A Basic Understanding of Buddhist Practice

Chapter Six: The Stream of Noble Ones

The Divide Between Ordinary and Noble

In Buddhist practice, there's a milestone that matters more than most: "non-retreat" (avaivartika). What does it mean? It means you've entered a stage of practice so stable and so settled that from this point on, your progress can only continue — straight through to liberation and nirvāṇa. Even in future lives, you won't fall back. The early suttas call a person who reaches this a "stream-enterer" (sotāpanna). Sotāpanna literally means "one who enters the stream" [1] — the stream of the noble path, the Noble Eightfold Path [2]. A practitioner who enters this stream is honored as a "noble one," and the suttas often call such a person a "noble disciple." So the dividing line between ordinary person (puthujjana) and noble one begins right here, at stream-entry.

The Four Pairs and Eight Types of Persons

Between stream-entry and final liberation, the suttas describe two more distinct stages: the "once-returner" (sakadāgāmin) and the "non-returner" (anāgāmin). Beyond these lies the fully liberated noble one — the arahant. These four stages — stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, and arahant — are collectively known in the suttas as the "four fruits of recluseship" [3] or simply the "four fruits" [4]. They're popularly called the first, second, third, and fourth fruits. The preparatory stages leading up to each fruit also receive special attention, with designations like "one headed toward stream-entry" [5] (also "approaching stream-entry" [6] or "stream-entry candidate" [7]), along with the corresponding stages for once-returning, non-returning, and arahantship. These eight categories together form the "four pairs and eight types of persons" — all worthy and noble ones who have made real progress in Buddhist practice [8].

The Standard for Noble Ones

So what does it take to be called a stream-enterer? The suttas give this typical description: having severed "identity view" (sakkāya-diṭṭhi), "attachment to rules and observances" (sīlabbata-parāmāsa), and "doubt" (vicikicchā), and being limited to at most seven more births in fortunate realms — the human and deva worlds — within which one will exhaust all defilements and reach awakening and liberation [9].

What is "identity view"? The "view" here means a "clinging view" — a fixed way of seeing, a notion. "Body" (kāya) refers to the five aggregates of body and mind that one clings to. So identity view is the notion that takes these five aggregates to be "self" or "mine" [10]. What about "attachment to rules and observances"? "Attachment" (parāmāsa) is a forceful, erroneous kind of clinging — grasping, clutching — and it grows out of craving (taṇhā). Precepts (sīla) and observances (vata) are rules and practices taken up to achieve some goal, whether that means refraining from certain actions or requiring oneself to perform others. "Attachment to rules and observances" means mistakenly clinging to prohibitions and practices that have nothing to do with severing defilements or achieving liberation [11]. And "doubt"? Doubt is uncertainty. Because you're unclear, don't understand, and can't be sure, doubt creeps in. When this uncertainty is directed at the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, at the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, or dependent origination — that's the doubt meant here. It obscures and covers the mind, which is why it's also called "the hindrance of doubt" [12].

Identity view, attachment to rules and observances, and doubt are often collectively called the "three fetters" (saṃyojana). A fetter binds and ties — like "underlying tendencies" (anusaya) and "entanglements," it's simply another name for defilements [13]. By contrast, the stream-enterer who has severed these three fetters can see the Dharma, know the Dharma, and gain the Dharma. The suttas call this "obtaining the pure Dharma eye" (dhamma-cakkhu-visuddhi). Such noble ones have gained direct insight into the Dharma and moved beyond doubt. They no longer need to lean on anyone else. They've found conviction and are free from fear. Having directly realized the Dharma, they "see only the Dharma, no longer seeing a self" [14].

The standard for the fruit of once-returning is "having severed the three fetters, with greed, hatred, and delusion attenuated." "Attenuated" doesn't mean eliminated — but these forces no longer carry enough weight to cause much trouble. These noble ones are closer to liberation than stream-enterers. The suttas say they'll return to the human world at most one more time before completing their liberation [15] (the literal meaning of sakadāgāmin is "once-returner"). The standard for the fruit of non-returning is severing identity view, attachment to rules and observances, doubt, greed, and hatred — these five are called the five lower fetters. Only delusion — ignorance — and subtle defilements like deep-seated conceit remain. These noble ones won't return to the human world. At most, after rebirth in a heavenly realm, they'll accomplish liberation there [16] (the literal meaning of anāgāmin is "non-returner"). And the standard for arahantship? "The complete end of greed, hatred, and delusion — the complete end of all defilements" [17]. Arahant literally means "worthy one," one worthy of offerings. The suttas often describe arahants as liberated beings who can confirm for themselves that they'll never again undergo the cycle of birth and death [18]. Even the Buddha can be called an arahant — it's one of his ten titles [19].

