Abstract
This chapter does not trace the historical development of the concept of Arahant. Instead, it presents Arahantship as found in the early Buddhist discourses. It argues that arahantship is considered as the perfection of a spiritual journey insofar as the early Buddhist discourses are concerned, and ideal was viewed as an attainable goal in this very lifetime (diṭṭhe va dhamme), albeit, it was not made mandatory to be attained in one lifetime. It also argues that the attainment of arahantship was mainly limited among the monastics in early Buddhism. It refutes the view that there were lay arahants in the earliest phase of Buddhism. It discusses different types of arahants, primarily paññāvimutta and ubhatobhāgavimutta. It traces cultural contests behind the development of these two types of arahants.
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Notes
- 1.
Horner (1936).
- 2.
Pali-English Dictionary: ‘arahat’.
- 3.
SN I 33; IV 75; AN II 39.
- 4.
SN IV 252.
- 5.
Vin I 183.
- 6.
SN V 204.
- 7.
MN I 12: sabbāsavasaṃvarasaṃuto viharati, acchecchi taṅhaṃ, vāvattayi saṃyojanaṃ sammā mānābhisamayā antaṃ akāsi dukkhassāti.
- 8.
SN III 161: yata kho bhikkhave bhikkhu imesam pañcannam upādānakkhandhānaṃ samudaya atthagamañca assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṃ viditvā anupādā vimutto hoti | ayaṃ vuccati bhikkhu arahaṃ khīṇāsavo vusitavā katakaraṇīyo, ohitabhāro anupattasadatto parikhīṇabhasaññojano sammadaññā vimutto ti|
- 9.
Vin I 14, 35, 183; DN I 84.
- 10.
Theragathā 111.
- 11.
SN III 66.
- 12.
Vin I 16.
- 13.
SN IV 19; Vin I 35.
- 14.
Sn 148; as noted above, the term aññā was understood identical to attainment arahantship (aññā ti arahattaṃ) (DN-A III 805).
- 15.
DN II 314–15; also in MN I 63; MN I 481; AN III 81, 143; AN 5 108; SN V 129.
- 16.
Theragathā-A 121.
- 17.
Therigathā-A 126.
- 18.
Vin I 15–20.
- 19.
Theragathā-A 141; Dictionary of Pali Proper Name, vol. II, 1201.
- 20.
AN III 50–54.
- 21.
AN III 451.
- 22.
G.A. Somaratne. 2009. “White-clothed Celibate Arahants in Early Buddhism.” In Buddhist and Pali Studies: Honour of the Venerable Professor Kakkapalliye Anuruddha, edited by K.L. Dhammajoti and Y. Karunadasa. University of Hong Kong: Centre of Buddhist Studies, 156.
- 23.
PED s.v. niṭṭhaṃ.
- 24.
DN-A IV 70.
- 25.
SN V 120. ye keci bhikkhave mayi niṭṭhaṅgatā, sabbe te diṭṭhisampannā. tesaṃ diṭṭhisapannānaṃ imesaṃ pañcannaṃ idha niṭṭhā, imesaṃ pañcannānam idha vihāya niṭṭhā.
- 26.
PED s.v. amataṃ; Sn-A 572.
- 27.
AN III 451.
- 28.
Somaratne (2009: 156).
- 29.
MN III 261.
- 30.
Vin II 157.
- 31.
AN III 351.
- 32.
NDB 1771, Note 1453.
- 33.
NDB 1771, Note 1453.
- 34.
Kv 157–8.
- 35.
Milindapañha 264–6.
- 36.
Vin I 21.
- 37.
Theragathā CLXI.
- 38.
Sn 6–12.
- 39.
SN I 190.
- 40.
DN III 220.
- 41.
Pug 13.
- 42.
DN I 81.
- 43.
Pug 14.
- 44.
DN I 77–83.
- 45.
SN II 120–6.
- 46.
AN I 60.
- 47.
MN I 477; cf. Pug, 14: idha, bhikkhave ekacco puggalo ye te santā vimokkhā atikkamma rūpe āruppā ten a kāyena phusitvā viharati, paññāya cassa disvā āsavā parikkhīṇā honti.
- 48.
MN-A III 188: so sukkhavipassako, catūhi jhānehi vuṭṭhāya arahattaṃ pattā.
- 49.
MN-A III 146: vipassanāvasena gacchato paññā dhuraṃ hoti, so paññāvimutto nāma.
- 50.
Ps-A III 564: yo pana anattato manasikaronto vedabahulo paññindriyaṃ paṭilabhati. … aggaphale paññāvimutto;ti vuttaṃ.
- 51.
SN II 65.
- 52.
SN II 65: bhikkhupi bhikkhave paññāvimutto rūpassa. …vedanāya, saññāya … saṅkhārānaṃ … viññānassa nibbidā virāga nirodhā anupādā vimutto paññāvimuttoti vuccati.
- 53.
SN II 120–6.
- 54.
SN II 125.
- 55.
SN II 125: evametaṃ yathābhūtaṃ sammappaññāya … passa ariyasāvako rūpasminpi … vedanāyapi, saññāyapi … saṅkhāresupi … viññāṇasminpi nibbindati, nibbindaṃ virajjati, virāgā vimuccati, vimuttasmin vimuttamiti ñāṇaṃ hoti; khīṇā jāti, vusitaṃ brahmacariyaṃ kataṃ karaṇīyaṃ nāparaṃ itthattāyā’ti pajānāti.
- 56.
PED s.v. ‘bhāga’.
- 57.
