Engelmajer, Pascale - Perfected of Perfecting - The Arahant in the Pali Nikayas [Contemporary Buddhism]

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Contemporary Buddhism, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2003

Perfect or Perfecting?

Reflections on the Arahant inthe NikayasPascale Engelmajer

Introduction

The aim of this paper is to offer a few reflections on the status of the Arahant.

The word Arahant , the Pali-English Dictionary (PED) tells us, ‘comes from

Vedic Sanskrit’, and was used in pre-Buddhist texts as an ‘honorific title’. It is

the present participle of the verb ‘arhati’ and means ‘deserving’, ‘worthy’. In

the Nikayas, it has become a technical term that, in the words of the PED, refers

to ‘one who has attained the Summum Bonum of religious aspiration

(Nibbana)’. This seems to punctuate the career of the Arahant in a rather final

manner, and one cannot help but wonder: what does the Arahant do once he has

attained the Summum Bonum of religious aspiration? How do the Pali texts

describe the Arahant as a concept, and as particular individuals? Do these

descriptions match the idea of the Arahant as the final point in spiritual

development after which there is no further progress, or do they show another

possibility; namely, as I wish to argue here, that the Arahant continues

developing after attaining Arahantship?

As I just hinted, there are at least two ways of examining the concept of

Arahant in the Nikayas. One is to analyse the relevant descriptions and

formulae, and the other is to examine individuals considered to be Arahants. In

this paper, I propose to do both, albeit succinctly and focusing mainly on the

four primary Nikayas. Indeed, I intend to limit myself, in the first case, to

analysing the four most frequent formulae characterizing the Arahant and, in thesecond case, to examining in some detail one individual Arahant, and, more

briefly, the three Arahants described in the Culagosinga Sutta.

I will use the following three formulae, which are given by the PED 1 as the

most common descriptions of the Arahant, as a starting point:

• First formula:2

Dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, by realizing

it for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life he entered and

dwelt in that unsurpassed goal of the holy life […]3

• Second formula:4

Destroyed is birth, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has

been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.5

ISSN 1463-9947 print; 1476-7953 online/03/010033-22 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd

DOI: 10.1080/1463994032000140176



34 P. Engelmajer

• Third formula:6

A bhikkhu who is an Arahant with [asavas] destroyed, has lived the

holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached his

own goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated

through final knowledge.7

The setting is often similar, and the event itself is described in a stylized manner

with each formula referring to a different stage; such that the first formula refers

to training, the second to the fruit of that training, while the third describes the

state that is achieved, and serves as a definition of, and usually precedes a

statement about, the Arahant; for example, it precedes the enumeration of the

nine things that are impossible for an Arahant to do. 8

The Arahant’s attainment, as it is described in the formulae, can be analysedin terms of what he has destroyed or abandoned, and what he has achieved. If

we look at the formulae, we can see that the Arahant has destroyed or

abandoned four things: birth ( jati), the asavas,9 the fetters (sam yojana ) and the

burden (bhara), and that he has lived the holy life (brahmacariya) and achieved

knowledge (abhinna, anna ).

When these items are examined in detail, it appears that they all include each

other. They describe the same phenomena from different perspectives. One

perspective is that of the problem: birth, the asavas, the fetters, the burden (i.e.,

dukkha). The other perspective is that of the solution (i.e., the path to thecessation of dukkha): knowledge of the path and the path itself. Eliminating the

problem is finding the solution, and finding the solution is eliminating the

problem. In other terms, the Arahant has realized the Four Noble Truths taught

by the Buddha. To illustrate this, I will look in more detail at the asavas and

the fetters as examples of what is destroyed and at certain aspects of the Path

achieved by the Arahant.

The asavas

The Arahant is referred to as one who has destroyed the asavas (khın asava).

The term khın asava is a very frequent epithet of the Arahant (araham

khın asavo, khın asava arahanto),10 and is even used to refer elliptically to the

Arahant (khın asavo bhikkhu).11 The suttas mention three asavas:12 sense-desire

(kamasava), becoming (bhavasava) and ignorance (avijjasava), but a fourth

asava, views (dit t hi), is mentioned in the later tradition.13 The asavas are

defined in the Mahasaccaka Sutta, as that which ‘defile, bring renewal of being,

give trouble, ripen in suffering and lead to future birth, ageing and death’.14

They can be understood as a slightly more detailed expression of thedefilements (kilesas), greed (lobha), hatred (dosa) and delusion (moha) that

colour and govern our relationship to the world. It is significant that the Arahant

does not destroy the defilements themselves but the asavas and, in particular,

that the defilement of greed is expressed in terms of the two asavas of

sense-desire and becoming. This stresses the increasing subtlety of greed: while



Reflections on the Arahant in the Nikayas 35

sensual desires (kamacchanda/kamasava), and aversion (byapada/dosa) are

abandoned by the never-returner (anagamin), only the Arahant abandons the

subtler form of greed comprised by the asava of becoming (bhavasava). This

emphasis might be seen as a response to the dominant religious milieu, whosegoal was to restrain the senses in order to gain eternal life (i.e., existence/

becoming) through union with a higher reality, but it also reflects the insight

that the strongest form of craving is arguably for existence itself.

The texts describes several more or less detailed ways of destroying the

asavas: the Noble Eightfold Path,15 the cultivation of the five faculties (in-

driyas),16 seeing and knowing the Four Noble Truths,17 and even modifying

one’s response and attitude to one’s situation and circumstances.18

The fetters of becoming

I wish to continue the analysis of what the Arahant has destroyed by examining

the ‘fetters of becoming’ (bhavasam yojana ), which are said to be utterly

destroyed ( parikkhına). Although the term ‘fetters of becoming’ does not seem

to be a frequent one in the Nikayas, the term ‘fetter’ occurs very frequently, as

do the terms ‘bond of becoming’ (bhavayoga) a n d ‘asava of becoming’

(bhavasava) mentioned earlier. A common explanation of the bond and the

fetter is desire (chanda) and lust (raga).19 Furthermore, the things that fetter are

the five khandhas, the psycho-physical aggregates that comprise a person,20 thesix sense-bases (eye, nose, etc.), and the sense-objects.21 In essence, the texts

are saying that all of human experience can potentially be things that fetter. It

is made clear, however, that it is not these things that are the fetters, but the

desire and lust they generate in people. Sariputta, in the Salayatanasm yutta,

explains to Mahakotthita that the sense-bases are not the fetter of the sense-

object, nor are the sense-objects the fetter of the sense-bases, but the desire and

lust for them are the fetter.22 It also seems appropriate to extend these

connotations of fetter to the ten fetters (sam yojana ), which appear to represent

manifestations not only of desire and lust, but also of the asavas themselves, asthe Sabbasava Sutta makes clear.23 The ten fetters are also said to be abandoned

through the Noble Eightfold Path,24 and their progressive abandonment corre-

sponds to progression along the path to Arahantship through the four stages of

stream-entry (sotapatti), once-returner (sakadagamı ), never-returner (anagamı )

and Arahant.

In these notions of asavas, fetters, and bonds, the emphasis is clearly on the

relationship one has with the world: it is this relationship that is the source of

dukkha, not the world itself. With the description of the various things the

Arahant has destroyed, the texts stress that it is this relationship of desire andlust for the world, for the objects of the senses, including mental objects, and

for continued existence, that the Arahant has given up. As already discussed,

this emphasis on the relationship to the world and existence is manifest in the

concept of the asavas as what needs to be destroyed in order for the Arahant

to be freed from the defilements.



