Tag Archives: enlightenment

Thinking

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Do you know the difference between having a thought and being aware that you are having a thought?

Do you know the difference between having a feeling and being aware that you are having a feeling?

Yesterday we talked about how the self does not exist and how to personally investigate this in order to feel confident in this conclusion.  People that become obsessed with discovering the true nature of reality (which could be referred to as “knowing or seeing God”) create the causes and conditions for the direct experience of no-self or emptiness.

The direct experience of no-self or emptiness (also known as the Perfection of Wisdom) is what gives us the power to cut the fetters of limiting misbeliefs about the world and reach enlightenment.  Someone that has this insight is an arya or stream enterer.

I tend to identify more with my mind as being “myself”.  Exercises that use the mind to explore the mind are quite useful in loosening up this identification.  Anyone that spends much time watching their mind objectively will tend to not want to identify with the thinking processes of the mind.  In fact, one may conclude, “I am not my mind, it is possessed!”

The mind generates a long stream of judgements, opinions, repetitive thoughts, and the like.  When we disengage from identifying with them, these thoughts can be viewed as simple arisings and passings – much like a breeze that touches the surface of our skin.  They are not us.  They are something that seems to happen to us.

Then, what is left is identification with the observer.  It has become clear that we are not the thoughts that we think and we don’t even generate them consciously.  I was able to get to this point when I realized that I was still identifying with the part of the mind that was watching the thoughts.  “I” was the watcher, the observer, the part that says, “there is a breeze on your arm”.  It took an insight experience for me to blow that identification apart.

Slowly as you practice you will break down identification with self.  It is this dissolution of deceptive reality that leads to liberation.  The road is set before you and all you have to do is practice to reach the final goal.

Arya

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An ayra or stream-enterer is a person that has eliminated the first three fetters.  These are

  • view that one is a separate self
  • belief that rites and rituals alone could lead to liberation
  • doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings regarding liberation (i.e. the noble eightfold path)

 

When we run into the word “noble” as in the eightfold noble path or the four noble truths, these are unfortunate translations of the word arya.  While an arya is noble, they are not nobility in our normal use of the word to mean royalty or a member of the aristocratic class.

The classic method of attaining stream-entry (aryahood) is to experience ultimate reality directly.  During this experience all cognition and sensing naturally ceases.  It is unclear how one know something has happened, but people do.  This experience can lead to a deep realization of how things really exist and the four arya truths (four noble truths) that the Buddha taught.  After the experience the practitioner has confidence in the path to liberation and although they experience themselves as a separate self, they no longer believe it at all.

An arya is called a stream-enterer, because they have reached a state which naturally flows to liberation.  The arya cannot fail to become enlightened, although I suppose it is possible to purposely revert back.

 

Four Stages of Enlightenment

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The Four Paths or Four Stages of Enlightenment are an organizing structure that is part of Theraveda teachings.  The first path is stream-entry.  The second path is a once-returner.  The third path is a non-returner and the fourth path is an arahant or enlightened person.

Sometimes people consider obtainment of first path, “enlightenment”, so you have to watch your terms.  This distinction is used because people that have reached first path cannot be reborn in any lower realm (hell, hungry ghosts, animal) and have insight into reality that clearly sets them apart from ordinary humans.

The technical attributes of the different stages have to do with removal of specific limitations.  The limitations that fall away at each stage and consequently define that stage are referred to as fetters.

The ten fetters are:

  1. view that one is a separate self
  2. belief that rites and rituals alone could lead to liberation
  3. doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings regarding liberation (i.e. the eightfold noble path)
  4. sensual desire
  5. ill will
  6. craving for material existence
  7. craving for existence in the formlessness realm
  8. conceit
  9. restlessness
  10. ignorance

The first three fetters are eliminated when one reaches the first path (stream-entry or aryahood).  Someone that has reached second path has significantly weakened the next two fetters as well as eliminated the first three.  A non-returner (third path) person has eliminated the first five fetters.  Elimination of the last five fetters results in enlightenment or obtaining fourth path (arhat).