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Hello Jorg,
You aked: “The question that arises is, how is a sotapanna anugami then guaranteed to attain the sotapanna phala? That means he/she is GUARANTEED to get an opportunity to listen to a desana by an ariya somewhere in a future life.”
Yes. That is correct.
– Basically, the “Sotapanna phala moment” will take place even in future life.
– But one must have understood (“seen with wisdom”) the Four Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkahana.I have heard about a few cases like the one you describe. I just revised an old post that is relevant to this issue:
“What Does Buddha Dhamma Say about Creator, Satan, Angels, and Demons?”Read through to the end. Feel free to ask questions.
No. It is not possible to do time travel.
– But those with abhinna powers can look back at past lives.Comment 2: Anagami Stage and Family Life
First a reminder. These comments assume that one has SEEN (with wisdom) the anicca, dukkha, anatta nature of this world. That is the same as understanding the Four Noble Truths and Paticca Samuppada.
1. We have all read about the fact that Anagami is someone who has removed “kama raga.”
– As I explained in Comment 1 above, “When one has “kama raga” one gives preference to be reborn in kama loka.” One has “kama raga” if one places a high value on sensory pleasures.
– That will happen as long as one cultivates abhisankhara of two types: apunnabhisankhara and punnabhisankhara.
– Apunnabhisankhara are immoral deeds. But how can punnabhisankhara lead to rebirths?2. Punnabhisankhara are associated with engaging in moral deeds AND also cultivation of the first four (rupavacara jhana) without comprehension of Tilakkhana/Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada.
– With the comprehension of Tilakkhana, punna kamma become the same as kusala kamma. Kusala kamma are those that will lead to Nibbana. See, “Kusala and Akusala Kamma, Puñña and Pāpa Kamma.”
– Also see, “Rebirths Take Place According to Abhisaṅkhāra.”3. That is why one has to transcend above and beyond “doing good deeds or even cultivating anariya jhana” to get to the Anagami stage.
– One cannot be an Anagami as long as one continues doing abhisankhara that will lead to rebirths in either the 11 realms of kama loka (four apayas, human realm, 6 Deva realms) or even in the rupavacara Brahma realms (except those reserved for Anagamis).
– To get there, one MUST cultivate/comprehend Tialkkhana (anicca, dukkha, anatta nature) of those realms.
– when that becomes successful, the mind WILL NOT be attached to any sensual pleasures: tastes, smells, and body touches. Of course, that last one includes sex.4. That is why it is not easy to become an Anagami WHILE being a “householder.” One has to abstain from any sensual pleasures including sex.
– Of course, that is not done only by willpower. It happens NATURALLY as one understands the deeper levels of Tilakkhana. Still, it is an impossible task while being an “average married person.”
– Our children are independent now and my wife and I decided to live Anagārika lives. See the Wikipedia article “Anagārika” (Of course, we don’t wear “white clothes or robes” as mentioned in that article. It is all in the mind!)
– However, this may not be an option for many.
– That is why I had avoided discussing this issue in detail. But it keeps coming up and it is a good idea to understand the issues involved in getting to the Anagami stage.Please feel to ask questions or comment. It is important to understand the practical implications as well as underlying concepts.
Good question. I should have added it to the post.
It probably came from “upa” + “āsava” + “khaya“, where those words means “stay close to”, “defilements” and “eliminate” or “wear away’.
Thus, it means someone who stays close to the goal of eliminating defilements (lobha, dosa, moha).
Hello Dipo,
That is an old post and I just revised it since it could be misleading:
“A Buddhist or a Bhauddhayā?”The Pali word for a Buddhist is “Upāsaka” and the Sinhala word is Bhauddhayā. It is just interesting that the Sinhala word provides a better-embedded meaning.
– Thanks for asking about it. It needed that clarification.This obsession with jhana is doing a lot of harm.
– It is not that jhanas are bad. If one gets to jhanas easily, that is fine, but one still needs to be aware of the “anicca nature” of any jhana. It can become a distraction.
– Not only us, but ANY living being (any animal, any “hell being”) has cultivated even the highest jhanas in the past. What is there to show for that now?One should TRY TO cultivate jhanas AFTER getting magga phala. It is even better to wait until one gets to the Anagami stage (but sometimes Ariya jhanas come with the Anagami stage, depending on the person). Otherwise, there is a risk of “getting stuck” in jhanas.
