All
noble persons, as we saw, acquire supramundane jhāna along with their
attainment of the noble paths and fruits. The noble ones at each of the four
stages of liberation, moreover, have access to the supramundane jhāna of
their respective fruition attainments, from the fruition attainment of
stream-entry up to the fruition attainment of Arahatship. It remains
problematic, however, to what extent they also enjoy the possession of mundane
jhāna. To determine an answer to this question we will consult an early
typology of seven types of noble disciples, which provides a more
psychologically oriented way of classifying the eight noble individuals. A
look at the explanation of these seven types will enable us to see the range
of jhānic attainment reached by the noble disciples. On this basis we will
proceed to assess the place of mundane jhāna in the early Buddhist picture of
the Arahat, the perfected individual.
The
sevenfold typology is originally found in the Kitāgiri Sutta of the Majjhima
Nikāya (M.i,477-79) and is reformulated in the Puggalapaññatti of the
Abhidhamma Pitaka. This typology classifies the noble persons on the paths and
fruits into seven types: [1] the faith-devotee, [2] the one liberated by
faith, [3] the body-witness, [4] the one liberated in both ways, [5] the
truth-devotee, [6] the one attained to understanding, and [7] the one
liberated by wisdom.[1]
The seven types may be divided into three general groups, each defined by the
predominance of a particular spiritual faculty. The first two types are
governed by a predominance of faith, the middle two by a predominance of
concentration, and the last three by a predominance of wisdom. To this
division, however, certain qualifications will have to be made as we go along.
The
faith-devotee is explained in the sutta thus:
Herein,
monks, some person has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful
immaterial deliverances transcending material form; nor after seeing with
wisdom, have his cankers been destroyed.[2]
But he has a certain degree of faith in the Tathāgata, a certain degree of
devotion to him, and he has these qualities - the faculties of faith, energy,
mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. This person, monks, is called a
faith-devotee. [M.i,479]
The Puggalapaññatti (p. 182) defines the faith-devotee from a different angle as a disciple practising for the fruit of stream-entry in whom the faculty of faith is predominant and who develops the noble path led by faith. It adds that when he is established in the fruit he becomes one liberated by faith. Although the sutta excludes the „peaceful immaterial attainments,“ i.e. the four immaterial jhānas, from the faith-devotee’s equipment, this implies nothing with regard to his achievement of the four lower mundane jhānas. It would seem that the faith-devotee can have previously attained any of the four fine-material jhānas before reaching the path, and can also be a dry-insight worker bereft of mundane jhāna.
The
one liberated by faith is strictly and literally defined as a noble disciple
at the six intermediate levels, from the fruit of stream-entry through to the
path of Arahatship, who lacks the immaterial jhānas and has a predominance of
the faith faculty.
The
Buddha explains the one liberated by faith as follows:
Herein,
monks, some person has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful
immaterial deliverances transcending material form; but having seen with
wisdom, some of his cankers have been destroyed, and his faith in the Tathāgata
is settled, deeply rooted, well established. This person, monks, is called one
liberated by faith. [M.i,478]
As in
the case of the faith-devotee, the one liberated by faith, while lacking the
immaterial jhānas, may still be an obtainer of the four mundane jhānas as
well as a dry-insight worker.
The
Puggalapaññatti states (pp.184-85) that the person liberated by faith is one
who understands the Four Noble Truths, has seen and verified by means of
wisdom the teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata, and having seen with wisdom
has eliminated some of his cankers. However, he has not done so as easily as
the ditthipatta, the person attained
to understanding, whose progress is easier due to his superior wisdom. The
fact that the one liberated by faith has destroyed only some of his cankers
implies that he has advanced beyond the first path but not yet reached the
final fruit, the fruit of Arahatship.[3]
The
body witness is a noble disciple at the six intermediate levels, from the
fruit of stream-entry to the path of Arahatship, who has a predominance of the
faculty of concentration and can obtain the immaterial jhānas. The sutta
explanation reads:
And
what person, monks, is a body-witness? Herein, monks, some person has reached
with his own (mental) body those peaceful immaterial deliverances transcending
material form, and having seen with wisdom, some of his cankers have been
destroyed. This person, monks, is called a body-witness. [M.i,478]
The
Puggalapaññatti (p.184) offers a slight variation in this phrasing,
substituting „the eight deliverances“ (atthavimokkhā)
for the sutta’s „peaceful immaterial deliverances“ (santā vimokkhā āruppa). These eight deliverances consist of three
meditative attainments pertaining to the fine-material sphere (inclusive of
all four lower jhānas), the four immaterial jhānas, and the cessation of
perception and feeling (saññāvedayitanirodha)
- the last a special attainment accessible only to those non-returners and
Arahats who have also mastered the eight jhānas.[4]
The statement of the Puggalapaññatti does not mean either that the
achievement of all eight deliverances is necessary to become a body-witness or
that the achievement of the three lower deliverances is sufficient. What is
both requisite and sufficient to qualify as a body-witness is the partial
destruction of defilements coupled with the attainment of at least the lowest
immaterial jhāna Thus the body-witness becomes fivefold by way of those who
obtain any of the four immaterial jhānas and the one who also obtains the
cessation of perception and feeling.