36 P. Engelmajer

The Arahant’s attainments

I will now turn to the attainments of the Arahant, which are clearly referred to

in the formulae with expressions such as ‘what had to be done has been done’(katam karan ıyam ), ‘the holy life is lived’ (vusitam brahmacariyam ), he is ‘one

whose highest goal has been reached’ (anupatta-sadattho). The second formula

gives a few details on how the goal is reached: the Arahant ‘… by realizing it

for himself with direct knowledge, in this very life entered and dwelt in that

unsurpassed goal of the holy life’,25 and the third formula notes that he is

‘completely liberated through final knowledge’ (sammad-anna vimutto).

The formulae stress the knowledge of the Arahant by referring to two sorts

of knowledge: the verb abhijanati occurs in the aorist and precedes the second

formula. The usual sequence includes the first formula, followed by ‘he directly

knew’ (abbhannasi), and then the second formula, indicating that after he

dwelled alone, withdrawn, and so on, he ‘knew’ that release had been achieved.

In the second formula, the noun abhinna , which is a cognate of abhijanati, occurs

as that through which the goal of the holy life (brahmacariya-pariyosana) has

been realized (sacchikatva ). In the third formula, the Arahant is liberated

(vimutta) through direct knowledge (sammad-anna ). Bhikkhu Bodhi translates

abhinna and abhijanati by, respectively, ‘direct knowledge’ and ‘directly

knows’.26 In both formulae what is ‘directly known’ is what has been achieved:

in the first case, the content of the knowledge is the second formula itself, namely

that ‘birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done hasbeen done, and there is no more coming to this state of being’. In the second

case, it is the goal of the holy life that is realized through direct knowledge.

The Mulapariyaya Sutta,27 in the Majjhima Nikaya, explains how ‘direct

knowledge’ functions: an ‘untaught ordinary person’ (assutava puthujjana) is

said to perceive (sanjanati) the four great elements (mahabhuta), beings, gods,

formless attainments, the six senses, unity, diversity, all, and nibbana as such.

Perceiving them as such, he conceives (mannati) of himself as each of them, in

each of them, apart from each of them, each of them to be ‘his’, and he delights

(abhinandati) in each of them. In contrast, the ‘bhikkhu in higher training’(sekha) directly knows (abhijanati) these, and ‘should not conceive’ (mamanni)

of himself in these ways. Finally, the Arahant directly knows these, and ‘does

not conceive’ (na mannati) of himself in these ways, because he has fully

understood ( parinnata) them. This is introducing the notion of ‘full understand-

ing’ ( parinna ) that is often found alongside that of ‘direct knowledge’, in

particular when enumerating the ‘things to be fully understood by direct

knowledge’ ( ye dhamma abhinna parinneyya ). These represent an attempt to

describe more or less exhaustively the elements that comprise reality for any

given person. In addition to the earlier list, the things that are to be fullyunderstood by direct knowledge are the five khandhas,28 the sense-bases, the

sense-faculties, and the sense-objects, as well as contact ( phassa), feeling

(vedana ), perception (sanna ), volition (cetana ), and craving (tanha ).29 Another,

more succinct, explanation of ‘direct knowledge’ is given at S IV 50, which

declares that:




When a bhikkhu has heard ‘nothing is worth adhering to’, he directly

knows everything. Having directly known everything, he fully under-

stands everything. Having fully understood everything, he sees all signs

differently.30

This follows a passage in which the Buddha explains that the whole perceptual

process and the ensuing emotional reaction are impermanent (anicca), unsatis-

factory (dukkha) and not-self (anatta ), and that desire for them should be

abandoned.31 This analysis seems therefore to be applied to everything that is

to be directly known; namely, the entirety of human experience. Directly

knowing is therefore seeing the impermanent, unsatisfactory and not-self nature

of every aspect of human experience; namely, dukkha and its origin. From this

direct knowledge, full understanding ensues: in essence, the Buddha is saying

that since nothing in human experience is worth adhering to, everything shouldbe abandoned.

This further supports the idea that the content of the Arahant’s knowledge is

the four truths. As we have just seen, the Arahant directly knows and fully

understands that every aspect of human experience is dukkha. The origin of

dukkha is craving (tanha ), its cessation is attained by abandoning craving, and

the way leading to its cessation is the Noble Eightfold Path (ariya at t hangika

magga), to which I will now turn.

The Noble Eightfold Path

Although the reference to the Noble Eightfold Path is mostly implicit in the

formulae, the reference to the holy life (brahmacariya) is an obvious parallel.

In the Maggasam yutta, the holy life is defined by Ananda as the Noble

Eightfold Path: ‘this Noble Eightfold Path, friend, is the holy life’.32 Further-

more, it identifies one who lives the holy life as one who possesses the

Eightfold Noble Path.33 Another reference to the necessity of fulfilling the path

is implicit in the characterization of the Arahant as one who has destroyed the

asavas: at S IV 256, Sariputta explains that the way ‘for the abandonment of these three [asavas] is the Noble Eightfold Path’.34 However, it should not be

assumed that the path is simply to be completed in the same way that, say, an

academic degree is obtained. The eight limbs of the path are, to a large extent,

qualities that one is endowed with (samannagata) as long as they are practised.

It is simply not possible to be endowed with the path without actually ‘behaving

it’. Thus, the Arahant, as the one who lives the holy life (brahmacarin), is one

who has attained such a stage of development that each and every one of his

actions is a fulfilment of the path. The very nature of the Path means that to

possess it is to practise it. In this notion of completion, we must then see theactualization, rather than the end of the Path. This is vividly illustrated by the

Vaset t ha Sutta in the Sutta-nipata,35 in which the Buddha stresses that one is a

brahmin not on account of one’s birth, but on account of one’s conduct.

As Steven Collins notes in his introduction to Selfless Persons, in Buddhist

thought the term brahmin is often used to refer to one who truly follows the



38 P. Engelmajer

Buddhist path.36 An account of this ‘true’ brahmin is given in terms of what he

does, and this is clearly related to each limb of the Noble Eightfold Path.37 Here,

I will only give one example, but similar parallels to the Eightfold Path can be

established for the whole of the Vaset

t

ha Sutta: verse 632, in which the brahmin‘utter[s] speech which is not harsh, informative, true, and by which he would

offend no-one’38 clearly corresponds to the definition of right speech (samma

vaca ) given in the Mahasatipat t hana Sutta as: ‘refraining from lying, refraining

from slander, refraining from harsh speech, refraining from frivolous speech’.39

This emphasis on the conduct of the Arahant is echoed in the Anguttara

Nikaya, where the noble disciple (ariya savaka) vows to emulate the conduct of

the Arahant, which is described with a list of actions from which he abstains.40

This list can be subsumed under ethical conduct (sıla), which corresponds to the

three limbs of the Path of right action, right speech and right livelihood.41

Interestingly, this same list is given in the first thirteen suttas of the Dıgha

Nikaya as the first segment of a description of the Path in three dhamma-

kkhandhas (sıla, samadhi, and panna ).42 In the first sutta, the Brahmajala Sutta,

the Buddha himself claims to abstain from these actions, while in the following

suttas, the stock description involves a ‘layman [who] goes forth’,43 and in the

Anguttara, it is the Arahant who refrains from such actions.44

Other descriptions of the Arahant

I will now turn to the examination of two examples of what, for the sake of simplicity, I will call ‘real’ Arahants. I have chosen Sariputta for my first

example, because there is a lot of material about him in the Nikayas, and, since

he is one of the chief disciples of the Buddha, it seems fair to assume that he

exemplifies what an Arahant is and does. My second example focuses on the

Culagosinga Sutta, which describes in just one sutta the daily life of three

Arahants, and thus provides us with a vivid example of what Arahants actually

do.

