English
One is the path-attainer to non-returning, the fruit-attainer to non-returning; One is the path-attainer to arahantship, the fruit-attainer to arahantship: These are the four pairs of persons. There are four path-attainers, four fruit-attainers, These are the eight individual persons. How are there forty individuals? The path-attainer to stream-entry, in terms of the first jhāna and so on, is five; Likewise, the path-attainers to once-returning, non-returning, and arahantship are each five: Thus, there are twenty path-attaining individuals. Similarly, the fruit-attainers, in terms of the fruit-attainer to stream-entry and so on, are each five: Thus, there are twenty fruit-attaining individuals, making forty individuals. Here, since the path lasts only for one mind-moment, how can there be twenty path-attaining individuals? It is said: Even in the cases of jhāna as a basis, jhāna as an object of contemplation, jhāna-person, and jhāna-inclination, due to the appearance of factors similar to that jhāna, such as initial application, all four path-attainers, being referred to as first-jhāna-attainers and so on, are each divided into five. Therefore, there are twenty path-attainers. Among the first jhāna and so on, whichever jhāna one attains and then, rising from it, contemplates the formations, and the vipassanā leading to rising arises, that is the jhāna as a basis, because it is the foundation for the vipassanā leading to rising. Whichever jhāna one contemplates and that vipassanā arises, that is the jhāna as an object of contemplation. "Oh, may my path, like the first jhāna, have five factors, or like the second jhāna and so on, have four factors and so on," thus, the inclination that arises in the yogi is called jhāna-inclination. Here, for the one who, having attained one of the first jhāna and so on, and then, rising from it, contemplates scattered formations and the path arises, that path is similar to that first jhāna, that jhāna as a basis. But if there is no jhāna that is the basis for vipassanā, and only one of the first jhāna and so on is contemplated and the path arises, then that path is similar to the jhāna as an object of contemplation. When one attains some jhāna and then... When the path is produced by contemplating, then, according to the individual's disposition, it is similar to one of two. Thus, for a worldling on the path of serenity, or for noble ones, due to the disposition of the foundational jhāna or contemplated jhāna individual, the path, consisting of the path factors, is similar to one of the first jhāna, etc. Due to the difference in individuals, there are twenty path-attaining individuals, and likewise, twenty fruit-attaining individuals, thus, there are forty noble individuals. Furthermore, if the individual does not have such a disposition, the path produced by contemplating the higher and higher jhāna states, after emerging from the lower and lower jhāna in sequence, is similar to the contemplated jhāna without depending on the foundational jhāna. The path produced by contemplating the lower and lower jhāna states, after emerging from the higher and higher jhāna in reverse sequence, is similar to the foundational jhāna without depending on the contemplated jhāna, for the higher and higher jhāna is more powerful than the lower and lower jhāna. Even eight hundred types of individuals, therein, the three stream-enterers are: one-seeder, family-to-family, and seven-times-at-most. The three once-returners who have attained the fruit in the desire, form, and formless realms, all of them are twenty-four due to the four practices: painful practice with slow insight, painful practice with quick insight, pleasant practice with slow insight, pleasant practice with quick insight. The five non-returners in the Aviha heavens are: one who attains Nibbāna between, one who attains Nibbāna upon effort, one who attains Nibbāna with exertion, one who attains Nibbāna without exertion, one who goes upstream to the Akaniṭṭha heaven. Likewise, five in the Atappa, Sudassa, and Sudassī heavens. However, in the Akaniṭṭha heavens, except for the one who goes upstream, the four non-returners are: one who attains Nibbāna between, one who attains Nibbāna upon effort, one who attains Nibbāna with exertion, one who attains Nibbāna without exertion, thus, there are twenty-four non-returners. The two arahants are: dry-insight practitioner and serenity-goer. Four path-attainers, thus, fifty-four, all of them, doubled due to faith-devotee and wisdom-devotee, become eight hundred noble individuals. All of them are "eight hundred." Those noble individuals, designated in terms of expansion, are, in brief, as pairs: one pair is the path-attainer and fruit-attainer of stream-entry. Thus, with "one pair," there are four. Therefore, it is said in the Jewel Discourse: "Those individuals, eight in number, praised by the virtuous, they become four pairs." This distinction is obtained