One
who is liberated in both ways is an Arahat who has completely destroyed the
defilements and possesses the immaterial attainments. The commentaries explain
the name „liberated in both ways“ as meaning „through the immaterial
attainment he is liberated from the material body and through the path (of
Arahatship) he is liberated from the mental body“ (MA.ii,131). The sutta
defines this type of disciple thus:
And
what person, monks, is liberated in both ways? Herein, monks, someone has
reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful immaterial deliverances
transcending material form, and having seen with wisdom, his cankers are
destroyed. This person, monks, is called liberated in both ways. [M.i,477]
The
Puggalapaññatti (p.l84) gives basically the same formula but replaces
„immaterial deliverances“ with „the eight deliverances.“ The same
principle of interpretation that applied to the body-witness applies here: the
attainment of any immaterial jhāna, even the lowest, is sufficient to qualify
a person as both-ways liberated. As the commentary to the Visuddhi-Magga says:
„One who has attained Arahatship after gaining even one [immaterial jhāna]
is liberated both ways“ (Vism.T.ii,466). This type becomes fivefold by way
of those who attain Arahatship after emerging from one or another of the four
immaterial jhānas and the one who attains Arahatship after emerging from the
attainment of cessation (MA:iii,131).
The
truth devotee is a disciple on the first path in whom the faculty of wisdom is
predominant. The Buddha explains the truth-devotee as follows:
Herein,
monks, some person has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful
immaterial deliverances transcending material form; nor, after seeing with
wisdom, have his cankers been destroyed. But the teachings proclaimed by the
Tathāgata are accepted by him through mere reflection, and he has these
qualities - the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and
wisdom. This person, monks, is called a truth-devotee. [M.i,479]
The
Puggalapaññatti (p.185) defines the truth-devotee as one practising for
realisation of the fruit of stream-entry in whom the faculty of wisdom is
predominant, and who develops the path led by wisdom. It adds that when a
truth-devotee is established in the fruit of stream-entry he becomes one
attained to understanding, the sixth type. The sutta and Abhidhamma again
differ as to emphasis, the one stressing lack of the immaterial jhānas, the
other the ariyan stature. Presumably, he may have any of the four
fine-material jhānas or be a bare-insight practitioner without any mundane jhāna.
The
one attained to understanding is a noble disciple at the six intermediate
levels who lacks the immaterial jhānas and has a predominance of the wisdom
faculty. The Buddha explains:
And
what person, monks, is the one attained to understanding? Herein, monks
someone has not reached with his own mental body those peaceful immaterial
deliverances transcending material form, but having seen with wisdom some of
his cankers are destroyed, and
the teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata have been seen and verified by him
with wisdom. This person, monks, is called the one attained to understanding.
[M.i,478]
The
Puggalapaññatti (p.185) defines the one attained to understanding as a
person who understands the Four Noble Truths, has seen and verified by means
of wisdom the teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata, and having seen with
wisdom has eliminated some of his cankers. He is thus the „wisdom
counterpart“ of the one liberated by faith, but progresses more easily than
the latter by virtue of his sharper wisdom. Like his counterpart, he may
possess any of the four mundane jhānas or may be a dry-insight worker.
The
one liberated by wisdom is an Arahat who does not obtain the immaterial
attainments. In the words of the sutta:
And
what, person, monks, is the one liberated by wisdom? Herein, monks, someone
has not reached with his own (mental) body those peaceful material
deliverances transcending material form, but having seen with wisdom his
cankers are destroyed. This person, monks, is called one liberated by wisdom.