Sariputta

Sariputta is well known for his wisdom, and is extolled by many, including the

Buddha, Ananda, and Moggallana, the other chief-disciple, throughout the

Nikayas. His activities seem to be centered around three main areas: meditation,

cultivation and sharing of knowledge, and assistance to others. Sariputta is often

described in the morning, getting dressed, taking bowl and robe, and going on

the alms-round. For example, in the Nidanasam yutta: ‘Then, in the morning, the

Venerable Sariputta dressed and, taking bowl and robe, entered Rajagaha for

alms’.45

This is a common opening section of a sutta, and serves also to describethe activities of the Buddha and the other bhikkhus, thus reflecting the life-style

of the monastic community as a whole. It can even be seen as encompassing the

totality of the bhikkhu’s pursuit, as is evidenced by the Pind apataparisuddhi

Sutta, in which the Buddha tells Sariputta how a bhikkhu can use the alms-

round as an occasion for reviewing his mind for the presence of ‘desire, lust,




hate, delusion or aversion’,46 and indeed for abandoning the five ‘cords of

sensual pleasure’ (kamaguna), and the five hindrances (nıvarana); for under-

standing the five ‘aggregates affected by clinging’ (upadanakkhandha); for

developing the four ‘foundations of mindfulness’ (satipat

t

hana), the four ‘kindsof striving’ (sammappadhana), the four ‘bases for spiritual power’ (iddhipada),

the five faculties (indriya), the five powers (bala), the seven ‘enlightenment

factors’ (bojjhanga), the Noble Eightfold Path (ariya at t hangika magga), and

‘serenity and insight’ (samatha ca vipassana ca); and, finally, for realizing ‘true

knowledge and liberation’ (vijja ca vimutti ca).47 While there is clearly a

didactic element to this description, it must be kept in mind that the Buddha’s

discourse is addressed to Sariputta rather than to a simple bhikkhu, which might

imply that Sariputta should follow this practice.

Meditation

After going on the alms-round, Sariputta usually sits ‘down at the foot of a tree

for the day’s abiding’ (rukkhamule divaviharam nisıdi).48 In the

Sariputtasam yutta,49 the qualities of Sariputta as a meditator who has achieved

the highest meditational attainments of the Buddhist path are spelled out. Each

sutta describes the attainment of a specific meditative state: the four jhanas, the

base of the infinity of space (akasanancayatanam ), the base of the infinity of

consciousness (vinnanancayatanam ), the base of nothingness

(akincannayatanam

), the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception(nevasannanasannayatanam ), and the cessation of perception and feeling

(sannavedayitanirodham ). This is punctuated by the statement that:

it did not occur to me [Sariputta] that ‘I am attaining the first jhana’ (and

so on for each attainment), ‘I have attained the first jhana’, or ‘I have

emerged from the first jhana’.50

Ananda concludes that:

It must be because I-making, mine-making, and the underlying tendency

to conceit have been thoroughly uprooted in the Venerable Sariputta for

a long time that such thoughts did not occur to him.51

This indicates that Sariputta is, and has been, an Arahant for a long time, as the

I-making, mine-making, and the underlying tendency to conceit are abandoned

on attainment of Arahantship. One has abandoned them when one has seen the

five khandhas (form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and conscious-

ness) as ‘this is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self’. 52 It must be noted

here that despite his having reached Arahantship such a long time ago, Sariputta

continues practising the jhanas. It cannot be helped but to question whetherAnanda’s comment might not imply that when an Arahant has just reached

Arahantship, such thoughts might still arise in him, even though he might not

actually entertain them.53 Peter Harvey, equating Arahantship and nibbana, has

argued that it is not an ‘ever-present state’ for the Arahant, and that he has to

come out of it to lead his daily life.54 This would support the suggestion that,



40 P. Engelmajer

at first, the Arahant has little experience of this state, whereas after much

practice he gets closer and closer to it, even in daily life. This would also

explain why, in the Labhasakkarasam yutta, the Buddha warns Arahants that

‘gain, honour and praise […] are an obstacle even for a bhikkhu who is anarahant, one with taints destroyed’,55 and although they are not an obstacle to

his ‘unshakable liberation of mind’ (akuppa ceto vimukti), they are to his

attaining jhanas.56 This certainly indicates that the jhanas are to be developed

and practised even by Arahants, as the example of Sariputta shows.

Friendship

When Sariputta emerges from his meditation, he often meets up with the

Buddha, or with other members of the sangha, such as Ananda,57

Mahakotthita,58 Kassapa,59 or Moggallana.60 These encounters usually take the

form of question and answer sessions in which questions about the Dhamma are

asked and answered. In the Sam yutta Nikaya, they are often repeated with an

inversion of the questioner and the respondent, pointing to their rhetorical

nature, and their use more as a vehicle for instruction than as real questions

posed by the various protagonists. An example61 is when Ananda asks Sariputta

questions about the requirements for stream-entry (sotapatti),62 and Sariputta

asks Ananda these same questions at a different time.63 While it is rather

surprising that Sariputta, who is, after all, an Arahant, and foremost in wisdom,should ask questions about the requirements for stream-entry, these dialogues,

which occur throughout the Nikayas, seem to touch upon a question, taken up

later in other parts of the Pali canon, about the extent of the Arahant’s

knowledge.64 In other words, they seem to indicate that the pursuit of learning

beyond the attainment of Arahantship is not only possible, but also desirable.

In connection with these discussions on the Dhamma, the importance of

friendship is emphasized on several occasions, particularly at the death of

Sariputta, when, for example, both Ananda’s and the Buddha’s reactions

underline the importance of friendship. Ananda exclaims to the Buddha as he

brings news of his friend’s death:

Venerable sir, since I heard that the Venerable Sariputta has attained final

Nibbana, my body seems as if it has been drugged, I have become

disoriented, the teachings are no longer clear to me.65

And although the Buddha admonishes him for not keeping in mind that ‘we

must be parted, separated, and severed from all who are dear and agreeable to

us’ (sabbehi piyehi manapehi nanabhavo vinabhavo annathabhavo),66 he,

himself, seems to lament the loss of Sariputta and Moggallana:

Bhikkhus, this assembly appears to me empty now that Sariputta and

Moggallana have attained final Nibbana. This assembly was not empty for

me [earlier], and I had no concern for whatever quarter Sariputta and

Moggallana were dwelling in.67




The importance of friendship is made even clearer in the Maggasam yutta, when

Sariputta equates the entire holy life (brahmacariya) with ‘good friendship,

good companionship, and good comradeship’ (sakalamevidam , brahmacariyam

yadidam

kalyan

amittata kalyan

asahayata kalyan

asampavan

kata).68

One whohas a good friend, a good companion, a good comrade will develop the Noble

Eightfold Path, and the Buddha himself can be considered as the good friend.69

In passages of the Maggasam yutta, good friendship (among many other things),

as the forerunner and precursor for the arising of the Noble Eightfold Path, is

compared with the dawn, as the ‘forerunner and precursor of the rising of the

sun’;70 the bhikkhu who has a good friend, understood, as Collins notes, as a

‘helper on the Path’,71 is expected to develop and cultivate the Noble Eightfold

Path by developing right view and right concentration,72 respectively the first

and eighth limbs of the path or, in other words, knowledge and conduct.