in the path-attainers and fruit-attainers mixed. However, the distinction of the meditative and bare-insight types is obtained only in the fruit-attainers, not in the path-attainers, because the path is a single moment of consciousness. Therein, the stream-entry fruit-attainer is twofold: meditative and bare-insight. Among them, the meditative individual, attaining arahantship in that existence, is fully extinguished. If not attained, he goes to the Brahma-world; he is called the meditative one. However, in the Root Commentary, it is said that with attachment, ordinary individuals and others, reborn wherever in the planes that are the basis of the attained meditation, except for the Pure Abodes, even in the realm of desire, by the power of karma pertaining to the desire realm, "For the aspiration of the virtuous is fulfilled, monks, due to purity of mind." But the non-returner, with the complete abandonment of desire for sense pleasures, does not generate attachment in the realms of desire, so it is said that they are reborn wherever in the planes that are the basis of the attained meditation, excluding the world of desire. Thus, since attachment to the realm of desire is abandoned only in the non-returner, it is understood that even for the stream-enterer and once-returner, with attachment present, the possibility of rebirth in the realm of desire by the power of karma pertaining to the desire realm is not prevented. Therefore, it should be seen that "if not attained, he goes to the Brahma-world; he is called the meditative one" is said in the majority sense. However, the bare-insight one is threefold: one-seeder, clan-to-clan, and seven-times-at-most. Therein, one, whether in the human world or in the six deva-worlds, having one rebirth, attains arahantship and is fully extinguished; this is called the one-seeder. One, having one rebirth in the human world and one in the deva-world, or two rebirths, thus up to five or six at most, attains arahantship and is fully extinguished; this is called clan-to-clan. One, having become a stream-enterer in the human world, and one in the deva-world, Rebirth, then coming again to the human world, just once; thus, through a mixture of human and deva worlds, there are four there, three here, and so on, until having seven rebirths, he attains final Nibbāna; this is called the "seven-times-supreme." But only in the human world, or only in the deva world, thus unmixed, should rebirth be understood. Others, however, say "from here seven, from there seven, wandering in saṃsāra," thus they speak of the "seven-times-supreme" as seven rebirths in the human world and seven rebirths in the deva world. That is not right. Why? Because it contradicts the Pāli passage, "Even if they are very heedless, they do not undergo an eighth existence." Moreover, the Once-Returner, defined by two existences, might come to the human world twice; for him, one there, one here, a turn should be reckoned, but it should not be seen like that. Coming to this human world once, he is a Once-Returner. Having attained here, he attains final Nibbāna here; having attained there, he attains final Nibbāna there; having attained there, he attains final Nibbāna here; having attained here, he attains final Nibbāna there; among the five Once-Returners, the fifth is intended here. If so, how are the four beginning with "having attained here, he attains final Nibbāna here" called Once-Returners? They are called Once-Returners because of the statement "he comes back once more." Because craving for sense-pleasures is completely abandoned, he does not come to this realm of sense-desire; the meaning is that he always comes by way of rebirth in the Brahma world. Let it be so for the Jhānic one, but how for the Dry-Insight one? He also goes having become like a Jhānic one; for even if he is killed by lions, tigers, etc., on the path, having applied the three characteristics, he dies having become a Jhānic one. This, however, is called the "one-time-supreme" by way of the realms of form and formlessness. The Noble Ones, beginning with the "seven-times-supreme," even with many rebirths in the realms of form and formlessness, are called "one-rebirth" by way of the general term "Brahma world." The Arahant, however, being devoid of evil deeds, is worthy of offerings. An arahant is so called because of the statement, "Having finished with becoming again, being unworthy of evil," and so on. He is of three kinds: the jhāna-attainer, the pure-insight meditator, and the equal-headed one. There, the jhāna-attainer comes by way of jhāna alone; he is called one who has attained the discriminations. Another, having been a jhāna-attainer in the continuum of an ordinary person or a trainee, having made jhāna his foundation, generates the path; he too is a jhāna-attainer. But the pure-insight meditator has only the destruction of defilements together with the path; there is no future jhāna, it is said,