I. Stream-entry

1 (1) Winds

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘The winds do not blow, the rivers do not flow, pregnant women do not give birth, the moon and sun do not rise and set but stand as steady as a pillar’?”

“Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One….” “When there is form, Bhikkhus, by clinging to form, by adhering to form, such a view as this arises: ‘The winds do not blow … but stand as steady as a pillar.’ When there is feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness, by clinging to consciousness, by adhering to consciousness, such a view as this arises: ‘The winds do not blow … but stand as steady as a pillar.’ “What do you think, Bhikkhus, is form permanent or impermanent?… … Is consciousness permanent or impermanent?”

“Impermanent, venerable sir.”…

“But without clinging to what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, could such a view as that arise?”

“No, venerable sir.”

“That which is seen, heard, sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, and ranged over by the mind: is that permanent or impermanent?”

“Impermanent, venerable sir.”

“Is what is impermanent suffering or happiness?” “Suffering, venerable sir.”

“But without clinging to what is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, could such a view as that arise?”

“No, venerable sir.”

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases, and when, further, he has abandoned perplexity about suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the way leading to the cessation of suffering, he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer, no longer bound to the nether world, fixed in destiny, with enlightenment as his destination.”

2 (2) This Is Mine

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self’?”

“Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One….”

“When there is form, Bhikkhus, by clinging to form, by adhering to form, such a view as this arises: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self.’ When there is feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness, by clinging to consciousness, by adhering to consciousness, such a view as this arises: ‘This is mine, this I am, this is my self.’…

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

3 (3) The Self

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘That which is the self is the world; having passed away, that I shall be—permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change’?”

“Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One….” “When there is form, Bhikkhus, by clinging to form, by adhering to form, such a view as this arises: ‘That which is the self is the world; having passed away, that I shall be—permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change’ When there is feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness, by clinging to consciousness, by adhering to consciousness, such a view as this arises: ‘That which is the self is the world … not subject to change.’ …

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

4 (4) It Might Not Be For Me

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘I might not be, and it might not be for me; I will not be, [and] it will not be for me’?”

“Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One….” “When there is form, Bhikkhus, by clinging to form, by adhering to form, such a view as this arises: ‘I might not be, and it might not be for me; I will not be, [and] it will not be for me.’ When there is feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness, by clinging to consciousness, by adhering to consciousness, such a view as this arises: ‘I might not be … it will not be for me.’…

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

5 (5) There Is Not

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘There is nothing given, nothing offered, nothing presented in charity; no fruit or result of good and bad actions; no this world, no other world; no mother, no father; no beings who are reborn spontaneously; no ascetics and brahmins faring and practising rightly in the world who, having realized this world and the other world for themselves by direct knowledge, make them known to others. This person consists of the four great elements. When one dies, earth returns to and merges with the earth-body; water returns to and merges with the water-body; fire returns to and merges with the fire-body; air returns to and merges with the airbody; the faculties are transferred to space. [Four] men with the bier as fifth carry away the corpse. The funeral orations last as far as the charnel ground; the bones whiten; burnt offerings end with ashes. Giving is a doctrine of fools. When anyone asserts the doctrine that there is [giving and the like], it is empty, false prattle. Fools and the wise are alike cut off and perish with the breakup of the body; after death they do not exist’?”

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

6 (6) Acting

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘When one acts or makes others act, when one mutilates or makes others mutilate, when one tortures or makes others inflict torture, when one inflicts sorrow or makes others inflict sorrow, when one oppresses or makes others inflict oppression, when one intimidates or makes others inflict intimidation, when one destroys life, takes what is not given, breaks into houses, plunders wealth, commits burglary, ambushes highways, seduces another’s wife, utters falsehood—no evil is done by the doer. If, with a razorrimmed wheel, one were to make the living beings of this earth into one mass of flesh, into one heap of flesh, because of this there would be no evil and no outcome of evil. If one where to go along the south bank of the Ganges killing and slaughtering, mutilating and making others mutilate, torturing and making others inflict torture, because of this there would be no evil and no outcome of evil. If one where to go along the north bank of the Ganges giving gifts and making others give gifts, making offerings and making others make offerings, because of this there would be no merit and no outcome of merit. By giving, by taming oneself, by self-control, by speaking truth, there is no merit and no outcome of merit’?”

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

7 (7) Cause

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘There is no cause or condition for the defilement of beings; beings are defiled without cause or condition. There is no cause or condition for the purification of beings; beings are purified without cause or condition. [There is no action by self, no action by others, no manly action.] There is no power, no energy, no manly strength, no manly exertion. All beings, all living beings, all creatures, all souls are without mastery, power, and energy; moulded by destiny, circumstance, and nature, they experience pleasure and pain in the six classes’?”

“Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One….” “When there is form, Bhikkhus, when there is feeling … perception … volitional formations … consciousness, by clinging to consciousness, by adhering to consciousness, such a view as this arises: ‘There is no cause or condition for the defilement of beings … they experience pleasure and pain in the six classes.’… “When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

8 (8) The Great View

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘There are these seven bodies that are unmade, not brought forth, uncreated, without a creator, barren, steady as mountain peaks, steady as pillars. They do not move or change or obstruct each other. None is able to cause pleasure or pain or pleasure-and-pain to others. What are the seven? They are: the earth-body, the waterbody, the fire-body, the air-body, pleasure, pain, and the soul as the seventh. These seven bodies are unmade…. [Herein, there is no killer, no slaughterer, no hearer, no speaker, no knower, no intimater.] Even one who cuts off another’s head with a sharp sword does not deprive anyone of life; the sword merely passes through the space between the seven bodies. There are fourteen hundred thousand principal modes of generation, and six thousand, and six hundred; there are five hundred kinds of kamma, and five kinds of kamma, and three kinds of kamma, and full kamma, and half-kamma; there are sixty-two pathways, sixty-two sub-aeons, six classes, eight stages in the life of man, forty-nine hundred kinds of fijIvakas, forty-nine hundred kinds of wanderers, forty-nine hundred abodes of nāgas, twenty hundred faculties, thirty hundred hells, thirty-six realms of dust, seven spheres of percipient beings, seven spheres of nonpercipient beings, seven spheres of knotless ones, seven kinds of devas, seven kinds of human beings, seven kinds of demons, seven great lakes, seven kinds of knots, seven hundred [other] kinds of knots, seven precipices, seven hundred [other] precipices, seven kinds of dreams, seven hundred [other] kinds of dreams, eighty-four hundred thousand great aeons through which the foolish and the wise roam and wander, after which they will alike make an end to suffering. There is none of this: “By this virtue or vow or austerity or holy life I will make unripened kamma ripen or eradicate ripened kamma by repeatedly experiencing it”—not so! Pleasure and pain are meted out; saṃsāra’s limits are fixed; there is no shortening it or extending it, no advancing forward or falling back. Just as, when a ball of string is thrown, it runs away unwinding, so too the foolish and the wise, by unwinding, flee from pleasure and pain’?”

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

9 (9) The World Is Eternal

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘The world is eternal’?”

“When, Bhikkhus, a noble disciple has abandoned perplexity in these six cases … he is then called a noble disciple who is a stream-enterer … with enlightenment as his destination.”

10 (10) The World Is Not Eternal

At Sāvatthi. “Bhikkhus, when what exists, by clinging to what, by adhering to what, does such a view as this arise: ‘The world is not eternal’?”