Teaching

Another important aspect of Sariputta’s life is his role as a teacher, acknowl-

edged by Ananda when he describes him as ‘unwearying in teaching the

Dhamma’ (akilasu dhammadesanaya).73 A number of significant suttas are

attributed to him in the Nikayas. For example, in the Dıgha Nikaya, the Sangıti

and the Dasuttara Suttas, in which some have seen the beginnings of the

Abhidhamma, are spoken by him. Similarly, as mentioned earlier, in theSam yutta Nikaya, the Sariputtasam yutta74 contains suttas in which Sariputta

outlines meditative attainments. He is frequently shown teaching one bhikkhu75

or an assembly of bhikkhus,76 whether at their request,77 at the Buddha’s

request,78 or on his own initiative.79 The content of his teachings is diverse and

seems to cover most of the doctrines and concepts of Buddhist thought. Some

of the most important suttas according to the tradition, such as the Sammadit t hi

Sutta80 and the Saccavibhanga Sutta,81 are attributed to him.82

Helping

Besides meditating and teaching, Sariputta is also often seen assisting the

Buddha, other bhikkhus, or lay persons. As mentioned, he stands in for the

Buddha, particularly when the latter is not feeling well: for example the Sangıti

Sutta was taught to the bhikkhus at the request of the Buddha whose back was

aching.83 In the Sam yutta Nikaya, Sariputta is seen comforting a bhikkhu, who

is troubled because his co-resident has gone back to lay life, by explaining to

him how to guard the sense-doors.84 He also visits Channa, who is seriously ill

and tries, unsuccessfully, to persuade him not to kill himself.85

When thelayman, Anathapindika, is dying and requests his presence, Sariputta goes and

preaches to him.86 He is described both by the Buddha and Ananda as one ‘who

helps his brothers in the holy life’.87

The picture of Sariputta’s life that emerges is thus that of a life centered on

three main activities: meditation, cultivation and sharing of knowledge and



42 P. Engelmajer

assistance to others. This is interestingly very similar to the pattern found in the

Nikayas to describe the Noble Eightfold Path: namely, the three dhamma-

kkhandhas of ethical conduct (sıla), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom

( panna ),88

which I mentioned at the beginning of this paper, and to which I willreturn at the end.

The Cu l agosinga Sutta

Another example of this pattern is found in the Culagosinga Sutta, which

narrates the Buddha’s visit to three bhikkhus, Anuruddha, Nandiya, and Kim-

bila, who live together in the Park of the Gosinga Sala-tree Wood.89 They greet

him with a seat and water for washing his feet, and take his robe and bowl.

Addressing the three of them as ‘Anuruddhas’,90 he asks them how they live ‘in

concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and

water, viewing each other with kindly eyes’.91 There follows a description that

could be used as a model for regulating communal living. Three main themes

can be identified: loving kindness towards others, putting others’ needs before

one’s own, and taking responsibility. Anuruddha explains that they perform

bodily, verbal and mental acts of loving-kindness towards each other, both

publicly and privately; that they try to fulfil each others’ wishes instead of

fulfilling their own, and that they take responsibility for what there is to do as,

and when, it arises, rather than leaving the responsibility to the others. Heunforgettably sums it up as: ‘we are different in body, venerable sir, but one in

mind’.92

The Buddha then asks whether they develop special meditative states, and

Anuruddha describes the different jhanas they attain (in a pattern similar to that

found in the Sariputtasam yutta). We also learn that besides taking care of their

basic needs, and practising the jhanas, they discuss the Dhamma every five

days, while remaining silent the rest of the time. Although they are first

presented as ‘clansmen seeking their own good’,93 their status as Arahants is

confirmed when Anuruddha declares that they have destroyed the asavas.94

After the Buddha has ‘instructed, urged, roused, and encouraged them’95 and

left, Nandiya and Kimbila ask Anuruddha whether they have ever told him

about attaining the jhanas, and destroying the asavas. He says they have not,

but he knows because he has encompassed their minds with his mind, and

because devas have told him.96

The sutta ends with spirits, and earth and heavenly gods up to Brahma’s

retinue, rejoicing about the three Arahants, and the Buddha declaring that it is

a blessing for those who will remember them, and that they ‘are practising for

the welfare and happiness of the many, out of compassion for the world, for thegood, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans’.97

The similarity with Sariputta’s daily activities is unmistakable, and the

three-fold pattern of the Path is also apparent: their lives are centered around

three main activities: caring for others, meditative practice, and the study of the

Dhamma. The importance of friendship is greatly emphasized and, in the




Culagosinga Sutta, its value is clearly demonstrated as each one does every-

thing he can in order to make the others’ lives easier and more favourable to

practice and tranquillity. Meditative practice is also greatly emphasized, and

takes up most of their time. One interesting difference is that the Arahants of the Culagosinga Sutta do not seem to spend as much time teaching as Sariputta

does, and much more time practising. This might indicate different degrees of

ability.

Can the Arahant continue developing?

This brief study of ‘real’ Arahants revealed, indeed, that their activities are the

manifestation and expression of the Path. This is true whether we take each

aspect, such as the alms-round, friendship, study of the Dhamma, or meditativepractice, or all of them as a whole. Each is an opportunity to fulfil the Path, and

together they constitute the three divisions of ethical conduct (sıla), concen-

tration (samadhi) and wisdom ( panna ). However, the study of ‘real’ Arahants

also appears to suggest that Arahants are not all endowed with the same

qualities. I will now attempt to understand how Arahants differ, and what

factors make them all Arahants despite their differences. I will also try to show

that Arahantship is an event that allows for further development of the very

factors that led to it, rather than simply a conclusion.

Differences

Differences between Arahants are clearly recognized in the Nikayas. The main

disciples of the Buddha are shown to have different qualities: in the Anguttara

Nikaya,98 for example, the Buddha enumerates their principal quality, thereby

clearly establishing a hierarchy among them in this regard. Arahants are also

said to be different: at S I 191, the Buddha divides the assembly of 500

bhikkhus into sixty bhikkhus who are ‘triple-knowledge bearers (tevijja ), sixty

who possess the six ‘direct knowledges’ (abhinna ), sixty who are ‘liberatedboth ways’ (ubhatobhagavimutti), and the rest who are ‘liberated by wisdom’

( panna vimutti).99 Some, like Sariputta or the ‘Anuruddhas’, practise the jhanas

and the formless meditative attainments, whereas, to the great surprise of

Venerable Susıma, those liberated by wisdom do not.100 This disparity seems to

reveal that the attainment of Arahantship is not as homogeneous as the formulae

suggest.

This disparity is even more striking when it concerns the chief disciples of

the Buddha: it is indeed surprising to note that despite all the praise he receives,

and his place as chief disciple being held up as an example and role model tothe sangha, Sariputta is still reprimanded by the Buddha on several occasions.

The reprimands seem to serve two purposes: on the one hand, they establish a

clear distinction between the Buddha and Arahants and, on the other hand, they

reveal differences between Arahants themselves. Here, however, I am only

concerned with differences between Arahants.



44 P. Engelmajer

Differences between Sariputta and Mahamoggallana

In the Dhananjani Sutta,101 Sariputta preaches the Dhamma to the brahmin

Dhananjani, who is said to be plundering brahmin householders and the king.

Later, when Dhananjani is on his death-bed, he asks Sariputta to come and seehim. Sariputta accepts and teaches him the way to the Brahma-world, which is

where the brahmin is reborn after his death. On his return from Dhananjani’s

house, Sariputta is reprimanded by the Buddha for leaving ‘while there was still

more to be done’,102 implying that he had failed to teach the appropriate

teachings to Dhananjani, thus causing him to be reborn in the Brahma-world.