What Kind of Person Can Become a Noble One?

Looking at the standards above, none of them involve age, gender, intelligence, skin color, social status, rank, or ethnicity. Among those who attained arahantship in the Buddha's time, "there were those of great wisdom like Sāriputta, and the most dim-witted like Cuḷapanthaka. There were the very old, such as Subhadda at one hundred and twenty, and the very young, such as the seven-year-old novice Sampakanni. Ānanda had followed the Buddha for a very long time without yet becoming an arahant, while Sāriputta, Koṇḍañña, and others became arahants within a matter of days" [20]. Cuḷapanthaka couldn't even memorize the monastic precepts he was supposed to follow. His elder brother gave up on him and told him to return to lay life. Later, the Buddha taught him to recite the two characters for "sweep broom" (rajoharaṇa) — and even that took him several days to remember [21]. Despite such dullness, he eventually attained arahantship. Subhadda was a one-hundred-and-twenty-year-old ascetic who had ordained late in life. He pushed past those who tried to stop him and rushed to see the Buddha just before the Buddha's final passing, becoming his last disciple. At such an advanced age, when the Buddha's body was at its weakest, he heard the teaching on the Noble Eightfold Path and entered final nirvāṇa [22].

So liberation comes with no restrictions — male or female, child or elder, noble or slave, whatever your race. However, the early suttas do clearly state that lay disciples can attain the fruit of non-returning, without saying one way or the other whether they can attain arahantship. Later scholars from different schools debated this point without reaching a definitive conclusion. Still, if we look at arahantship as the complete end of greed, hatred, and delusion, such a liberated one would presumably no longer feel the need to possess a family [23]. As for noble ones who've attained the first fruit or above, they're found among both lay and monastic disciples across all four assemblies of the Buddha's followers [24]. Lay male and female disciples (upāsaka and upāsikā) who attained noble fruits are equally revered by their fellow Buddhists. Later scholars honored them as sangha in a broader sense, calling them the "supreme sangha" [25]. This supreme sangha also constitutes the Sangha Jewel of the Three Jewels — Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha — and serves as an object of refuge and a model of practice for ordinary disciples.

Three Types of Liberated Ones

According to the early suttas, the Buddha is a liberated being. So are his disciples — the Venerables Mahākassapa, Moggallāna, Sāriputta, Kaccāna, Subhūti, Upāli, Puṇṇa, and other arahants. Tradition also holds that before the Buddha appeared in the world, there were already liberated beings called "private Buddhas" (paccekabuddha). For instance, there was a paccekabuddha named Tagarasikhī [26], one named Aṅghā [27], and one named Sucimukha [28]. So the liberated beings described in the suttas generally fall into three types [29].

What do these three types share, and where do they differ? First, in terms of the substance of liberation — greed, hatred, and delusion severed, all defilements abandoned, the cycle of birth and death ended, rebirth no more — they're completely identical. There's no question of one being better than another [30]. Their differences lie only in the path they took to liberation and in their capacity to teach and guide others afterward. According to the suttas, both the Buddha and paccekabuddhas are born in ages when the Dharma isn't current in the world, and they attain liberation through self-awakening, without a teacher. Arahants, by contrast, are the Buddha's disciples — they attain liberation by following his guidance. That's the clearest difference between arahants on the one hand and the Buddha and paccekabuddhas on the other [31]. As for the difference between the Buddha and paccekabuddhas: the Buddha possesses abundant skillful means for teaching, can reach vast numbers of beings, and actively works to spread the Dharma widely. Śākyamuni Buddha, for example, set in motion the pattern of the Dharma spreading throughout the world for over two thousand years. Paccekabuddhas, after attaining liberation, typically just live and teach as circumstances allow, then quietly enter final nirvāṇa — without actively building the kind of teaching legacy the Buddha did [32].

