August 1, 2023 at 7:56 pm
#45671
Lal
Keymaster
The two people mentioned there appear to be regular people and not anagārikas.
- The Buddha delivered the Satipatthana Sutta to bhikkhus and not regular people.
- I will get into this issue in the upcoming posts, but Satipatthana Bhavana can be fully implemented only by bhikkhus, who can stay away from sensual pleasures and sexual activities in particular.
- Getting to the Sotapanna stage does not require Satipatthana. It requires the comprehension of Buddha’s worldview.
- However, progressing above the Sotapanna stage (especially the Anagami stage) requires relinquishing sensual pleasures. By definition, an Anagami would have removed the kama raga samyojana. That is not possible for a regular householder.
However, laypeople can use the basic framework. In fact, that is what one of those two people, Pessa, said to the Buddha in the verse you quoted: “For we white-clothed laypeople also from time to time meditate with our minds well established in the four kinds of mindfulness meditation.”