[M.i.477-78]
The
Puggalapaññatti’s definition (p.185) merely replaces „immaterial
deliverances“ with „the eight deliverances.“ Though such Arahats do not
reach the immaterial jhānas it is quite possible for them to attain the lower
jhānas. The sutta commentary in fact states that the one liberated by wisdom
is fivefold by way of the dry-insight worker and the four who attain
Arahatship after emerging from the four jhānas.
It
should be noted that the one liberated by wisdom is contrasted not with the
one liberated by faith, but with the one liberated in both ways. The issue
that divides the two types of Arahat is the lack or possession of the four
immaterial jhānas and the attainment of cessation. The person liberated by
faith is found at the six intermediate levels of sanctity, not at the level of
Arahatship. When he obtains Arahatship, lacking the immaterial jhānas, he
becomes one liberated by wisdom even though faith rather than wisdom is his
predominant faculty. Similarly, a meditator with predominance of concentration
who possesses the immaterial attainments will still be liberated in both ways
even if wisdom rather than concentration claims first place among his
spiritual endowments, as was the case with the venerable Sāriputta.
From
the standpoint of their spiritual stature the seven types of noble persons can
be divided into three categories. The first, which includes the faith-devotee
and the truth-devotee, consists of those on the path of stream-entry, the
first of the eight noble Individuals. The second category, comprising the one
liberated by faith, the body-witness and the one attained to understanding,
consists of those on the six intermediate levels, from the stream-enterer to
one on the path of Arahatship. The third category, comprising the one
liberated in both ways and the one liberated by wisdom, consists only of
Arahats.[5]
The ubhatobhāgavimutta,
„one liberated in both ways,“ and the paññāvimutta
„one liberated by wisdom,“ thus form the terms of a twofold typology of
Arahats distinguished on the basis of their accomplishment in jhāna. The ubhatobhāgavimutta
Arahat experiences in his own person the „peaceful deliverances“ of the
immaterial sphere, the paññāvimutta
Arahat lacks this full experience of the immaterial jhānas. Each of these two
types, according to the commentaries, again becomes fivefold - the ubhatobhāgavimutta
by way of those who possess the ascending four immaterial jhānas and the
attainment of cessation, the paññāvimutta
by way of those who reach Arahatship after emerging from one of the four
fine-material jhānas and the dry-insight meditator whose insight lacks the
support of mundane jhāna.
The
possibility of attaining the supramundane path without possession of a mundane
jhāna has been questioned by some Theravada scholars, but the Visuddhi-Magga
clearly admits this possibility when it distinguishes between the path arisen
in a dry-insight meditator and the path arisen in one who possesses a jhāna
but does not use it as a basis for insight (Vism.666-67; PP.779). Textual
evidence that there can be Arahats lacking mundane jhāna is provided by the
Susima Sutta (S.ii,199-23) together with its commentaries. When the monks in
the sutta are asked how they can be Arahats without possessing supernormal
powers or the immaterial attainments, they reply: „We are liberated by
wisdom“ (paññāvimutta kho mayam).
The commentary glosses this reply thus: „We are contemplative, dry-insight
meditators, liberated by wisdom alone“ (Mayam
nijjhānakā sukkhavipassakā paññāmatten’eva vimuttā ti,
SA.ii,117). The commentary also states that the Buddha gave his long
disquisition on insight in the sutta „to show the arising of knowledge even
without concentration“ (vinā pi samādhimevam
ñānuppattidassanattham, SA.ii,117). The subcommentary establishes the
point by explaining „even without concentration“ to mean „even without
concentration previous accomplished reaching the mark of serenity“ (samathalakkhanappattam
purimasiddhamvinā pi samādhin ti), adding that this is said in
reference to one who makes insight his vehicle (ST.ii,125).
In
contrast to the paññāvimutta
Arahats, those Arahats who are ubhatobhāgavimutta
enjoy a twofold liberation. Through their mastery over the formless
attainments they are liberated from the material body (rūpakāya),
capable of dwelling in this very life in the meditations corresponding to the
immaterial planes of existence; through their attainment of Arahatship they
are liberated from the mental body (nāmakāya),
presently free from all defilements and sure of final emancipation from future
becoming. Paññāvimutta Arahats
only possess the second of these two liberations.
