In Buddhism, a mental fetter or "chain" or "bond" (Pāli: samyojana, saŋyojana, saññojana) shackles a person to samsara, the cycle of endless suffering. By completely cutting through all fetters, one attains Nibbana (Skt.: Nirvana). Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of psychology. ... Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan dialect or prakrit. ... Saṃsāra, the Sanskrit and Pāli term for continous movement or continuous flowing refers in Buddhism to the concept of a cycle of birth (jāti) and consequent decay and death (jarāmaraṇa), in which all beings in the universe participate and which can only be escaped... Dukkha (Pāli दुक्ख ; according to grammatical tradition from Sanskrit uneasy, but according to Monier-Williams more likely a Prakritized form of unsteady, disquieted) is a central concept in Buddhism, the word roughly corresponding to a number of terms in English including sorrow, suffering, affliction, pain, anxiety, dissatisfaction, discomfort, anguish, stress... (Devanagari , Pali: Nibbāna निब्बान -- Chinese: 涅槃; Pinyin: nièpán, Japanese: nehan, Thai: Nibpan นิพพาน ), is a Sanskrit word from India that literally means extinction (as in a candle flame) and/or extinguishing (i. ... The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ...

Ten Fetters

The Pali canon identifies ten fetters:^[1] Standard edition of the Thai Pali Canon The Pali Canon is the standard scripture collection of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. ...

1. belief in an individual self (Pali: sakkāya-diṭṭhi)^[2]
2. doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings (vicikicchā)^[3]
3. attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāso)^[4]
4. sensual desire (kāmacchando)^[5]
5. ill will (vyāpādo or byāpādo)^[6]
6. lust for material existence, lust for material rebirth (rūparāgo)^[7]
7. lust for immaterial existence (arūparāgo)
8. pride in self, conceit, arrogence (māno)^[8]
9. restlessness, distraction (uddhaccaŋ)^[9]
10. ignorance (avijjā)^[10]

The word dharma (Sanskrit; धर्म in the Devanagari script) or dhamma (Pali) is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, Dharmic faiths, namely Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. ... Avidya is the Buddhist term for ignorance. ...

Fetter 1: Self view

Etymologically, kāya means "body," sakkāya means "existing body," and diṭṭhi means "view" (often implying a wrong view, in Buddhism).

In general, "belief in an individual self" or, more simply, "self view" (Pali: sakkāya-diṭṭhi) refers to a "belief that in one or other of the khandhas there is a permanent entity, an attā."^[11] The skandhas (Sanskrit: Pāli: Khandha; literally: heap or bundle) are the five constituents or aggregates through which the functioning and experience of an individual is created according to Buddhist phenomenology. ...

Similarly, in MN 2, the Sabbasava Sutta, the Buddha describes "a fetter of views" in the following manner: The Majjhima Nikaya, or Middle-length Discourses of the Buddha, is the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka. ...

"This is how [a person of wrong view] attends inappropriately: 'Was I in the past? ... Shall I be in the future? ... Am I? Am I not? What am I? ...'

"As he attends inappropriately in this way, one of six kinds of view arises in him: ...

• 'I have a self...'
• 'I have no self...'
• 'It is precisely by means of self that I perceive self...'
• 'It is precisely by means of self that I perceive not-self...'
• 'It is precisely by means of not-self that I perceive self...'
• 'This very self of mine ... is the self of mine that is constant...'

"This is called a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. Bound by a fetter of views, the uninstructed ... is not freed, I tell you, from suffering & stress."^[12]

Fetter 2: Doubt

In general, "doubt" (vicikicchā) refers to doubt about the Buddha's teachings, the Dhamma. The word dharma (Sanskrit; धर्म in the Devanagari script) or dhamma (Pali) is used in most or all philosophies and religions of Indian origin, Dharmic faiths, namely Hinduism (Sanatana Dharma), Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. ...

More specifically, in SN 22.84, the Tissa Sutta,^[13] the Buddha explicitly cautions against uncertainty regarding the Noble Eightfold Path, which is described as the right path to Nibbana, leading one past ignorance, sensual desire, anger and despair. The Samyutta Nikaya, the third Nikaya (division) of the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka, contains 2,889 suttas grouped into five sections (vaggas). ... The Dharma wheel, often used to represent the Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path (Pāli: अरियो अट्ठङ्गीको मग्गो, Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo; Sanskrit: आर्याष्टाङ्गो मार्गो, Ārya ṣṭāṅga mārgaḥ; Chinese: 八正道, Bāzhèngdào; Japanese: 八正道, Hasshōdō) is, in the Buddhist tradition as taught by the Buddha Śākyamuni, considered to be the...

Fetter 3: Rites and rituals

Etymologically: Sīla refers to "moral conduct"; vata (or bata) to "religious duty, observance, rite, practice, custom";^[14] and, parāmāsa to "being attached to" or "a contagion" and has the connotation of "mishandling" the Dhamma.^[15] Altogether, sīlabbata-parāmāso has been translated as "the contagion of mere rule and ritual, the infatuation of good works, the delusion that they suffice"^[16] or, more simply, "fall[ing] back on attachment to precepts and rules."^[17] In Sanskrit, śīla is a term in Indian-derived systems such as Hinduism and Buddhism which is usually rendered into English as behavioral discipline, morality, or ethics (Tibetan tshul khrims). ...

Alternate lists of fetters

The Khuddaka Nikaya's Culla Niddesa and the Abhidhamma's Dhammasangani provide a far lesser-known alternate list of ten fetters as:^[18] The Khuddaka Nikaya, or Minor Collection, is the last of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka. ... Abhidharma (Sanskrit; Pāli Abhidhamma) is a category of Buddhist scriptures that attempts to use Buddhist teachings to create a systematic, abstract description of all worldly phenomena. ...