PED s.v. ‘ubhatobhāga’.
- 58.
Nyanatiloka (1980: 338).
- 59.
Ñāṇamoli and Bodhi (tr.) (1995: 580).
- 60.
Hare (tr). (1973).
- 61.
Woodward (tr). (1961, 1970).
- 62.
Dhammajoti (2015b: 25).
- 63.
DN II 71.
- 64.
MN I 477: idha bhikkhave ekacco puggalo ye te santā vimokkhā atikamma rūpe āruppā te kāyena phusitvā viharati, paññāya cassa disvā āsavā parikkhīṇā honti.
- 65.
Pug 37–8.
- 66.
Pug-A 189.
- 67.
AN IV 453: puna ca paraṃ āvuso bhikkhu sabbaso neva-saññā-nāsaññāyatanam samatikkamma saññā-vedayita-nrodhaṃ upasampajja viharati; pañña c’ass disvā āsavā parikkhīṇā honti; yathā yathā ca tad āyatanaṃ tathā tathā naṃ kāyena phassitvā viharati; pañcāya ca naṃ pajānāti, ettāvatā pi kho āvuso ubhatobhāgavimutto vutto bhagavatā nippariyāyenā’ti.
- 68.
AN IV 453.
- 69.
AN-A IV 2–3: ubhatobhāgavimutto ti dvīhi bhāgehi vimutto; arupa-samāpattiyā rūpa-kāyato vimutto, maggena nāma-kāyato.
- 70.
AN-A IV 2–3: so catunnaṃ arūpa-samāpattīnaṃ ekekato vuṭṭhāya saṅkhare sammasitvā arahattaṃ pattānaṃ catunnaṃ, nirodhā vuṭṭhāya arahattaṃ patta-anāgāmino ca vasena pañca-vidho hoti.
- 71.
DN II 61.
- 72.
Nettippakaraṇapāli 40: tattha rūpakāyo rūpakkhandho nāmakāya cattāro arūpini khandhā.
- 73.
AN-A IV 207: ettha ca ubhato-bhāga-vimutto ti ubhatobhāgehi samatha-vipassanānaṃ paccanīkakilesehi vimutto; pariyosāne pana samāpattiyā rūpa-kāyato ariyamaggena nāma kāyato vimutto.
- 74.
Dhammajoti (2015a: 29).
- 75.
T26, 435B15–436A10, cited and translated in Dhammajoti (2015b: 29).
- 76.
Dhammajoti (2015a: 30).
- 77.
Dhammajoti (2015a: 25).
- 78.
Nanda, A. (2019: 1–20).
- 79.
MN I 247–249.
- 80.
MN I 23.
- 81.
MN I 23.
- 82.
MN I 12.
- 83.
SN V 420–6, cf. Vin I 10.
- 84.
SN V 416–17:ye pi hi keci bhikkhave etarahi kulaputtā sammā agārasmā anagāriyaṃ pabbajitā yathābhūtam abhisamenti | sabbe te cattāri ariyasaccāni yathābhūtam abhisamenti| ye hi keci bhikkhave atītam addhānaṃ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā yathābhūtaṃ abisambuddhaṃ pakāsesuṃ| sabbe te cattāri ariyasaccāni yathābhūtaṃ abhisambuddhaṃ pakāsesum| ye hi keci bhikkhave anāgatam addhānaṃ samaṇā vā brāhmaṇā vā yathābhūtam abisambuddhaṃ pakāsessanti | sabbe te cattāri ariyasaccāni yathābhūtaṃ abhisambuddhaṃ pakāsessanti|
- 85.
MN I 55; AN 414.
- 86.
Erich Frauwallner (1956: 54).
- 87.
Schmithausen (1981: 203).
- 88.
Schmithausen (1981: 205).
- 89.
Schmithausen (1981: 206).
- 90.
Bronkhorst (2000: 104).
- 91.
Nanda, A. (2019: 1–20).
- 92.
Vin I 16.
- 93.
SN IV 19–20; Vin I 35.
- 94.
Ud 48.
- 95.
MN II 146.
- 96.
MN III 247.
- 97.
SN II 121–128.
- 98.
Gombrich (2006b: 127).
- 99.
SN II 116–18.
- 100.
SN II 118.
- 101.
AN I 100.
- 102.
MN I 266.
- 103.
AN I 268.
- 104.
AN I 8–10.
- 105.
AN I 10–11.
- 106.
Sn, verse 923.
- 107.
Gombrich (2006: 131).
- 108.
Gombrich (2006: 232).
- 109.
Ṛgveda I 164.
- 110.
Sharma (1987: 17).
- 111.
Śvetaśvatara 6, 15, cited in Sharma (1987: 29).
- 112.
Aitareya Brāhmana 7.13 (33.1) śaśvat putreṇa ‘trāyam bahulam tamaḥ | ātmā hi jajñā ātmanaḥ sa irāvaty atitārṇī| kiṃ nu malam kim u śmaśrūṇi kiṃ tapaḥ | putraṃ brāhmaṇa iccadvam…
- 113.
Bronkhorst (1998: 14).
- 114.
Hauer (1992); cited and translated into English in Bronkhorst (1998: 14).
- 115.
Sharma (1987: 63).
- 116.
Sharma (1987: 63).
- 117.
Bronkhorst (2000: 29–39).
- 118.
DN II 71.
- 119.
Pug 14 and 75.
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Nanda, A. (2024). The Stage of Arahantship. In: The Theory of the Four Stages of Liberation in Pāli Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55873-3_4
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