The
double liberation of the ubhatobhāgavimutta
Arahat should not be confused with another double liberation frequently
mentioned in the suttas in connection with Arahatship. This second pair of
liberations, called cetovimutti paññāvimutti,
liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom,“ is shared by all Arahats. It
appears in the stock passage descriptive of Arahatship: „With the
destruction of the cankers he here and now enters and dwells in the cankerless
liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having realised it for himself with
direct knowledge.“ That this twofold liberation belongs to paññāvimutta Arahats as well as to those who are ubhatobhāgavimutta
is made clear by the Putta Sutta, where the stock passage is used for two
types of Arahats called the „white lotus recluse“ and the „red lotus
recluse“:
How,
monks, is a person a white lotus recluse (samanapundarīka)?
Here, monks, with the destruction of the cankers a monk here and now enters
and dwells in the cankerless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having
realised it for himself with direct knowledge. Yet he does not dwell
experiencing the eight deliverances with his body. Thus, monks, a person is a
white lotus recluse.
And
how, monks, is a person a red lotus recluse (samanapaduma)?
Here monks, with the destruction of the cankers a monk here and now enters and
dwells in the cankerless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, having
realised it for himself with direct knowledge. And he dwells experiencing the
eight deliverances with his body. Thus, monks, a person is a red lotus
recluse. [A.ii,87]
Since
the description of these two types coincides with that of paññāvimutta and ubhatobhāgavimutta
the two pairs may be identified, the white lotus recluse with the paññāvimutta,
the red lotus recluse with the uhhatobhāgavimutta.
Yet the paññāvimutta Arahat,
while lacking the experience of the eight deliverances, still has both
liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom.
When
liberation of mind and liberation by wisdom are joined together and described
as „cankerless“ (anāsava), they
can be taken to indicate two aspects of the Arahat’s deliverance. Liberation
of mind signifies the release of his mind from craving and its associated
defilements, liberation by wisdom the release from ignorance: „With the
fading away of lust there is liberation of mind, with the fading away of
ignorance there is liberation by wisdom“ (A.i,61). „As he sees and
understands thus his mind is liberated from the canker of sensual desire, from
the canker of existence, from the canker of ignorance (M.i,183-84) - here
release from the first two cankers can be understood as liberation of mind,
release from the canker of ignorance as liberation by wisdom. In the
commentaries „liberation of mind“ is identified with the concentration
factor in the fruition attainment of Arahatship, „liberation by wisdom“
with the wisdom factor.
Since
every Arahat reaches Arahatship through the Noble Eightfold Path, he must have
attained supramundane jhāna in the form of right concentration, the eighth
factor of the path, defined as the four jhānas. This jhāna remains with him
as the concentration of the fruition attainment of Arahatship, which occurs at
the level of supramundane jhāna corresponding to that of his path. Thus he
always stands in possession of at least the supramundane jhāna of fruition,
called the „cankerless liberation of mind.“ However, this consideration
does not reflect back on his mundane attainments, requiring that every Arahat
possess mundane jhāna.
Although
early Buddhism acknowledges the possibility of a dry-visioned Arahatship, the
attitude prevails that jhānas are still desirable attributes in an Arahat.
They are of value not only prior to final attainment, as a foundation for
insight, but retain their value even afterwards. The value of jhāna in the
stage of Arahatship, when all spiritual training has been completed, is
twofold. One concerns the Arahat’s inner experience, the other his outer
significance as a representative of the Buddha’s dispensation.
On the
side of inner experience the jhānas are valued as providing the Arahat with a
„blissful dwelling here and now“ (ditthadhammasukhavihāra).
The suttas often show Arahats attaining to jhāna and the Buddha himself
declares the four jhānas to be figuratively a kind of Nibbāna in this
present life (A.iv.453-s4). With respect to levels and factors there is no
difference between the mundane jhānas of an Arahat and those of a non-Arahat.
The difference concerns their function. For non-Arahats the mundane jhānas
constitute wholesome kamma; they are deeds with a potential to produce
results, to precipitate rebirth in a corresponding realm of existence. But in
the case of an Arahat mundane jhāna no longer generates kamma. Since he has
eradicated ignorance and craving, the roots of kamma, his actions leave no
residue; they have no capacity to generate results. For him the jhānic
consciousness is a mere functional consciousness which comes and goes and once
gone disappears without a trace.