1. sensual lust (Pali: kāma-rāga) - similar to kāmacchando
2. anger (paṭigha) - perhaps similar to vyāpādo
3. pride in self (māna)
4. views (diṭṭhi) - presumably similar to sakkāya-diṭṭhi
5. doubt (vicikicchā)
6. rites and rituals (sīlabbataparāmāsa)
7. lust for existence (bhavarāga) - perhaps including both rūparāgo and arūparāgo
8. jealousy (issā)
9. greed (macchariya)
10. ignorance (avijjā).

Uniquely, MN 54, the "Householder Potaliya" Sutta,^[19] identifies eight fetters (which include three of the Five Precepts) as: The Majjhima Nikaya, or Middle-length Discourses of the Buddha, is the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka. ... The five precepts (Pali: Pañcasīla, Sanskrit: Pañcaśīla Ch: 五戒 wǔ jiè, Sinhala: පන්සිල්) constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics, undertaken by lay followers of the Buddha Gautama. ...

1. destroying life (pāṇātipāto)
2. stealing (adinnādānaṃ)
3. false speech (musāvādo)
4. slandering (pisunā)
5. coveting and greed (giddhilobho)
6. aversion (nindāroso)
7. anger and malice (kodhūpāyāso)
8. conceit (atimāno).

Cutting through the fetters

In MN 64, the "Greater Discourse to Mālunkyāputta," the Buddha states that the path to abandoning the five lower fetters is through using jhana attainment and vipassana insights in tandem.^[20] The Majjhima Nikaya, or Middle-length Discourses of the Buddha, is the second of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka of the Tipitaka. ... Dhyāna means meditation in Sanskrit. ... Vipassanā (Pāli) or vipaÅ›yanā (Sanskrit) means insight. While it is often referred to as Buddhist meditation, the practice taught by the Buddha was non-sectarian, and has universal application. ...

The Pali canon traditionally describes cutting through the fetters in four stages: The Four stages of enlightenment in Buddhism are the four degrees of approach to full enlightenment as an arhat which a Buddhist can attain in this life. ...

• one cuts the first three fetters (Pali: tīṇi saŋyojanāni ) to be a "stream enterer" (sotapanna);
• one cuts the first three fetters and significantly weakens the next two fetters to be a "once returner" (sakadagami);
• one cuts the first five fetters (orambhāgiyāni samyojanāni) to be a "non-returner" (anagami);
• one cuts all ten fetters to be an arahant.

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sotapatti. ... The Sakadagami is a partially-enlighened person, who has cut off the first three chains with which the ordinary mind is bound, and significantly weakened the 4th and 5th. ... In Hindu and Buddhist theology as it pertains to reincarnation, an anagami (or anaagaamii) is a non-returner; after death, he will not be reborn back into the human world, and will instead appear in one of the Brahma worlds called the Pure Abodes. ... A garden featuring depictions of various arhats (Hsi Lai Temple, California) An arhat (also arahat or arahant; Chinese: 阿羅漢, aluohan; Tibetan: dgra-bcom-pa; Jp. ...

See also

• Anatta, regarding the first fetter (sakkāya-diṭṭhi)
• Four stages of enlightenment, regarding cutting the fetters
• Five hindrances, also involving the fourth (kamacchanda), fifth (vyapada), ninth (uddhacca) and second (vicikiccha) fetters
• Upadana (Clinging), where the traditional four types of clinging are clinging to sense-pleasure (kamupadana), wrong views (ditthupadana), rites and rituals (silabbatupadana) and self-doctrine (attavadupadana).

BIG BALLS ... The Four stages of enlightenment in Buddhism are the four degrees of approach to full enlightenment as an arhat which a Buddhist can attain in this life. ... In Buddhism, the five hindrances (or five nivarana) are negative mental states that impede success with meditation (Jhana) and lead away from enlightenment. ... Upādāna is a word used in both Buddhism and Hinduism. ...

Notes

1. ^ This article's Pali words and English translations for the ten fetters are based on Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 656.
2. ^ Ibid., pp. 660-1.
3. ^ Ibid., p. 615.
4. ^ See, for instance, Ibid., p. 713, regarding the similar concept of sīlabbata-upādāna, "grasping after works and rites."
5. ^ Ibid., pp.203-4, 274.
6. ^ Ibid., p. 654.
7. ^ Ibid., pp. 574-5.
8. ^ Ibid., p. 528.
9. ^ Ibid., p. 136.
10. ^ Ibid., p. 85.
11. ^ Ibid., pp. 660-1. See also, anatta.
12. ^ Thanissaro (1997a).
13. ^ Thanissaro (2005)
14. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 597.
15. ^ Ibid., p. 421.
16. ^ Ibid., p. 713.
17. ^ Thanissaro (1997b).
18. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 656.
19. ^ See Upalavanna (undated) for an English translation; and, SLTP (undated) for a Romanized Pali transliteration.
20. ^ Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 537-41.

BIG BALLS ...

Bibliography

• Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu & Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2001). The Middle Length Discourse of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-072-X.

• Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English dictionary. Chipstead: Pali Text Society. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/.

• Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series [SLTP] (undated). Potaliya suttaṃ [in Pali] (MN 54). Available on-line at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/2Majjhima-Nikaya/Majjhima2/054-potaliya-p.html.

• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). Sabbasava Sutta: All the Fermentations (MN 2). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.002.than.html.

• Thanissaro, Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). Sona Sutta: About Sona (AN 6.55). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.055.than.html.

• Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005). Tissa Sutta: Tissa (SN 22.84). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.084.than.html.

• Upalavanna, Sister (trans.) (undated). To The Householder Potaliya (MN 54). Available on-line at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/2Majjhima-Nikaya/Majjhima2/054-potaliya-e1.html.

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