The State of the Liberated One

What a liberated being's experience is truly like can, of course, only be fully known from the inside. But if the rest of us can form some indirect understanding and gain a felt sense of it, that can go a long way toward inspiring the aspiration to practice and keeping us oriented in the right direction. What follows is an attempt to sketch a few aspects of the liberated being's state, to give us something more to work with:

1. Self-knowledge and self-realization. Liberated ones — and indeed all noble ones from the first fruit onward — know their own attainment directly. They realize it within themselves. They don't need the Buddha, or any individual or group, to evaluate or verify it. For example, King Pasenadi — ruler of the kingdom that was the Buddha's homeland's suzerain — heard that the Buddha had publicly declared himself fully awakened. He was deeply skeptical. The Buddha was younger than the six famous non-Buddhist teachers of the time and had been ordained for fewer years. How could he possibly be a Buddha? He went straight to the Buddha to ask, and the Buddha told him plainly: "I have indeed attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi" [33]. The Buddha's awakening was self-known and self-realized. Similarly, when the suttas describe the Buddha's disciples attaining arahantship, they too "know and realize for themselves" [34], declaring: "Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this world." They know for themselves that they no longer carry the craving for "further becoming" that drives the cycle of rebirth. Birth ended — that's liberation. The same holds true when disciples declare for themselves that they've attained stream-entry [35] or non-returning [36].

2. No outflows, utterly free of entanglement. Liberated ones have severed all greed, hatred, delusion, views of self, and conceit. They're free of all defilements (outflows), free of all grief, sorrow, and burning distress. Naturally, they have nothing to seek [37] and nothing to hold them. So if we imagine the Buddha or other liberated beings crusading against injustice or consumed with worry over the state of the world — that's just our own projection.

3. Physical pain, but no mental anguish. Was the Buddha's body somehow beyond ordinary human limitations — never sick, never injured? Or if he did fall ill or get hurt, did he feel nothing? Some later Buddhists held this idealized view. But the early suttas tell a different story. The Buddha once injured his foot, and the sutta explicitly describes him experiencing "bodily pain." His physical pain was no different from anyone else's. But with right mindfulness and right understanding, he "endured and remained at peace" [38] — the pain stayed physical and never spread or developed into mental anguish. That's what sets him apart. Another example: in his later years, the Buddha often suffered from back problems and couldn't sit for long periods to teach, so he'd have Mahāmoggallāna or Sāriputta expound the Dharma on his behalf [39]. As he aged, his body declined just like anyone else's. He once compared himself to an old cart that needed diligent maintenance through meditative concentration just to keep moving [40]. In the end, he died of illness. Physically, liberated beings aren't immune to pain. But they can experience "bodily pain without mental anguish" [41] — and that freedom from mental anguish captures something essential about their state.

4. Cool, pure, and true. India is hot, so coolness is what people there associate with comfort. The mind of a liberated one, far from burning distress and torment, is described as "cool." Meditators dislike noise and turmoil, so "pure" is used to convey the liberated one's freedom from defilement. And because the liberated one has personally and fully realized the truth of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path — everything illusory falls away, and so the word "true" applies. Cool, pure, and true — this is how the early suttas describe the state of the liberated being [42].

5. Fearlessness: Stream-enterers—those who see the Dharma, know the Dharma, and attain the Dharma, who are said to have gained the "pure Dharma-eye"—carry the courage of "a mind without fear" from the very moment of their realization. How much more so, then, for the Buddha and fully liberated sages.

The sūtras tell this story: One rainy night with crashing thunder, the Buddha was practicing walking meditation on Mount Makula. Śakra, lord of gods, was following behind him in his own walking practice, so the Buddha extended the session to give Śakra more time to walk. The Buddha's attendant, the young and ever-playful Venerable Nāgapāla, had grown weary from the long wait. But as an attendant he was bound by the convention that he couldn't retire before the Buddha did. So, in a wild bid to get to bed sooner, he dressed up as a ghost and tried to scare the Buddha into calling it a night. The Buddha scolded him: "The Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One has long since left all fear behind"[43]—how could he possibly be startled!

