The Method to Declare Himself As the Stream-Enterer, IF He so Wish

The Method to Declare Himself As the Stream-Enterer, IF He so Wish

“Householder, when a noble disciple has eliminated five perils and enmities, possesses the four factors of stream-entry, and has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom the noble method, he might, if he so wished, declare of himself:

 ‘I am one finished with hell, the animal realm, and the sphere of afflicted spirits; finished with the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world; I am a stream-enterer, no longer subject to [rebirth in] the lower world, fixed in destiny, heading for enlightenment.’

 “What are the five perils and enmities that have been eliminated?

 (1) Householder, one who destroys life, with the destruction of life as condition, creates peril and enmity pertaining to the present life and peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, and he also experiences mental pain and dejection. One who abstains from the destruction of life does not create such peril and enmity pertaining to the present life or such peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, nor does he experience mental pain and dejection. For one who abstains from the destruction of life, that peril and that enmity has thus been eliminated.

 (2) “One who takes what is not given, with taking what is not given as condition, creates peril and enmity pertaining to the present life and peril and enmity pertaining to the future lives, and he also experiences mental pain and dejection. One who abstains from taking what is not given does not create such peril and enmity pertaining to the present life or such peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, nor does he experience mental pain and dejection. For one who abstains from taking what is not given, that peril and enmity has thus been eliminated.

  (3) One who engages in sexual misconduct, with sexual misconduct as condition, creates peril and enmity pertaining to the present life and peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, and he also experiences mental pain and dejection. One who abstains from sexual misconduct does not create such peril and enmity pertaining to the present life or such peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, nor does he experience mental pain and dejection. For one who abstains from sexual misconduct, that peril and enmity has thus been eliminated.

(4) One who speaks falsely, with false speech as condition, creates peril and enmity pertaining to the present life and peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, and he also experiences mental pain and dejection. One who abstains from false speech does not create such peril and enmity pertaining to the present life or such peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, nor does he experience mental pain and dejection. For one who abstains from false speech, that peril and enmity has thus been eliminated.

(5) One who indulges in liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness, with indulgence in liquor, wine, and intoxicants as condition, creates peril and enmity pertaining to the present life and peril and enmity pertaining to the future lives, and he also experiences mental pain and dejection. One who abstains from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness, does not create such peril and enmity pertaining to the present life or such peril and enmity pertaining to future lives, nor does he experience mental pain and dejection. For one who abstains from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness, that peril and enmity has thus been eliminated.

“These are the five perils and enmities that have been eliminated.

“And what are the four factors of stream-entry that he possesses?

(1) Here, householder, a noble disciple possesses unwavering confidence in the Buddha thus: ‘The Blessed One is an arahant, perfectly enlightened, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.’

(2) He possesses unwavering confidence in the Dhamma thus: ‘The Dhamma is well expounded by the Blessed One, directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, to be personally experienced by the wise.’

(3) He possesses unwavering confidence in the Saṅgha thus: ‘The Saṅgha of the Blessed One’s disciples is practicing the good way, practicing the straight way, practicing the true way, practicing the proper way; that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals this Saṅgha of the Blesses One’s disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of reverential salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.’

(4) He possesses the virtuous behavior loved by the noble ones, unbroken, flawless, unblemished, unblotched, freeing, praised by the wise, ungrasped, leading to concentration. These are the four factors of stream-entry that he possesses.

“And what is the noble method that he has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom? Here, householder, the noble disciple reflects thus:

‘When this exists, that comes to be;

 With the arising of this, that arises.

 When this does not exist, that does not come to be;

 With the cessation of this, that ceases.

That is, with ignorance as condition, volitional activities [come to be]; with volitional activities as condition, consciousness; with consciousness as condition, name-and-form; with name-and-form as condition, the six sense bases; with the six sense bases as condition, contact; with contact as condition, feeling; with feeling as condition, craving; with craving as condition, clinging; with clinging as condition, existence; with existence as condition, birth; with birth as condition, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, dejection, and anguish come to be. Such is the origin of this whole mass of suffering.

“’But with the remainderless fading away and cessation of ignorance comes cessation of volitional activities; with the cessation of volitional activities, cessation of consciousness; with the cessation of consciousness, cessation of name-and-form, with the cessation of name-and-form, cessation of the six sense bases; with the cessation of the six sense bases, cessation of contact; with the cessation of contact, cessation of feeling; with the cessation of feeling, cessation of craving; with the cessation of craving, cessation of clinging; with the cessation of clinging, cessation of existence; with the cessation of existence, cessation of birth; with the cessation of birth, old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, dejection, and anguish cease. Such is the cessation of this whole mass of suffering.’

“This is the noble method that he has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom.

“Householder, when a noble disciple has eliminated these five perils and enmities, and he possesses these four factors of stream-entry, and he has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom this noble method, he might, if he so wished, declare of himself: ‘I am one finished with hell, the animal realm, and the sphere of afflicted spirits; finished with the plane of misery, the bad destination, the lower world; I am a stream-enterer, no longer subject to [rebirth in] the lower world, fixed in destiny, heading for enlightenment.’”

Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.) (2012) 

The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: a Translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. 

Boston: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 978-1-61429-040-7

24 October 2023