This failure indicates that Sariputta lacks the ‘knowledge to encompass the

mind of others’ (ceto-pariya-nana), which is one of the ‘supernormal powers’

(iddhis) possessed by some Arahants, in particular by Mahamoggallana, who is

‘foremost in supernormal powers’.103

Indeed, as far as I am aware, the suttasnever show Sariputta using supernormal powers, although his meditative attain-

ments, which are necessary for achieving supernormal powers, are well

developed.104

This is not the only incidence when a difference is made between Sariputta

and Mahamoggallana. In the Catuma Sutta, the Buddha dismisses 500 bhikkhus

who have come with Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, because they have been

loud and noisy. After being persuaded by the Brahma Sahampati to accept them

again into his presence, the Buddha asks Sariputta what he thought when he

dismissed the bhikkhus. Sariputta answers that he rejoiced at the thought that theBuddha, Mahamoggallana, and he himself would ‘abide inactive, devoted to

pleasant abiding here and now’.105 The Buddha reprimands him, telling him that

‘such a thought should not be entertained by [him] again’.106 Moggallana, on the

other hand, when asked the same question, replies with the correct response;

namely, that he and Sariputta will lead the assembly of bhikkhus while the

Buddha ‘abides inactive, devoted to pleasant abiding here and now’,107 therefore

recognizing his own responsibility for the group of bhikkhus they came with. It

should not, however, be thought that this indicates a discrimination in favour of

Mahamoggallana, as he too is admonished by the Buddha, and told that he

should ‘not be negligent regarding noble silence’,108 and the jhanas.109

The seven powers

Gethin has suggested that, in the face of such diversity of attainment displayed

by Arahants, the tradition established a minimum number of qualities common

to them all, which are described by the seven powers of the Arahant (khın asava-

bala).110 Like the formulae analysed in the first part of this paper, the seven

powers are also related to the Noble Eightfold Path in several ways, especially

as the seventh power is the Noble Eightfold Path itself. In addition, most of thepowers can be linked to one or several of the limbs of the Path. The first and

second powers, seeing the impermanence of all things, and seeing the danger in

the sense-desires, as well as the second factor of enlightenment,111 investigation

of dhammas (dhammavicaya), included in the sixth power, are all related to the

first limb of the path, right view (samma dit t hi). The third khın asava-bala, ‘his




heart bent on, and inclined towards, enlightenment’, is clearly an expression of

right intention (samma sam kappa). The fourth and fifth powers, the four

foundations of mindfulness (satipat t hana) and the five faculties (indriya),

include two lists comprising aspects of right striving (samma vayama), of rightmindfulness (samma sati) and of right concentration (samma samadhi). The

sixth power, the seven factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga), again is related to

several limbs of the path.

It would be most interesting to establish how this combination evolved over

the history of early Buddhism, and finally crystallized, but as it is, it must be

taken in its present form. Beyond their obvious relationship with the Noble

Eightfold Path, the seven powers are intriguing since they clearly fall into two

groups: the first group corresponds to individual abilities, whereas the second

includes a good part of what the later tradition has termed the ‘37 factors which

contribute to enlightenment’ (bodhi-pakkhiya dhamma ).112 Gethin has argued

that it is enough to fulfil one of the bodhi-pakkhiya dhammas in order to fulfil

the whole Path.113 It seems that this argument is also applicable to the seven

powers of the Arahant, and that fulfilling any of them would be to fulfil them

all. Furthermore, the apparent redundancy is no more than a statement about the

variety of ways that enlightenment may come about, in the same way that there

is a variety of ways in which knowledge (anna ) can be expressed.

However, the seven powers are rather comprehensive, since they encompass

virtually all aspects of the Buddhist Path. Therefore they do not give a very

precise idea of what the basic requirements for Arahantship may be. Is itpossible to find a characteristic that all Arahants share to the same extent? I

think it is, and that the characteristic at issue is made clear by the Pali name for

the seven powers: the powers of one who has destroyed the asavas (khın asava-

bala). This characteristic is also included in the formulae discussed in the first

part of this paper. The terms Arahant and khın asava are commonly found

together, and they can undoubtedly be taken as synonyms. It is also significant

that the description of the attainment of Arahantship, such as that of Sariputta

discussed earlier, usually refers to the destruction of the asavas. The descrip-

tion, given in the Kit

agiri Sutta, of those liberated in both ways(ubhatobhagavimutti), and those liberated by wisdom ( panna vimutti), clearly

support this argument: the common element between them is that the asavas are

‘destroyed by [their] seeing with wisdom’.114 If we examine the other categories

of Arahants mentioned at S I 191, the characteristic common to them all is,

again, the destruction of the asavas.

What is the relationship between the destruction of the asavas and the seven

powers? How can Arahants possess the seven powers, which include most of

the bodhi-pakkhiya dhammas, and still be different? On the one hand, Arahants

are defined in terms of what they have destroyed and cannot do, and on theother hand, they are defined in terms of what they do. With the destruction of

the asavas, the Arahant relinquishes the last traces of attachment he had for the

world and existence. He has eliminated the three defilements of greed (lobha),

hatred (dosa) and delusion (moha), in particular the very subtle forms of greed

and ignorance represented by the asavas of becoming (bhavasava) and



46 P. Engelmajer

ignorance (avijjasava), and can therefore never act in a way that is not

consistent with the Noble Eightfold Path. This is made clear by the list of nine

actions that are impossible for an Arahant to perform.115 As I have attempted

to show with examples from the Vaset

t

ha Sutta, the description given in the Anguttara Nikaya,116 and the daily lives of Sariputta and the ‘Anuruddhas’,

what the Arahant does as an Arahant is the same as what he needs to do in order

to attain his goal of eradicating greed, hatred and delusion. There is no

difference between the end and the means. The Arahant, having attained his

goal, can now fulfil the Path in each and every one of his actions: he is no

longer capable of being negligent with regard to the fulfilment of the Path. It

is in this sense that he is said to possess the seven powers. In a discussion of

the difference between indriyas and balas, Gethin argues, following the

Pat isambhidamagga, that the balas are characterized by their ‘unshakeability’:

they cannot be shaken by their opposite qualities.117 If this definition is applied

to the khın asava-balas, it can be inferred that Arahants cannot be shaken by the

opposites of the factors of the Path, which can be understood in terms of greed,

hatred and delusion. While all Arahants are equal in terms of ‘unshakeability’,

their differences may be explained by different degrees of development of the

seven powers. As was discussed earlier, different Arahants are shown as having

developed different qualities: Kassapa is said to be chief among the scrupulous,

Anuruddha, chief among the clairvoyant, and Punna Mantaniputta, chief among

Dhamma teachers.118 To take an example, some may have developed concen-

tration to the utmost, and attained the jhanas and formless attainments, as haveSariputta and the Anuruddhas. Others, such as Mahamoggallana have developed

the supernormal powers (iddhis). In other words, they all possess the same

qualities, but possess them to varying degrees.

Arahants can develop

While the Arahant has ‘done what had to be done’ to escape the round of

rebirths, the nature of his attainment entails the actualization of the very factors

that he had to develop to achieve his goal. This is confirmed in the examplesof Sariputta and the Anuruddhas. An important aspect of Sariputta’s life is

sharing knowledge of the Dhamma with his friends in the holy life, and he is

often portrayed questioning them. Although I have already pointed out the

likely rhetorical nature of these sessions of questions and answers, I still think

they denote a willingness to accept that no matter how advanced one is, there

is still room for learning more. A telling example occurs in the Rathavinıta

Sutta, in which Sariputta expresses a wish to meet Punna Mantan iputta after

hearing him praised by the bhikkhus and the Buddha. When he is told that

Pun

n

a Mantan

iputta is in the vicinity, he immediately joins him and questionshim about the Dhamma.119 The Anuruddhas also discuss the Dhamma, and

receive instruction and encouragement from the Buddha when he visits them. It

must be noted that this phrase120 is common in the Nikayas as describing the

meeting of a bhikkhu and the Buddha, but again I think it is telling that it should

still be used with Arahants, as it seems they should not need instruction and




encouragement any longer. I think that if there was no possibility of further

development for Arahants, the Nikayas would only have shown them teaching

less advanced bhikkhus, rather than striving to learn more themselves.