6. Unmoved by the Eight Winds: The Eight Winds are the eight worldly concerns—"gain and loss, defamation and praise, blame and honor, sorrow and joy"[44]—so called because they're winds that can stir up afflictions. Since a liberated one has forever exhausted all afflictions, the Eight Winds can't shake them.[45]

7. Rising from the mud unstained: The lotus rises from the mud yet remains unstained. The world is full of afflictive defilements, yet the pure, liberated sage, living in this impure world, is never contaminated by them—just like the lotus rising from the mud without a stain.[46]

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Notes

[1] "Srotāpanna is a Sanskrit term, translated as 'one who has entered the stream' or 'stream-enterer.' Reaching this stage in practice, one has entered the stream of the Dharma-nature and joined the company of the noble ones." The Path to Buddhahood (Cheng Fo Zhi Dao), p. 238, by Venerable Yinshun.

"Stream-enterer (Skt. srota-āpanna, Pāli sotāpanna), transliterated as Xutuohe." Fo Guang Buddhist Dictionary, p. 1683.

[2] "At that time, the World-Honored One said to Venerable Śāriputra: 'What is meant by the so-called stream?' Śāriputra said to the Buddha: 'The stream spoken of by the World-Honored One refers to the Noble Eightfold Path.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 843.

[3] "At that time, the World-Honored One said to the monks: 'There are four fruits of a śramaṇa. What are the four? Namely: the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, the fruit of non-returning, and the fruit of arhatship.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1128.

[4] "At that time, the World-Honored One said to the monks: 'By cultivating the four establishments of mindfulness extensively, one attains the four fruits and four kinds of benefit. What are the four? Namely: the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, the fruit of non-returning, and the fruit of arhatship.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 618.

[5] "Namely: one heading toward stream-entry, one who has attained the fruit of stream-entry, one heading toward once-returning, one who has attained once-returning, one heading toward non-returning, one who has attained non-returning, one heading toward arhatship, one who has attained arhatship—thus the four pairs and eight types of persons are called the Saṅgha of the World-Honored One's disciples." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 550.

[6] "In that assembly there are indeed arhats and those heading toward arhatship, non-returners and those heading toward non-returning, once-returners and those heading toward once-returning, stream-enterers and those heading toward stream-entry—these are the four pairs and eight classes." Madhyama Āgama, Sūtra 128.

[7] "Furthermore, there are eight factors, namely the eight persons: one heading toward stream-entry, stream-enterer, one heading toward once-returning, once-returner, one heading toward non-returning, non-returner, one heading toward arhatship, arhat." Dīrgha Āgama, Sūtra 8.

[8] "One heading toward stream-entry, one who has attained stream-entry, one heading toward once-returning, one who has attained once-returning, one heading toward non-returning, one who has attained non-returning, one heading toward arhatship, one who has attained arhatship—the four pairs and eight classes are the noble Saṅgha of the Tathāgata." Dīrgha Āgama, Sūtra 2.

"The noble Saṅgha refers to the four pairs and eight classes." Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 3, Sūtra 3.

[9] "Monk! One who sees this Dharma with right wisdom and equanimity exhausts and severs the three fetters, namely: personality view, adherence to rules and rituals, and doubt. Monk! This is called the fruit of stream-entry: one does not fall into evil destinies, is firmly established on the path to supreme enlightenment, and after at most seven more births among gods and humans, finally reaches the end of suffering." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 61.

[10] "What is personality view? It refers to conceiving 'I' and 'mine' in regard to the five aggregates of grasping, and from this giving rise to steadfast adherence, delighting in intellectual views—this is called personality view." Dharmaskandha-śāstra (Taishō 26, 497a).

[11] "Furthermore, there arises adherence to precepts, or adherence to austerities, or adherence to precepts and austerities. Namely: 'This precept, this austerity, this rule of precept and austerity can purify, can liberate, can bring about escape, can transcend suffering and happiness, and reach the state beyond suffering and happiness'—all such views constitute adherence to precepts and austerities..." Dharmaskandha-śāstra (Taishō 26, 512a).

[12] "What is the hindrance of doubt? It refers to giving rise to doubt regarding the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and regarding suffering, origination, cessation, and the path—wavering between two alternatives, two roads, hesitating with the arrow of doubt, indecisive, inconclusive, not carefully determined..." Dharmaskandha-śāstra (Taishō 26, 483a).

[13] "Thus, monks who diligently cultivate and practice, achieving compliance and fulfillment, gradually attain liberation from all bonds, fetters, afflictions, and obscurations." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 263.

