The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.
26 June 2023
The 10 FETTERS
Question: The four stages of awakening are sotāpanna, sakadāgāmi, anāgāmi, and arahant. Could you elaborate on each stage and their achievements?
Than Ajahn: These four stages of awakening require one to get rid of the ten fetters.
A sotapanna has got rid of the first three fetters: sakkāya–diṭṭhi, sīlabbata-parāmāsa, and vicikicchā (doubt in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha)
A sakadāgāmi is a person who has been able to lessen two more fetters, namely, rāga (sexual desire) and patigha (feeling of dissatisfaction).
But he has not been able to completely eliminate these two fetters.
At the third stage of enlightenment, an anāgāmi can completely eliminate those two fetters, rāga and patigha.
The fourth stage of awakening requires you to remove the remaining five fetters: rūpa-rāga and arūpa-rāga—attachment or enjoyment in the rūpa–jhāna and arūpa–jhāna; restlessness arising from practising too hard, too much contemplation until the mind starts to become restless and agitated; getting rid of ‘self’; and the last one is the ability to completely/truly see the four noble truths in every instance.
These are the ten fetters one requires to get rid of to become enlightened. So if you want to study further, just search for the ten Buddhist fetters.
You need the practice of morality, meditation (samādhi), vipassanā or wisdom, to be able to remove the ten fetters from your mind.
Question: Does one have to become an arahant to be free from desires (sexual desires in particular)?
Than Ajahn: No. You have to be an anāgāmī to be totally free from sexual desires, and the cause for this to happen is the perception of asubha (the unpleasant parts of the body). If you can see the reality of the body as something unpleasant or as a corpse all the time, then your sexual desire will disappear from your mind.
The sotāpanna and sakadāgāmi still have sexual desire. A sakadāgāmi has less sexual desire than a sotāpanna. The anāgāmi and arahant, both have no sexual desires left in their mind.
“Dhamma in English, Jun 5, 2022.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
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