Meditation practice is also encouraged for Arahants. Sariputta is repeatedlydescribed as practising the jhanas and the formless attainments. Both the

Anuruddhas and Sariputta spend their day in meditation, as do most of the

Arahants described in the Nikayas. Johansson claims that the ‘main concern of

the Arahant was to maintain what he had achieved [nibbana] by means of

meditation’.121 Another explanation, according to Harvey who sees nibbana as

a state, and Arahantship as an event that gives access to this state, is that the

Arahant dwells in that state while in meditation, but cannot do so when carrying

out his daily business. The jhanas seem important, even, as mentioned earlier,

for the Arahant, since the Buddha warns that gain, honour and praise would

prevent an Arahant from attaining them.122 Leaving aside the important question

of why an Arahant should be affected by gain, honour and praise in any

detrimental way, this clearly indicates that the Buddha thought it was important

for the Arahant to be able to attain the jhanas.

Another example of the advantage of practising meditation occurs in the

Pind apataparisuddhi Sutta, discussed earlier in relation to Sariputta, in which,

after describing a bhikkhu who develops the bodhi-pakkiya dhammas, and gains

true knowledge (vijja ) and liberation (vimutti) (i.e., Arahantship), the Buddha

claims that ‘this bhikkhu, then, can abide happy and glad, training day and night

in wholesome states’.123

The dhamma-kkhandhas

Another example of this tendency to sustain development is found in the (seldom

discussed) concept of the dhamma-kkhandhas.124 The dhamma-kkhandhas were

mentioned in the description of Sariputta and the Anuruddhas, as well as in the

discussion of the Arahant archetype. The three dhamma-kkhandhas of ethical

conduct (sıla), concentration (samadhi) and wisdom ( panna ) are another way of

describing the Noble Eightfold Path, although as the bhikkhunı Dhammadinnaexplains to Visakha in the Culavedalla Sutta,125 the three dhamma-kkhandhas

include the Noble Eightfold Path, but the Noble Eightfold Path does not include

the three dhamma-kkhandhas. This seems to imply that the three dhamma-

kkhandhas are broader than the Noble Eightfold Path. Sariputta’s daily life seems

to illustrate this: many of his activities can be performed in such a way that they

are an actualization of the whole path, and his activities as a whole are comprised

within the three dhamma-kkhandhas. The alms-round, the cultivation of calm,

and of good friends, all are presented in the suttas as a potential means of

fulfilling the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Anupada sutta, the Buddha extolsSariputta, and in particular confirms that he has ‘attained mastery and perfection

in the noble virtue, […] noble concentration, […] noble wisdom and […] noble

liberation’.126 These include the dhamma-kkhandhas although perplexingly they

are not called dhamma-kkhandhas in this case.127

Although the number of dhamma-kkhandhas varies between three and five,



48 P. Engelmajer

there is a certain pattern to this variation that seems to imply various degrees

of development: the instances in which all five dhamma-kkhandhas are explicitly

named are either referring to the Buddha or to hypothetical bhikkhus, except for

one case concerning A¯

nanda, which I will discuss later. The only personmentioned in the Nikayas as fully possessing the five dhamma-kkhandhas is the

Buddha. In the Brahmasam yutta,128 the Buddha claims that there is no other

ascetic or brahmin more perfect than he is in the five dhamma-kkhandhas. As

a result, he does not need to depend on anyone, but only on the Dhamma itself.

It seems fair to conclude from this statement that those, like his disciples

(including Arahants), who depend on him, have not attained the same degree of

fulfilment of the dhamma-kkhandhas as he has.

That there is a notion of degree in the fulfilment of the dhamma-kkhandhas

is further supported by another passage in the Anguttara Nikaya (by far the

Nikaya in which the dhamma-kkhandhas are most often mentioned), where three

sorts of persons are described: one who is ‘not to be followed, not to be served

and not to be honoured’, one who is ‘to be followed, served and honoured’, and

one who is ‘to be followed, served and honoured with worship and reverence’.129

The reason for these differences in rapport depends on whether the person

involved is inferior, equal or superior to oneself with regard to sıla, samadhi and

panna . Here it must be noted that in the case of someone inferior or equal, the

terms sıla, samadhi and panna are used; whereas in the case of one who is

superior, the actions should be done for the fulfilment ( paripuri) of the unfulfilled

(aparipuram

) dhamma-kkhandhas, which is the same terminology used by theBuddha when reflecting on his own fulfilment of the dhamma-kkhandhas. It thus

seems that simple qualities, accessible to everyone, become dhamma-kkhandhas

as one enters the Noble Eightfold Path, and develop as one progresses.

Furthermore, as I wish to argue, they continue being developed even after the

attainment of Arahantship.

Another passage of the Anguttara Nikaya establishes a difference between one

who is accomplished (sampanna) in the qualities and one who is endowed

(samannagata) with the five dhamma-kkhandhas, which are said to be ‘beyond

training’ (asekha). Although they are still both worthy of offerings and gifts, andunsurpassed fields of merit,130 the distinction between being accomplished in

qualities and being endowed with them seems to indicate a degree of develop-

ment. The distinction may be very slight, and may be valid only in this specific

context, but there seems to be a question of intent, in that the one who is

accomplished still has, to a certain extent, to make some effort to put the qualities

into practice, whereas the one who is endowed with these qualities beyond

training actualizes them instinctively. They have become part of him to such an

extent that they are the sole way of behaving, without even the need to think

about it.The passage in which the five dhamma-kkhandhas are mentioned as referring

to a specific person concerns Ananda. He is asked by the Buddha whether

Sariputta, when he died, had taken with him Ananda’s five dhamma-

kkhandhas.131 Bhikkhu Bodhi132 notes that this is surprising since, according to

the commentaries, only Arahants possess the five dhamma-kkhandhas. I a m




tempted to propose that this is another suggestion that the five dhamma-

kkhandhas can actually be developed at various degrees, and that Ananda might

have developed them to a lesser degree than an Arahant.

Conclusion

The completion of the Path implies that the Path is fulfilled in every single

aspect of the Arahant’s life, and that the Arahant’s life, taken as a whole, is an

expression of the Path that can be expanded indefinitely. The characteristic

common to all Arahants is the destruction of the asavas, and the concomitant

powers (khın asava-bala). The very nature of these powers entails that one might

be endowed with them without having fully developed them, and this is also

true of the dhamma-kkhandhas, which delineate the activities of the Arahant.

Do these differences imply that some achievements might be higher than

others? I think that would be to misunderstand the nature of the perfection of

the Arahant, a misunderstanding that might have led later schools of Buddhism

to criticize and reject the Arahant as not having reached the highest goal. While

I would not go as far as I. B. Horner in arguing that ‘Monastic Buddhism’ has

corrupted early Buddhism, and eliminated the idea of ‘infinite improvement,

enrichment and development’133 that, according to her, characterized Arahant-

ship in very early Buddhism, I think that it can be argued that there is a

tendency within the Nikayas to accept that Arahants can continue to evolve

after attaining Arahantship. This, I believe, in no way undermines the perfectionof their realization. Once the destruction of the asavas is achieved, and the

defilements eradicated, the Noble Eightfold Path can be completely and

indefinitely fulfilled. To claim that the Arahant cannot develop further would be

to imply that, if I may use a worldly metaphor, the prima ballerina of the Royal

Ballet cannot improve and develop new skills because she has already attained

the highest goal of her profession. Going along with Harvey’s argument that

Arahantship is an ‘event’ and nibbana a state in which the Arahant does not

dwell at all times,134 it seems that attaining Arahantship opens up the possibility

of developing the dhamma-kkhandhas to their fullest extent, without any furtherinterference from the defilements. This would explain why the Nikayas do not

mention any specific Arahant, but the Buddha alone, as having developed the

five dhamma-kkhandhas — even Sariputta seems to have only four.135

While it is quite clear why Arahants continue fulfilling the Path after gaining

Arahantship, it may be asked why they need to further develop the seven

powers and the dhamma-kkhandhas. One answer may lie in the Buddha’s

comment about the ‘Anuruddhas’ of the Culagosinga Sutta: ‘these three are

practising for the welfare and happiness of the many, out of compassion for the

world, for the good, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans’.