The
value of the jhānas, however, extends beyond the confines of the Arahat’s
personal experience to testify to the spiritual efficacy of the Buddha’s
dispensation. The jhānas are regarded as ornamentation’s of the Arahat,
testimonies to the accomplishment of the spiritually perfect person and the
effectiveness of the teaching he follows. A worthy monk is able to „gain at
will, without trouble or difficulty, the four jhānas pertaining to the higher
consciousness, blissful dwellings here and now.“ This ability to gain the jhānas
at will is a „quality that makes a monk an elder.“ When accompanied by
several other spiritual accomplishments it is an essential quality of „a
recluse who graces recluses“ and of a monk who can move unobstructed in the
four directions. Having ready access to the four jhānas makes an elder dear
and agreeable, respected and esteemed by his fellow monks. Facility in gaining
the jhānas is one of the eight qualities of a completely inspiring monk (samantapāsādika bhikkhu) perfect in all respects; it is also one
of the eleven foundations of faith (saddhā
pada). It is significant that in all these lists of qualities the last
item is always the attainment of Arahatship, „the cankerless liberation of
mind, liberation by wisdom,“ showing that all desirable qualities in a
Bhikkhu culminate in Arahatship.[6]
The
higher the degree of his mastery over the meditative attainments, the higher
the esteem in which an Arahat monk is held and the more praiseworthy his
achievement is considered. Thus the Buddha says of the ubhatobhāgavimutta Arahat: „There is no liberation in both ways
higher and more excellent than this liberation in both ways“ (D.ii,71).
The
highest respect goes to those monks who possess not only liberation in both
ways but the six abhiññās or
„super-knowledges“: the exercise of psychic powers, the divine ear, the
ability to read the minds of others, the recollection of past lives, knowledge
of the death and rebirth of beings, and knowledge of final liberation. The
Buddha declares that a monk endowed with the six abhiññās,
is worthy of gifts and hospitality, worthy of offerings and reverential
salutations, a supreme field of merit for the world (A.iii,280-81). In the
period after the Buddha’s demise, what qualified a monk to give guidance to
others was endowment with ten qualities: moral virtue, learning, contentment,
mastery over the four jhānas, the five mundane abhiññas and attainment of the cankerless liberation of mind,
liberation by wisdom (M.iii, 11-12). Perhaps it was because he was extolled by
the Buddha for his facility in the meditative attainments and the abhiññas
that the venerable Mahākassapa assumed the presidency of the first great
Buddhist council held in Rājagaha after the Buddha’s passing away.
The
gradation in the veneration given to Arahats on the basis of their mundane
spiritual achievements implies something about the value system of early
Buddhism that is not often recognised. It suggests that while final liberation
may be the ultimate and most important value, it is not the sole value even in
the spiritual domain. Alongside it, as embellishments rather than
alternatives, stand mastery over the range of the mind and mastery over the
sphere of the knowable. The first is accomplished by the attainment of the
eight mundane jhānas, the second by the attainment of the abhiññas.
Together, final liberation adorned with this twofold mastery is esteemed as
the highest and most desirable way of actualising the ultimate goal.
[1][1] Saddhānusari, [2] saddhāvimutta, [3] Kayasakkhi, [4] ubhatobhāgavimutta, [5] dhammānusari, [6] ditthipatta, and [7] paññāvimutta.
[2]The cankers, (āsava) are four powerful defilements that sustain samsāra; sensual desire, desire for existence, wrong views and ignorance.
[3]The Visuddhi-Magga, however, says that arahats in whom faith is predominant can also be called „liberated by faith“ (Vism.659; PP.770). Its commentary points out that this statement is intended only figuratively, in the sense that those arahats reach their goal after having been liberated by faith in the intermediate stages. Literally, they would be „liberated by wisdom“ (Vism.T.ii,486).
[4]The first three emancipations are: one possessing material form sees material forms; one not perceiving material forms internally sees material forms externally; and one is released upon the idea of the beautiful. They are understood to be variations on the jhānas attained with colour kasinas. For the attainment of cessation, see PP.824-833.
[5]It should be noted that the Kātāgiri Sutta makes no provision in its typology for a disciple on the first path who gains the immaterial jhānas. (Vism.T.ii,466) holds that he would have to be considered either a faith devote or a truth-devotee, and at the final fruition would be one liberated in both ways.
[6]The references are to: A,ii,23; iii,131,135,114; iv,314-15; v,337.