[14] "When Venerable Ānanda expounded this Dharma, the monk Chanda became free from dust and defilement, attaining the pure Dharma-eye. At that time, the monk Chanda saw the Dharma, attained the Dharma, knew the Dharma, and arose in the Dharma. He transcended all doubt (i.e., severed doubt), not dependent on another. In the Teacher's teaching, he attained fearlessness. With reverent palms joined together, he said to Venerable Ānanda: 'It should be exactly so. Such wisdom and the holy life, the instruction and guidance of good spiritual friends (i.e., severing adherence to rules and rituals)—I have now heard such Dharma from Venerable Ānanda. Regarding all formations as empty, all stilled, ungraspable, with the end of craving, the fading of desire, cessation, and nirvāṇa, my mind delights and abides in liberation, never turning back (i.e., non-retrogression). I no longer perceive a self (i.e., severing personality view); I see only the true Dharma.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 262.

[15] "Having severed the three fetters, with greed, anger, and delusion thinned, one attains once-returning—returning once more to this world, then reaching the end of suffering." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 964.

[16] "Thus, my disciples who sever the five lower fetters attain non-returning and are born there, not returning to this world." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1248.

[17] "What is the fruit of arhatship? The permanent end of greed, anger, and delusion—the permanent end of all afflictions." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 797.

[18] "Knowing for oneself, realizing with the body: 'Birth is ended, the holy life has been established, what was to be done has been done, I know there will be no further birth.' At that time, that venerable one also knew the Dharma for himself, his mind attained liberation, and he became an arhat." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 264.

[19] "At that time, the World-Honored One said to the monks: '...In this world I have become a Buddha, a Tathāgata, a Worthy One, a Perfectly Enlightened One, One Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, a Well-Gone One, a Knower of the World, an Unsurpassed One, a Trainer of Persons, a Teacher of Gods and Humans, a Buddha, a World-Honored One...'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 349.

[20] Excerpted from An Overview of the Buddha-Dharma (Fo Fa Gai Lun), pp. 256–257, by Venerable Yinshun.

[21] "At that time, Venerable Pantha told his younger brother Cūḷapantha: 'If you can't uphold the precepts, go back to lay life.' Hearing this, Cūḷapantha went to the gate of the Jetavana Monastery and stood there shedding tears... The World-Honored One took Cūḷapantha by the hand and led him to a quiet room, instructing him to sit down. Then the World-Honored One told him to hold a broom: 'Recite this word—what is this word?' Cūḷapantha would remember "sweep" but forget "broom"; if he remembered "broom," he'd forget "sweep." It took him many days just to recite the word 'sweep-broom.'" Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 20, Sūtra 12.

[22] Quoted from Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 979.

[23] "Generally speaking, laypeople cannot attain ultimate arhatship... However, the Uttārāpathakas held that laypeople can also become arhats, on equal footing with monastics. The Uttārāpathaka view was supported by citations from the sūtras and vinaya. For example, the young gentleman Yaśa, the layman Uttika, and the brahmin youth Setu all attained arhatship as laypeople, showing that arhatship isn't limited to monastics... The Kathāvatthu (a Theravādin treatise) cites the Uttārāpathaka view and takes it to task. It holds that while one can attain arhatship in a lay body, an arhat has no attachment to household life and so can't continue living as a layperson. The Questions of King Milinda elaborates on this: 'One who attains arhatship as a layperson has only two options—ordain that very day, or enter parinirvāṇa.' In other words, having attained arhatship, one can't go on living a householder's life, so one either becomes a monastic or passes into nirvāṇa (i.e., dies). This explanation too rests on actual cases. Yaśa attained arhatship as a layman but didn't want to continue at home; he took ordination from the Buddha that same day—the 'same-day ordination' account found in the Vinaya. Subhadra, an ascetic and the Buddha's last disciple, attained arhatship upon hearing the Dharma. Knowing the Buddha was about to enter parinirvāṇa, he himself passed into nirvāṇa first—the parinirvāṇa account found in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra and elsewhere. Based on the early Buddhist sūtras and vinaya, what The Questions of King Milinda says is correct. Both the Uttārāpathakas and The Questions of King Milinda are speaking from factual grounds." The Origins and Development of Early Mahāyāna Buddhism (Chu Qi Da Cheng Fo Jiao Zhi Qi Yuan Yu Kai Zhan), p. 185, by Venerable Yinshun.

