Buddhist Framework for Awakening

The Therevada Buddhist model of awakening that was originally described by the Buddha himself is the model I use to describe the initial awakening process. Awakening in a Therevada Buddhist sense ultimately delivers the end of suffering and strain. There is more beyond that, but for this section of the book, that is a good definition. This book is practical, for the modern man or woman, and is not concerned with unanswerable questions or pointless debate and side-taking. I am not particularly keen on an academic comparison of the different sects of Buddhism, so for further reading on this topic, please see the many books available on such topics. The Therevada Buddhist model has 4 levels of awakening, involving stepwise release of attachment to different facets of self. These attachments are described best as “fetters”- mental habits which limit and afflict the mind of a worldling- quite literally like a ball and chain for the mind- confining and imprisoning the mind. Awakening involves freeing ourselves from these shackles, and the suffering inherent in them.  

“There are these ten fetters. Which ten? Five lower fetters & five higher fetters. And which are the five lower fetters? Self-identity views, uncertainty, grasping at precepts & practices, sensual desire, & ill will. These are the five lower fetters. And which are the five higher fetters? Passion for form, passion for what is formless, conceit, restlessness, & ignorance. These are the five higher fetters. And these are the ten fetters.”

The Ten Fetters:

1. Self-illusion (self-identity views; belief in personality) – an intellectual view of self as a permanent, unchanging essence that is inherently existing outside of and apart from the world. 
2. Scepticism (uncertainty) – specifically regarding the efficacy of the buddhist method, the existence of an enlightened state, and the faith that others have attained such a thing and it is available to me as well
3. Attachment to rules and rituals (grasping at precepts and practices) – the mistaken notion that supernatural or magical causes free a person from suffering and self-imposed limitations. 

These first three fetters are “uprooted” with the attainment of the first level of awakening – called Stream entry or Sotapanna. They are uprooted because direct experiential knowledge proves them to be false in a compelling, impossible to ignore sort of way. A stream enterer- therefore – exhibits unwavering confidence in the Buddhist method (which really is just a methodical system of actual deliberate practice), the possibility of awakening for themselves and others, and the critical role of actual intentional deliberate practice in the attainment of awakening. They are simply unable to ever believe in a permanent eternal self because their direct first hand knowledge has decisively, completely, irrevocably, proven in their minds otherwise. The uprooting of these mental habits- fetters- directly erodes certain causes of suffering, and therefore, a stream enterer can never suffer in the same way as before- and they will be much better off in multitude ways than not having attained stream entry. The main fetter that reduces suffering for a stream enterer is identity view- since they no longer hold onto a notion of themselves as a permanent autonomous entity, they no longer suffer from perceived threats to that identity. They also have a clear path and unwavering confidence in the end of all suffering, which gives a stream enterer much solace in the fact that they are on the path to full and complete awakening and ending suffering for good, permanently. 

4. Sensual lust (craving)
5. Ill-will (aversion)

Fetters 4 and 5 are the main sources of suffering for a stream enterer. They have loosened a large aspect of self-attachment, however, they are still compelled and afflicted by craving for pleasant sensual experiences derived from the world, and they experience a resistance, or strain in negative unpleasant experiences. They still experience the suffering of enemy-making – in subtle and gross forms. Imagine how much enemy-making and self-other side-taking is involved in a typical 30 minute news program.  The fetter of ill will is a function of mind that creates an enemy out of groups, individuals, and unpleasant experiences of the senses. The attainment of the second level of awakening – called Sakadagami- involves a significant weakening or attenuation of these two fetters. The Sakadagami has loosened their grip on self-attachment considerably, and has started to become dispassionate toward things of the senses and the world.

The third level of awakening – Anagami- is attained when the practitioner sees through sensual craving and aversion to such a complete degree, that attachment to pleasant and unpleasant experiences ends completely- there is no resistance to unpleasant experiences and no clinging or grasping toward pleasant experiences. This affords the Anagami a wonderfully profound freedom from self- attachment, and the destruction of most all sources of suffering and sorrow. The state of mind of the anagami is nothing like the typical uninstructed untrained worlding. The Anagami knows a freedom so sublime that experiences of the world pale in comparison to the blissful, detached, transcendent state of the Anagami. 

• 6) Craving for fine-corporeal or material existence
• 7) Craving for incorporeal or non-material existence
• 8) Conceit
• 9) Restlessness
• 10) Ignorance

The last five fetters are uprooted with the Attainment of Arhatship. Until then, the Anagami has uprooted most all sources of suffering and generally lives in blissful contentment most of the time. But there is still the felt sense of being a separate entity on a simple moment-by moment perceptual level. It is hard to know how these last 5 fetters color our experience until they are uprooted and we can look back and compare what things are like before and what things are like now. The last fetters involve subtle mental habits like before- but these basic fetters function to create a residue of the felt sense of some permanent essence, despite the utter knowledge of the illusion of that perception.

The Anagami is no longer attached to the world or the senses, but still maintains some attachment to subtle mental experiences – they are so blissful they would rather it not end. Or conversely, they are so independent from and dispassionate toward the world or the senses, that they crave non-experience. The Anagami will routinely oscillate between these two subtle states of craving and it colors perception from the ground up. The last three fetters- conceit, restlessness, and ignorance, are the subtlest of mental habits that create a sense of a separate self. Conceit arises in the mind of an anagami- simply because they are aware they are different from people without this knowledge, and that creates a sense of disconnect from the world, and can be very isolating. Restlessness is a simple residual habit of mind to reach for typical things, despite knowing there is no point in doing so. It’s not directed at sense objects but rather at subtle mental manifestations of residual clinging to self -identity views. These clingings are known, almost painfully, until this  learning process completes itself. This residual habit simply exhausts itself on its own due to the keen mindfulness and insight ale=ready developed. 

And finally, ignorance- any moment when the insight they have gained is not being employed and realized- creates a subtle strain. They are ignoring what they know about themselves for whatever reason- may it be worldly obligations with good cause, or very subtle resistance to the reality of their insight and the world they are enmeshed in. It’s a very unique type of suffering that is very isolating- simply because not many people are familiar with such insights and keeping things to oneself is often the prescribed antidote. The attainment of arhatship is the destruction and uprooting of these last 5 fetters, and as such, an Arhat no longer even feels like a separate entity on a perceptual level. They have attained an ongoing state of non-dual perception- experiences are no longer processed fundamentally in terms of a subject and an object- and instead, there are only things happening, experiences happening – to no one, done by no one. It is freedom at last, and a very worthy and rare accomplishment. 

The Buddhist attainments described at brief in the preceding pages are available to monks. The context within which these attainments were formulated and the criteria are really more relevant for monks, but a similar process is available to lay people as well.