Saṁyutta Nikāya — The Connected Discourses

SN48: Connected Discourses on the Faculties

SN48:4 Arahant (1)

1"Bhikkhus, there are these five faculties. What five? The faculty of faith … the faculty of wisdom.

"When, bhikkhus, having understood as they really are the gratification, the danger, and the escape in the case of these five faculties, a bhikkhu is liberated by nonclinging, then he is called a bhikkhu who is an arahant, one whose taints are destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached his own goal, utterly destroyed the fetters of existence, one completely liberated through final knowledge." [n.189] The stream-enterer and the arahant share the same understanding of the five aggregates. They differ in that the arahant has used this understanding to extricate all defilements, while the stream-enterer (and higher trainees) have yet to complete this task. Note too that whereas the stream-enterer is explained in terms of a noble disciple, the arahant is always defined as a bhikkhu. Be and Ee read ariyasāvaka in the definition of the arahant too, but I follow Se, which reads bhikkhu.

1"Pañcimāni, bhikkhave, indriyāni. Katamāni pañca? Saddhindriyaṁ, vīriyindriyaṁ, satindriyaṁ, samādhindriyaṁ, paññindriyaṁ.

Yato kho, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako imesaṁ pañcannaṁ indriyānaṁ assādañca ādīnavañca nissaraṇañca yathābhūtaṁ viditvā anupādāvimutto hoti – ayaṁ vuccati, bhikkhave, bhikkhu arahaṁ khīṇāsavo vusitavā katakaraṇīyo ohitabhāro anuppattasadattho parikkhīṇabhavasaṁyojano sammadaññāvimutto"ti.


Catutthaṁ.

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