The fruit of stream-entry excels...Sole dominion over the earth

Sole dominion over the earth, going to heaven, lordship over all worlds: the fruit of stream-entry excels them.

— Dhp 178

"Monks, even though a wheel-turning emperor, having exercised sovereign lordship over the four continents, on the break-up of the body, after death, reappears in the good destination, the heavenly world, in the company of the devas of the Thirty-three, and enjoys himself there in the Nandana grove, surrounded by a consort of nymphs, supplied and endowed with the five strings of heavenly sensual pleasure, still — because he is not endowed with four qualities — he is not freed from [the possibility of going to] hell, not freed from the animal womb, not freed from the realm of hungry shades, not freed from the plane of deprivation, the bad destinations, the lower realms.

"And even though a disciple of the noble ones lives off lumps of almsfood and wears rag-robes, still — because he is endowed with four qualities — he is freed from hell, freed from the animal womb, freed from the realm of hungry shades, freed from the plane of deprivation, the bad destinations, the lower realms.

"And what are the four? There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with verified confidence in the Awakened One... verified confidence in the Dhamma... verified confidence in the Sangha... He/she is endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones... He/she is endowed with these four qualities.

"And between the gaining of the four continents and the gaining of these four qualities, the gaining of the four continents is not equal to one sixteenth of the gaining of these four qualities."

— SN 55.1

What is the "All"

"Monks, I will teach you the All. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak."

"As you say, lord," the monks responded.

The Blessed One said, "What is the All? Simply the eye & forms, ear & sounds, nose & aromas, tongue & flavors, body & tactile sensations, intellect & ideas. This, monks, is called the All. Anyone who would say, 'Repudiating this All, I will describe another,' if questioned on what exactly might be the grounds for his statement, would be unable to explain, and furthermore, would be put to grief. Why? Because it lies beyond range."

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn35/sn35.023.than.html

We experience our “total reality” though this sensory apparatus. There are many other things happening outside our “world,” which is the real physical world. But as far as Buddha was concerned his focus was ONLY on our immediate “sensory world” which is literally right in front of our own eyes.

This why I he called this the "All".

We do develop insight (vipassana) by examining the true nature of this "All". This is the contemplation of the three characteristics (impermanence, suffering and non-self) of the "All".

The five groups of clinging

"Monks, there are these five groups of clinging*.

1. The body-group

2. The feeling-group

3. The perception-group

4. The mental-formation-group

5. The consciousness-group

"And when, monks, the Ariyan disciple understands as they really are the arising and the passing away, the attractiveness and the danger, and the deliverance from the five groups of clinging, he is called an Ariyan disciple who is a Stream-winner, not liable to states of woe, assured of final enlightenment."

Sotaapanno Sutta-The Sotaapanna ('Stream-winner')

* Clinging to The Five Aggregates (see labels)

It is the same as the self identity view -the first fetter (see labels)

Suffering remaining for a stream-winner is just like... two or three remaining drops of water

"Suppose, monks, that the great ocean were to go to extinction, to its total end, except for two or three drops of water. What do you think? Which would be greater: the water in the great ocean that had gone to extinction, to its total end, or the two or three remaining drops of water?"

"Lord, the water in the great ocean that had gone to extinction, to its total end, would be far greater. The two or three remaining drops of water would be next to nothing. They wouldn't be a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — the two or three remaining drops of water — when compared with the water in the great ocean that had gone to extinction, to its total end."

"In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That's how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That's how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye."

Samudda Sutta-The Ocean

The five rewards of conviction (faith)

The five rewards of conviction (faith) in a lay person.

1. "When the truly good people in the world show compassion, they will first show compassion to people of conviction, and not to people without conviction.

2. When visiting, they first visit people of conviction, and not people without conviction.

3. When accepting gifts, they will first accept those from people with conviction, and not from people without conviction.

4. When teaching the Dhamma, they will first teach those with conviction, and not those without conviction.

5. A person of conviction, on the break-up of the body, after death, will arise in a good destination, the heavenly world.

These are the five rewards of conviction in a lay person.

"Just as a large banyan tree, on level ground where four roads meet, is a haven for the birds all around, even so a lay person of conviction is a haven for many people: monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers."

Saddha Sutta-Conviction

"A massive tree

whose branches carry fruits & leaves,

with trunks & roots

& an abundance of fruits:

There the birds find rest.

In that delightful sphere

they make their home.

Those seeking shade 

come to the shade,

those seeking fruit 

find fruit to eat.

So with the person consummate

in virtue & conviction,

humble, sensitive, gentle, 

delightful, & mild:

To him come those without effluent -

free from passion,

free from aversion, 

free from delusion —

the field of merit for the world.

They teach him the Dhamma 

that dispels all stress.

And when he understands, 

he is freed from effluents, 

totally unbound."

For the stream-winner... suffering remaining is just like a little bit of dust on a fingernail

The Blessed One, picking up a little bit of dust with the tip of his fingernail, said to the monks, "What do you think, monks? Which is greater: the little bit of dust I have picked up with the tip of my fingernail, or the great earth?"

"The great earth is far greater, lord. The little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail is next to nothing. It's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth — this little bit of dust the Blessed One has picked up with the tip of his fingernail — when compared with the great earth."

"In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it's not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That's how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That's how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye (stream-winner)."
— SN 13.1

More rewards of stream-winner, here-and-now...