136

Notes

1 The PED gives a fourth formula, but as far as I can tell it only refers to the Buddha,and thus will not be discussed in this paper. Note that for most translations, evenof the formulae, I use those of Bhikkhu Bodhi.



50 P. Engelmajer

2 The PED refers to this as formula B.3 For example, SI 140 (eko vupakat t ho appamatto atapi pahitatto viharanto […] tad

anuttaram brahmacariya-pariyosanam dit t heva dhamme sayam abhinna sac-chikatva upasampajja vihasi); I am giving here a more extended version of the

second formula than the PED version, which only includes the beginning epithets.4 PED’s formula A.5 For example, MI 139 (khina jati vusitam brahmacariyam katam karan iyam

naparam itthattaya).6 PED’s formula C.7 For example, M I 4 (bhikkhu araham khin asavo vusitava katakaran iyo ohitabharo

anuppatta-sadattho parikkhina-bhava-saym ojano sammad-anna-vimutto).8 D III 133.9 There are many translations of the term asava; for example, cankers, influxes,

corruptions, taints (see, for example, Horner (1936, 46) for a list of early transla-tions). None of these, in my opinion, seems to capture adequately the connotations

of the Pali word, and consequently I will only use the Pali.10 For example, D III 83; S I 146.11 For example, S II 83.12 For example, M I 7 and S IV 256.13 Horner (1936, 122, note 1) simply notes that ‘later the asavas included as well

ditthi’; Hamilton (2000, 84, note 7) mentions that the Vinaya gives the four asavas.However, dit t hi is also included as an asava in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of theDigha Nikaya.

14 M I 250.15 S IV 256.16 S V 236.

17 S V 434.18 A III 387.19 For example, bond: S IV 163–4, S II 166, S IV 89, and S IV 283; fetter: S III 166,

S IV 89, and S IV 162–3.20 S III 166–7.21 S IV 162–3.22 S IV 162–3.23 M I 7–12.24 See S V, 61.25 For example, S I 140 (… tad anuttaram brahmacariya-pariyosanam dit t heva

dhamme sayam abhinna sacchikatva upasampajja vihasi).

26 For example, S I 140 (abhinna) a n d M I 4 (abhijanati). Others use ‘higherknowledge’; see Walshe (1987), for example.

27 M I 1–6.28 For example, M III 289, S V 52.29 For example, S IV 17–9.30 S IV 50 (evancetam bhikkhu, bhikkhuno sutam hoti sabbe dhamma nalam ab-

hinivesayati; so sabbam dhammam abhijanati, sabbam dhammam abhinnaya,sabbam dhammam parijanati sabbam dhammam parinnaya sabbanimittani annato passati).

31 S IV 48–9.32 S V 16 (ayameva kho avuso ariyo at t hangiko maggo brahmacariyam ).

33 S V 17 ( yo kho avuso imina ariyena at

t

hangikena maggena samannagato ayamvuccati brahmacari ).

34 ayameva kho avuso ariyo at t hangiko maggo etesam asavanam pahanaya.35 Sn 115–123. It also appears in the Majjhima Nikaya.36 Collins, (1982, 32–3), also see the Sonadand a Sutta (D I 111–26).37 I am using here the definitions given in the Mahasatipat t hana Sutta. However, the

same definitions can be found at M III 252 ff.




38 Sn 632 (akkakasam vinnapanim giram saccam udiraye, yaya nabhisaje kancitamaham brumi brahmanam ).

39 D II 312 (musavada veraman i, pisunaya vacaya veraman i, pharusaya vacayaveraman i samphappalapa veraman i ).

40 A I 211–2.41 M I 301.42 Gethin (1998, 83).43 D I 63–9.44 A I 211–2.45 S II 32 (atha kho ayasma sariputto pubbanhasamayam nivasetva

pattacivaramadaya rajagaham pind aya pavisi); also see S III 235–240 (Sariputtasa-sam yutta), for example.

46 M III 294 (chando va rago va doso va moho va pat igham ).47 M III 293–7.48 For example, S III 235.

49 S III 235–40.50 S III 235 (tassa mayham na evam hoti: aham pat hamam jhanam samapajjamiti va

aham pat hamam jhanam samapannoti va aham pat hama jhana vut t hitoti vati).51 S III 235 (tatha hi panayasmato sariputtassa digharattam abhim karamamim -

karamananusaya susamuhata. tasma ayasmato sariputtassa na evam hoti: aham pat hamam jhanam samapajjamiti va aham pat hamam jhanam samapannoti va aham pat hamajhana vut t hitoti vati).

52 For example, S II 254.53 I am not suggesting that the conceit ‘I am’ (asmimano) is still present in the ‘new’

Arahant, but that, in the same way as one who changes from a gear car to anautomatic car might still reach for the gear stick, the ‘new’ Arahant might still reach

for the concepts ‘I’ and ‘me’ as an automatism before letting them go.54 Harvey (1995, 182–5).55 S II 239 ( yo pi so bhikkhave, bhikkhu araham khin asavo, tassa paham

labhasakkarasilokam antarayaya vadami ti).56 S II 239 ( ya hissa sa ananda, akuppa ceto vimukti, naham tassa labhasakkara

silokam antarayaya vadami).57 For example, the just cited Sariputtasam yutta.58 For example, M I 292–7.59 For example, S II 195.60 For example, S II 275.61 Another example occurs at S III 172–5 and S III 175–7 with Mahakotthita.

62 S V 346.63 S V 362.64 See, for example, Kvu 173–80.65 S V 162 (api ca me bhante, madhurakajato viya kayo. disapi me na pakkhayanti.

dhammapi mam nappatibhanti. ayasma sariputto parinibbuto ’ti sutvati).66 Ibid .6 7 S V 1 6 4 (api ca khayam bhikkhave, parisa sunna viya khayati parinibbutesu

sariputtamoggallanesu asunna me sa bhikkhave, parisa hoti anapekha tassamdisayam hoti, yassam disayam sariputtamoggallana viharanti). There is sometension here as, on the one hand, the Buddha seems to express a certain degree of sadness at the loss of his chief disciples and, on the other hand, he claims that there

is ‘no sorrow or lamentation in the Tathagata’ and enjoins the bhikkhus to ‘dwellwith themselves as their own island; with themselves as their own refuge; with the Dhamma as their island, with the Dhamma as their refuge, with no other refuge’.

68 S V 3–4. In the preceding sutta, Ananda is corrected by the Buddha when he claimsthat ‘good friendship, good companionship, and good comradeship’ are ‘half theholy life’ (S V 2–3), thereby perhaps stressing the difference of understandingbetween Sariputta and Ananda, between an Arahant and one who is not an Arahant.



52 P. Engelmajer

69 S V 3–4.70 S V 29.71 Collins (1987, 51).72 Ibid .

73 S V 162.74 S III 235–40.75 For example, S IV 103–5, and M II 184–96.76 See the two Digha Nikaya suttas cited earlier, for example.77 For example, M I 46–55 and M I 14–6.78 D III 207–71.79 The Dasuttara Sutta, for example (D III 272–92).80 M I 46–55.81 M III 248–52.82 Bhikkhu Bodhi (1995, 20), in his introduction to the translation of the Majjhima

Nikaya, notes that three of the nine suttas attributed to Sariputta ‘have become basic

texts for the study of Buddhist doctrine in monastic schools through the TheravadaBuddhist world’ (two are cited hereafter).

