Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c35.s3.t5.148

v2.c35.s3.t5.148

In the Buddhist texts a *puthujjana* (an average man), whether a householder or a recluse, who has not yet destroyed the three *saṃyojanas* viz. *sakkāyadiṭṭhi, vicikicchā* and *sīlabbata-parāmāsa*¹ in order to become a *sotāpanna*, can hardly be expected to destroy *rāga, dosa, moha* which impurities are normally removed when an adept reaches the *anāgāmī* stage. The S. hold that a *puthujjana* is able to remove from his mind *rāga* and *pratigha* which is the same as *dosa* or *vyāpāda*. The Th. discuss this view in the *Kvu.* in these words: *Jahati puthujjano kāmarāgabyāpādan ti*? (I. 5) concluding that a *puthujjana* cannot completely eradicate from his mind *rāga* (attachment) and *byāpāda* (hatred), gross and subtle. In course of this discussion, the Th. raise the other question: *Puthujjano kāmesu vītarāgo saha dhammābhisamayā anāgāmiphale saṇṭhātī ti*? (*Kvu.* I. 5, p. 112), i.e. whether an average man who is free from *kāma* attains with the realization of the truth the anāgāmi stage or not? The S., as we have seen above, answer the question in the affirmative, but they do not think that such a puthujjana can attain arhathood, but he can attain all the other three phalas at one and the same time. In other words, the contention of the S. is that a puthujjana’s attainments through laukikamārga may be of so high an order that the moment the truth flashes in his mind he becomes an anāgāmi, when he completes all the necessary conditions for anāgāmihood, including those of the lower two phalas.¹