– Many people who have attained jhanas believe they are Ariya jhana, but most of them don’t have Ariya jhana. As I have explained, even one with the FIRST Ariya jhana would be an Anagami. Most of the people that I know who believe they have Ariya jhanas still have kama raga. But they are under the illusion that they have Ariya jhana. That is a very bad outcome.P.S. What one needs to do is not to “keep wishing” to have something that belongs to “this world”. It is the opposite of what one needs to be doing (wishing and working towards Nibbana, to be free of this world). One needs to understand Buddha Dhamma (Paticca Samuppada) and realize the unfruitfulness AND dangers of wishing for things in this world (those are abhisankhara). That includes wishing for jhanas.
– Of course, if one has anariya jhana and KNOWS THAT and ALSO KNOWS how not to get “stuck”, that is fine.The following post is from Jorg:
Jorg has finalized his explanation chart on Idappaccayātā Paticca Samuppāda:
“Idappaccayātā Paticca Samuppāda – Jorg Wijnen”
Jorg has spent a lot of time preparing this chart and I think he has a very good understanding. I am very happy to see this.
– Please print and read this beautiful explanation. He is asking for general comments and also suggestions for improvements.First Question: “Where exactly do “I” hold these nivarana in me?”
All defilements (anusaya, gati, nivarana, etc.) remain in the mental body (gandhabba) and not in the physical body.
– The essence of the mental body consists of hadaya vatthu (seat of the mind)
– When you are reborn in a different realm, a new hadaya vatthu matching that realm is formed by kammic energy. At that time, whatever defilements you have will be transferred to that new hadaya vatthu.
– That is how the rebirth process continues.
– Of course, all those defilements will be changing continuously during a life.Your second question: “and depending on that answer, how exactly are they removed/sidestepped/dissolved/etc?”
Those defilements are removed by following the Eightfold Noble Path.
– They are removed in four stages: Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami, Arahant.Hello lodoniyo,
Regarding the hypothetical situation that you presented in the first post: I don’t see any value in analyzing it.
– Of course, there are some hypothetical situations worthwhile analyzing. But I cannot provide any insights by analyzing that particular case.It would be better to focus on learning and practicing Dhamma.
Yes. The fear of anything in this world will go away when one attains the Arahanthood.
– The greatest fear is fear of death. An Arahant does not even have that; it is relief to be separated from the suffering and fear-filled world.A less deep aspect to look into is why one has to deal with enemies, animals, etc.
– We all have done enough kamma to “attract enemies, and other fears”.
– The way to avoid those is to make sure to NOT PROVIDE THE CONDITIONS for such problems to appear.
– I will provide a simple example. If one keeps the house (even the sink area in the kitchen) dirty that will attract insects. Keeping everything clean will avoid such issues.
– Cultivation of Metta Bhavana could be a solution to the “enemy issue”. If the situation is severe, moving away from such persons may need to be considered.One analogy I often cite is the following. If one goes to a bad neighborhood at night, that is a perfect example of “setting the conditions” for bad things to happen.
– In other words, we all have enough “root causes” for bad things to happen (via kamma done in previous lives). We just need to be mindful NOT TO provide CONDITIONS for them to bear fruit.1 user thanked author for this post.
Yash asked: ” So will he/she get “turned on” while watching such scenes but not crave to get that “turned on” feeling? Or will he/she get permanently rid of such feeling and cravings?”
An Anagami would not be “turned on”. No sexual feelings will arise.
– Those are mind-made feelings (samphassa-ja-vedana).You can read up on that in the following posts:
“Search Results for: samphassa vedana“1 user thanked author for this post.
The verse fragment, “. ātāpī sampajāno satimā, vineyya loke abhijjhādomanassaṁ” is a key element in both Satipaṭṭhāna and Ānāpānasati Bhavanā.
The four sections in the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhavanā are:
“..kāye kāyānupassi viharati ātāpī sampajānō, satimā vineyya lōke abhijjhā dōmanassam. Vedanāsu vedanānupassi viharati ātāpī sampajānō, satimā vineyya lōke abhijjhā dōmanassam. Citte cittänupassī viharati ātāpī sampajānō, satimā vineyya lōke abhijjhā dōmanassam. Dhammesu dhammānupassi viharati ātāpī sampajānō, satimā vineyya lōke abhijjhā dōmanassam”I have discussed that in “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – Structure”
Feel free to ask questions.
P.S. Yes. Pariññātā means to “fully understand”. Basically, once one is being mindful AT ALL TIMES and keeps one’s sense faculties under control, abhijja and domanassa will be SUPPRESSED and one gets to samadhi. With that samadhi, at the fourth stage, one can comprehend the true nature of this world (in Dhammanupassana) and thus can permanently REMOVE abhijja/domanassa.
