Yes. You are right, Gad.
- It is incorrect to say that a Sotapanna abstains (will never do) those five deeds.
- The correct way to say it is: “A Sotapanna would not do those five things with a liking for doing them. But there may be instances where they may become unavoidable for a Sotapanna.”
- Only an Arahant is capable of abstaining from those five deeds, i.e., will NEVER DO those deeds.
The Sutta Central translation of the sutta “Pañcaverabhaya Sutta (SN 12. 41)” also gives that wrong idea.
- The problem is with the translation of.”pāṇātipātā paṭiviratassa,” for example, as “refrains from killing” or “abstains from killing.”
- The word “paṭivirata” means “will not do with liking for it,” but there could be instances where it may become unavoidable.
The deeds a Sotapanna WILL NEVER DO are listed here: “A Sōtapanna is incapable of doing only six “bad kamma“: Killing mother, killing father, killing an Arahant, injuring a Buddha, Saṅgha Bheda (teaching adhamma as Buddha Dhamma), having niyata micchā diṭṭhi; see, “Bahudhātuka sutta (MN 115)“.
- The above quote is from the post “Myths about the Sotāpanna Stage.”
