapanna Anugami have the causes to get magga phala(fruit/result) but need the conditions(trigger by the javana citta energy of an Ariya) to actually transition to becoming an Ariya/Sotapanna.

As it was said by Lal before, after one becomes a Sotapanna: a Sotapanna, Sakadagami and Anagami do not need that trigger(desana by an Ariya ) to advance to higher stages. They can do it on their own. It seems that trigger is only needed by the anariya on the mundane Path and needed by the Sotapanna Anugami. That trigger is needed only initially.