[24] "The Buddha said to Vaccha: 'Not just one, two, or three, but up to five hundred or more upāsakas who cultivate the holy life, in this Dharma-Vinaya sever the five lower fetters and attain non-returning, never returning to this world... There are many upāsikās who, in this Dharma-Vinaya, sever the five lower fetters, are born there through transformation, and attain non-returning, never returning to this world... There are many upāsakas living at home with wives, adorned with fragrant flowers, keeping servants, who in this Dharma-Vinaya sever the three fetters, thin out greed, anger, and delusion, attain once-returning—returning once more, then reaching the end of suffering... There are many upāsikās living at home, raising sons and daughters, enjoying the five pleasures, adorned with fragrant flowers, who in this Dharma-Vinaya exhaust the three fetters, attain stream-entry, don't fall into evil destinies, are firmly headed toward supreme enlightenment, and after at most seven more births among gods and humans, reach the end of suffering.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 964.

"At that time, the World-Honored One said to the monks: 'If in a certain place a monk is practicing walking meditation and attains any one of the four fruits of a śramaṇa, that monk should continuously remember that place throughout his life... The same applies to nuns, female trainees, male and female novices, upāsakas, and upāsikās...'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1130.

[25] "What is the ultimate noble Saṅgha? It refers to the Buddha, the World-Honored One; bodhisattva-mahāsattvas whose virtues are supreme and who have attained mastery over all dharmas; pratyekabuddhas; arhats; non-returners; once-returners; stream-enterers—these seven types of persons constitute the ultimate noble Saṅgha. Sentient beings who bear the marks of householders, who don't shave their hair and beard, who don't wear the monastic robes, who, though unable to receive all the monastic pratimokṣa precepts and are excluded from all karma proceedings, posadha, and pravāraṇa, yet possess the noble Dharma and have attained noble fruits—these too are included in the ultimate noble Saṅgha. This is called the ultimate noble Saṅgha." Mahāyāna Mahāsaṃnipāta Kṣitigarbha Daśacakra Sūtra (Taishō 13, 749c).

[26] "The Buddha said to King Prasenajit: 'Mahānāma, in a past life, encountered the Pratyekabuddha Krakacchanda...'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1233.

[27] "Then Venerable Anuruddha said to the monks: '...I recall that in the past, in this country of Vārāṇasī, I was a poor person... At that time, there was a pratyekabuddha named Wuhuan who passed through this country of Vārāṇasī...'" Madhyama Āgama, Sūtra 66.

[28] "Long ago, in the distant past, there was a pratyekabuddha named Shanmu (Beautiful Eyes)." Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 38, Sūtra 9.

[29] "Just as one purifies sentient beings, so too—those who haven't yet crossed to the far shore are enabled to cross; attaining arhatship, attaining pratyekabuddhahood, and attaining anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi are as described above." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 635.

"At that time, the World-Honored One said to King Prasenajit: '...An arhat monk whose āsravas are exhausted, who has laid down the heavy burden, who has done what was to be done, who has attained his own benefit, who has exhausted all the fetters of existence, whose mind is well liberated through right wisdom—he too will meet his end, relinquishing the body and entering nirvāṇa. Likewise a pratyekabuddha, well-tamed and well-stilled, at the end of this life ultimately enters nirvāṇa. The Buddhas and World-Honored Ones, complete with the ten powers and the four fearlessnesses, uttering the supreme lion's roar—ultimately also relinquish the body and enter parinirvāṇa.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1227.

[30] "Venerable Ānanda replied: 'Maudgalyāyana! The liberation of the Tathāgata, the Unattached One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, and the liberation of the wisdom-liberated arhat—these three liberations have no difference; neither is one superior to the other.'" Madhyama Āgama, Sūtra 145.

[31] "The Buddha said to the monks: '...The Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, having heard no Dharma before, can awaken to the Dharma on his own, penetrating supreme bodhi. In future times, he awakens śrāvakas and teaches them the Dharma... Furthermore, he can bring śrāvakas to accomplishment, instructing and training them. Thus speaking the Dharma in harmony with what is joyful and good—this is the difference between the Tathāgata and an arhat.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 75.

"'...The World-Honored One said: There are pratyekabuddhas who awaken themselves without a teacher, who remove all fetters, and who are no longer subject to rebirth...'" Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 26, Sūtra 9.

