the prisoner greco:
can you write more about (or quote more of) analayo's view of what constitutes arahathood?
In the interest of context and space, I will only quote as much as necessary from the text as will be needed for understanding the references within the context of the text. Many of these references contain valuable hints, underlying clues, and fascinating insights into the process of the practice as well as what may lie beyond having attained the final goal. When appropriate, I will include personal comments for additional clarification.
The first reference occurs on the following page in the first chapter,
General Aspects of the Direct Path:
Pg. 21
A flexible and comprehensive development of
satipatthana should encompass all aspects of experience, in whatever sequence they occur. All
satipatthanas can be of continual relevance throughout one's progress along the path. The practice of contemplating the body, for example, is not something to be left behind and discarded at some more advanced point in one's progress. Much rather, it continues to be a relevant practice even for an
arahant.[12] Understood in this way, the meditation exercises listed in the
Satipatthana Sutta can be seen as mutually supportive. The sequence in which they are practiced may be altered in order to meet the needs of each individual meditator.
12. Cf. e.g. SN V 326, which reports that the Buddha himself, after his awakening, still continued to practice mindfulness of breathing.
Comment: I find it to be an interesting clue that despite having reached awakening, the Buddha is reported to have continued to practice meditation, and that he never really ever gave it up. Reporting this fact also allows us to see the humanized side of the Buddha, rather than a religious demigod as he is so often portrayed in orthodox Buddhist literature. In my own experience, I cannot foresee ever giving up the practice either as it has become a useful tool for contemplation on all sorts of issues (over and above those mentioned for expertise in the Dhamma) as well as an added booster for the cultivation of
sati.
The next reference occurs in the chapter on
Sati. There was need to set up the referenced paragraph with a brief passage from the preceding paragraph:
pg. 54
Here
sati is compared to the elephant's neck, the natural support for its head, which in the same simile represents wisdom. The choice of the elephant's neck is of additional significance, since it is a characteristic of both elephants and Buddhas to look around by turning the whole body instead of only with the head.[40] The elephant's neck, then, represents the quality of giving full attention to a matter at hand as a feature of
sati.
Although the "elephant look" is a specific characteristic of the Buddha, to give continuous and full attention to a matter at hand is a characteristic common to all
arahants.[41] This is illustrated in another simile, which compares sati to the single spoke of a chariot.[42] In this simile, the rolling chariot represents the bodily activities of an
arahant, all of which take place with the support of a single spoke —
sati.
40. M II 137 (MN 91) depicts the Buddha turning his whole body whenever looking back. This "elephant look" of the Buddha is again documented at D II 122 (DN 16); while M I 337 (MN 50) reports the same for the Buddha Kakusandha.
41. According to Mil 266,
arahants never lose their
sati.
42. S IV 292. The whole simile originally comes up at Ud 76, where it is only the commentary, Ud-a 370, which relates the single spoke to
sati. Though the image of a single spoke might appear strange, as long as this spoke is strong enough (viz. the
arahant's presence of
sati), it is capable of providing the required connection between hub and rim to form a wheel.
Comment: This insight about the importance of the cultivation of
sati (not only on the journey of treading the path but also afterwards — after the path has been attained) is something that has also struck my attention and been part of my experience. The reference that "
arahants never lose their
sati" is something that I can verify from personal experience of having been around such people who retain this characteristic.
The next reference occurs in the chapter on
Feelings. I have added the three preceding paragraphs for further clarification of the referenced paragraph at the end:
pg. 159
Unlike his ascetic contemporaries, the Buddha did not categorically reject all pleasant feelings, nor did he categorically recommend unpleasant experiences for their supposedly purifying effect. Instead, he placed emphasis on the mental and ethical consequences of all types of feeling. With the help of the above sixfold classification, this ethical dimension becomes apparent, uncovering in particular the relation of feelings to the activation of a latent mental tendency (
anusaya) towards lust, irritation, or ignorance. As the
Culavedalla Sutta points out, the arising of these underlying tendencies is mainly related to the three worldly types of feelings, whereas unworldly pleasant or neutral feelings arising during deep concentration, or unworldly unpleasant feelings arising owing to dissatisfaction with one's spiritual imperfection, do not stimulate these underlying tendencies.
The conditional relation between feelings and such mental tendencies is of central importance, since by activating these latent tendencies, feelings can lead to the arising of unwholesome mental reactions. The same principle underlies the corresponding section of the twelve links of dependent co-arising (
paticca samuppada), where feelings form the condition that can lead to the arising of craving (
tanha).
This crucially important conditional dependence of craving and mental reactions on feeling probably constitutes the central reason why feelings have become one of the four
satipatthanas. In addition, the arising of pleasant or unpleasant feelings is fairly easy to notice, which makes feelings convenient objects of meditation.
A prominent characteristic of feelings is their ephemeral nature. Sustained contemplation of this ephemeral and impermanent nature of feelings can then become a powerful tool for developing disenchantment with them.[14] A detached attitude toward feelings, owing to awareness of their impermanent nature, is characteristic of experiences of an
arahant.[15]
14. This is exemplified at A IV 88 (AN IV 88), where the Buddha elaborates the injunction "nothing is worth clinging to" by teaching contemplation of the impermanent nature of feelings, a contemplation he then showed to be capable of leading to realization.
15. M III 244 (MN 140) describes the
arahant's detached attitude to feelings owing to his or her understanding of their impermanent nature.
Comment: The comments made in the second paragraph here are of immense importance (my opinion) in the process of realization. By becoming aware of "feeling" (
vedana) in all its manifestations within one's mental sphere, one can track down in real time the arising of mental tendencies, seeing where and how they arise, and thus with the help of
sati, be able to deal with them in their infant stage before they blossom into something more overwhelming.