83 D III 207.84 S IV 103–5.85 S IV 55–60. On the issue of Arahants committing suicide, see the articles by

Wiltshire (1983) and Keown (1996). Note the commentary’s position that thosecommitting suicide such as Channa, only became Arahants at the moment of death(this, however, seems to contradict the sutta).

86 S V 380–5.87 S III 5 (Buddha), S V 162 (Ananda).88 For example, M I 301 and S V 162, which has five dhamma-kkhandhas.

89 M I 205; the three also live together at M III 156, although in a different park.90 Peter Harvey (1995, 61) argues that the use of a single name illustrates the lack of

boundaries of the Arahant’s mind.9 1 M I 2 0 6 ( yathakatham pana tumhe anuruddha samagga sammodamana avi-

vadamana khirodakibhuta annamannam piyacakkhuhi sampassanta viharathati).92 M I 207 (nana hi kho no bhante kaya. ekanca pana manne cittanti)93 M I 205.94 M I 209.95 M I 209 (atha kho bhagava ayasmantanca anuruddham ayasmantanca nandiyam

ayasmantanca kimbilam dhammiya kathaya sandassetva samadapetva samuttejetva sampaham setva ut t hayasana pakkami).

96 M I 210.97 M I 211 ( passa digha, yavancete tayo kulaputta bahujanahitaya pat ipanna bahu-

janasukhaya lokanukampakaya atthaya hitaya sukhaya devamanussananti).98 A I 23–5.99 For example, S I 191.

100 S II 123.101 M II 185–96.102 M II 196 (kim pana tvam sariputta, dhananjanim brahmanam sati uttarim karin iye,

hine brahmaloke patit t hapetva ut t hayasana pakkantoti)1 0 3 A I 2 3 (etadaggam bhikkhave mama savakanam bhikkhunam iddhimantanam

yadidam mahamoggallano).

104 For example, in the Brahmasam

yutta (S I 144–6), a few of the Buddha’s mosteminent disciples use their supernormal powers, but Sariputta is conspicuous by hisabsence.

105 M I 459 (appossukko ’dani bhagava dit t hadhammasukhaviharam anuyutto viharis-sati. mayampidani appossukka dit t hadhammasukhaviharam anuyutta viharissa-mati).

106 M I 459 (na kho te sariputta punapi evarupam cittam uppadetabbanti).




107 M I 459 (evam kho me bhante ahosi bhagavata bhikkhusanghe pan amite appos-sukko’dani bhagava dit t hadhammasukhaviharam anuyutto viharissati. ahancadaniayasma ca sariputto bhikkhusangham pariharissamati).

108 S II 273.

109 S IV 262–9 Here it is not clear whether Mahamoggallana is already an Arahant ornot, although the commentaries say that he is not at this point. Also see A IV 85–8,where a similar scene is depicted, and again it is not clear whether Mahamoggallanais an Arahant or not at this point.

110 The number of khin asava balani varies; for example, ten are found at A V 174–5;also see Gethin (1992, 261–2).

111 See D III 252 for a list of the seven factors of enlightenment.112 Cousins (1996, 145).113 Gethin (1992, 351–2).114 M I 477 ( pannaya cassa disva asava parikkhin a honti).115 D III 133.

116 A I 211–2.117 Gethin (1992, 142–3).118 A I 23.119 M I 145–51.120 ‘After the Blessed One instructed, urged, roused, and gladdened the Venerable …

with a talk on the Dhamma’ (bhagava ayasmantam … dhammiya kathaya sandas-setva samadapetva samuttejetva sampaham setva ). See for example, M I 209 for theAnuruddhas, and M I 146 for Punna Mantaniputta.

121 Johansson (1969, 110).122 S II 239–41.123 M III 297 (tena bhikkhuna teneva pitipamojjena vihatabbam ahorattanusikkhina

kusalesu dhammesu). Cousins (1996, 145) points out that the term kusala dhamma refers principally to ‘ jhanas and […] the dhammas contributing to awakening(bodhi-pakkhiya-dhammas)’.

124 Gethin (1992, 32) briefly mentions them with reference to the Buddha; and Harvey(1995, 234) mentions that the Buddha and the Arahant are ‘endowed and awakened’to the five dhamma-khandhas, while the other ‘members of the Holy Sangha’ arestill developing them.

125 M I 301.126 M III 29 (sariputtameva tam samma vadamano vadeyya vasippatto paramippatto

ariyasmim silasmim , vasippatto paramippatto ariyasmim samadhismim , vasippatto paramippatto ariyaya pannaya, vasippatto paramippatto ariyaya vimuttiyati).

127 S I 139.

128 S I 139; also at A II 20.129 A I 124–5 (atthi bhikkhave puggalo na sevitabbo na bhajitabbo na payirupasitabbo.

atthi bhikkhave puggalo sevitabbo bhajitabbo payirupasitabbo. atthi bhikkhave puggalo sakkatva garukatva sevitabbo bhajitabbo payirupasitabbo).

130 A III 134.131 S V 162.132 Bodhi (2000, 1924, note 160). Here he gives as evidence that the five dhamma-

khandhas only apply to Arahants a reference to the passage at S I 139, whichactually only mentions the Buddha. He treats this as an ‘anomaly’. His otherexample, about Anathapindika, can also fit within my argument.

133 Horner (1936, 283).

134 Harvey (1995, 182–4).135 The later tradition disagrees with this view, and claims that Arahants have fully

developed the five dhamma-khandhas. See, for example, Bhikkhu Bodhi’s com-ment, mentioned earlier, on Ananda’s five dhamma-khandhas (Bodhi, 2000, 1924,note 160).

136 M I 211 ( passa digha, yavancete tayo kulaputta bahujanahitaya pat ipanna bahu- janasukhaya lokanukampakaya atthaya hitaya sukhaya devamanussananti).



54 P. Engelmajer

References

Bodhi, Bhikkhu (transl.), The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A NewTranslation of the Majjhima Nikaya (Boston: Wisdom; 1995) with Bhikkhu ¥aoamoli.

——, The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A new Translation of the Sauyutta Nikaya. (Oxford: Pali Text Society/Wisdom; 2000).

Collins, Steven, Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism.(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1982).

——, ‘Kalyaoamitta and Kalyaoamittata’ Journal of the Pali Text Society, 11 (1987), p.51–72.

Cousins, L.S., “Good or Skilful? Kusala in Canon and Commentary.” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 3 (1996), pp. 136–64 (Electronic journal: www.gold.ac.uk/jbe/).

Gethin, R.M.L., The Buddhist Path to Awakening: A Study of the Bodhi-Pakkhiya Dhamma. (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2001, 2nd ed. (1992)).

——, The Foundations of Buddhism (Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1998).Hamilton, S., Early Buddhism: A New Approach. The I of the Beholder (Richmond:

Curzon, 2000).Harvey, Peter, The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness, and Nirvana in Early

Buddhism. (Richmond: Curzon Press, 1995).Horner, I.B., The Early Buddhist Theory of Man Perfected. (Amsterdam: Philo Press;

1936/1975).Johansson, R., The Psychology of Nirvana. (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.;

1969).Walshe, M. (transl.), The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dagha

Nikaya, 3 vols. (Boston: Wisdom; 1987).Wiltshire, M., ‘The Suicide problem in the Pali canon’ Journal of the International

Association of Buddhist Studies, 6 (1983), p. 124–140.

Documents

Engelmajer, Pascale - Perfected of Perfecting - The Arahant in the Pali Nikayas [Contemporary Buddhism]