[32] "When one contemplates these five aggregates of grasping, all that is subject to arising is subject to ceasing. Having contemplated this Dharma, one then attains the way of the pratyekabuddha. At that time, the pratyekabuddha Xiyi, having attained the fruit of the path, spoke this verse:

I recall the suffering of hell, the animal realm and the five realms of existence; I have abandoned them and now practice the Way, departing alone, free from sorrow."

Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 38, Sūtra 7.

"At that time, having contemplated this body of five aggregates—that all that arises is subject to cessation—he then and there, upon his seat, attained pratyekabuddhahood... The pratyekabuddha spoke this verse and flew into the sky, departing to a mountain, alone beneath a tree, entering parinirvāṇa in the realm of remainderless nirvāṇa." Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 51, Sūtra 3.

[33] "'World-Honored One! I've heard that the World-Honored One has declared for himself the attainment of anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. Could those who relay this to people be speaking falsely and exaggerating?'... The Buddha said to the King (i.e., King Prasenajit): '...I have indeed attained anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1226.

[34] "'...One sees the Dharma for oneself, knowing and realizing: Birth is ended, the holy life has been established, what was to be done has been done, I know there will be no further birth. One becomes an arhat, the mind well liberated.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 200. Additionally, twenty-one other sūtras contain identical passages.

[35] "Venerable Ānanda said: 'Excellent, layperson. You have declared for yourself that you're a stream-enterer.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1031.

[36] "Venerable Mahākātyāyana said to the layperson: 'Excellent, layperson. You're able to declare for yourself that you've attained non-returning.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 554.

[37] "All sorrows and afflictions, the blazing flames forever extinguished—such a one has reached the far shore; in nirvāṇa, seeking nothing." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1311.

[38] "At that time, the World-Honored One's foot was pierced by a golden splinter. Not long after, physical pain arose, yet he was able to maintain a mind of equanimity, with right wisdom and right mindfulness, enduring and abiding in peace, without any thought of decline." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1289.

[39] "At that time, the World-Honored One, knowing the Sakyan had departed, said to Mahāmaudgalyāyana: 'You should teach the Dharma to the monks. I have a backache and need to rest.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1176.

"At that time, the World-Honored One said: 'Śāriputra! Teach the Dharma to the monks as appropriate. I'm suffering from back pain and want to rest briefly.'" Madhyama Āgama, Sūtra 88.

[40] "The Buddha said to Ānanda: '...I'm old now, roughly eighty years of age. Just as an old cart can still reach its destination with careful repair, so too is my body—through the power of skillful means, I can briefly extend my lifespan. Relying on my own strength and diligence, I endure this pain, not attending to any perception, and entering the signless concentration, my body remains at peace, free from affliction.'" Dīrgha Āgama, Sūtra 2.

[41] "When a learned noble disciple encounters bodily suffering—great pain that is oppressive, even life-threatening—he doesn't give rise to sorrow, lamentation, weeping, wailing, or mental derangement. At that time, only one feeling arises, namely bodily feeling; no mental feeling arises. It's like a person struck by one poisoned arrow but not a second." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 470.

[42] "I say that consciousness doesn't go east, west, south, or north, nor in the four intermediate directions, above, or below—it has no destination. One sees only the Dharma, desiring to enter nirvāṇa—stilled, cooled, pure, and true." Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 39.

[43] "At that time, the World-Honored One said to the monk Nāgapāla: 'You foolish man Nāgapāla, do you think you can frighten the Buddha with the image of the Makula spirit? You can't disturb a single hair of the Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One. The Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One has long since departed from fear.'" Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 1320.

[44] "There are eight worldly dharmas that turn along with the world. What are the eight? First, gain; second, loss; third, defamation; fourth, praise; fifth, blame; sixth, honor; seventh, suffering; eighth, happiness." Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 43, Sūtra 8.

[45] "The Tathāgata appears in the world and attains buddhahood in the world, yet isn't attached to the eight worldly dharmas. Though he moves among them, it's like a lotus born from mud—exceedingly fresh and pure, untainted by dust or water, beloved and revered by the gods, bringing joy to all who see it." Ekottara Āgama, Chapter 43, Sūtra 9.

[46] "Just like blue lotus flowers, and pink, red, and white lotus flowers—born in water, growing in water, rising above the water, yet not adhering to the water. So too, the Tathāgata is born in the world, grows in the world, but transcends the world in his conduct, unattached to worldly dharmas." Madhyama Āgama, Sūtra 92; Saṃyukta Āgama, Sūtra 101.