In a stream-winner, five forms of fear & animosity are stilled:

1. "When a person takes life, then with the taking of life as a requisite condition, he produces fear & animosity in the here & now, produces fear & animosity in future lives, experiences mental concomitants of pain & despair; but when he refrains from taking life, he neither produces fear & animosity in the here & now nor does he produce fear & animosity in future lives, nor does he experience mental concomitants of pain & despair: for one who refrains from taking life, that fear & animosity is thus stilled.

2. "When a person steals...(the rest of the paragraph is same as above)

3, "When a person engages in illicit sex... (the rest of the paragraph is same as #1)

4. "When a person tells lies...(the rest of the paragraph is same as #1)

5. "When a person drinks distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness, then with the drinking of distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness as a requisite condition, he produces fear & animosity in the here & now, produces fear & animosity in future lives, experiences mental concomitants of pain & despair; but when he refrains from drinking distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness, he neither produces fear & animosity in the here & now nor does he produce fear & animosity in future lives, nor does he experience mental concomitants of pain & despair: for one who refrains from drinking distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness, that fear & animosity is thus stilled.

"These are the five forms of fear & animosity that are stilled."

— AN 10.92

The four stages of enlightenment

1. Arahant

"In this community of monks there are monks who are arahants, whose mental fermentations* are ended, who have reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming (all ten fetters** are ended), and who are released through right gnosis...

2. Non-returner

"In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of the five lower fetters, are due to be reborn [in the Pure Abodes], there to be totally unbound, never again to return from that world...

3. Once-returner

"In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of [the first] three fetters, and with the attenuation of passion, aversion, & delusion, are once-returners, who — on returning only one more time to this world — will make an ending to stress...

4. Stream-winner

"In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of [the first] three fetters, are stream-winners, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening..."

— MN 118

*Fermentations-Pali word is 'asava' also sometimes translated "taints" or "fermentations."

**Fetters

The five lower fetters:

1. Self-identity views

2. Doubt (uncertainty)

3. Grasping at precepts & practices

4. Sensual desire

5. Ill will.

The five higher fetters:

1. Passion for form

2. Passion for what is formless

3. Conceit

4. Restlessness

5. Ignorance

Also read:Sarakaani Sutta-Sarakaani (Who Took to Drink)

Stream-winner is fearless at death

A well-instructed disciple of the noble ones, when endowed with these four qualities* [the factors of stream-entry]:

1. Has no terror

2. No trepidation

3. No fear at death with regard to the next life

— SN 55.27

Then there is the case of the person who has no doubt or perplexity, who has arrived at certainty with regard to the True Dhamma. Then he comes down with a serious disease. As he comes down with a serious disease, the thought occurs to him:

I have no doubt or perplexity.

I have arrived at certainty with regard to the True Dhamma.

He doesn't grieve, isn't tormented; doesn't weep, beat his breast, or grow delirious.

This, too, is a person who, subject to death, is not afraid or in terror of death.

— AN 4.184

* See lables: Stream-winner

More rewards...for the stream winner

"A disciple of the noble ones endowed with these four qualities* is a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe**, headed for self-awakening.

"Furthermore, a disciple of the noble ones endowed with these four qualities is:

1. Linked with long life, human or divine.

2. Linked with beauty, human or divine.

3. Linked with happiness, human or divine.

4. Linked with status, human or divine.

5. Linked with influence, human or divine.

— SN 55.30

* See the labels: stream-winner

* * See the labels: stream-winner

The number of rebirths remaining for the stream-winner...

As for the number of rebirths remaining for the stream-winner before total Unbinding, the Buddhist texts distinguish three levels of attainment.

1. "[Some,] with the destruction of the three fetters, are 'one-seed-ers' (ekabijin): after taking rebirth only one more time on the human plane, they will put an end to suffering & stress.

2. "Or, not breaking through to that, not penetrating that, with the destruction of the three fetters they are 'family-to-family-ers' (kolankola): after transmigrating & wandering on through two or three more families (according to the Commentary, this phrase should be interpreted as 'through two to six more states of becoming'), they will put an end to suffering & stress.

3. "Or, not breaking through to that, not penetrating that, with the destruction of the three fetters they are 'seven-times-at-most-ers' (sattakkhattuparama): after transmigrating & wandering on among devas & human beings, they will put an end to stress."

— AN 3.89

stream-winners...never again destined for states of woe

"In this community of monks there are monks who, with the total ending of [the first] three fetters*, are stream-winners, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe**, headed for self-awakening..."

*Fetters- Please see the labels

**Ending states of woe - (States of Deprivation -apaya)-'Hell is ended; animal wombs are ended; the state of the hungry shades is ended; states of deprivation, destitution, the bad bourns are ended. (Also see: Who is a stream-winner ? )

Want to lean more about Buddhist cosmology? (different realms)-The Thirty-one Planes of Existence

"A crack on my windshield"

Photo 1

Photo 2

I recently had a small crack on the windshield of my car. I was just trying to take a photo of it so that I would keep a record of its size before I could repair it.

I found it was so difficult to take a picture of it. Every time I try to focus on crack the automatic feature in the camra would only take a clear photo of outside and may be a faint picture of the crack on the windshield (Photo 1). Finally I had to use the manual focus feature to get a clear photo of the crack (Photo 2).

Now what does this teach us?

It is easier for us to see the faults and deficiencies of others than our own. Just like the camera lens, our eye together with the mind are in an "automatic mode" to "focus" on others. However to see our own faults we have to make a special effort, just as we have to put the camera into the manual mode.

According to Buddha the fault finding mind is also a hindrance to the progress of this path.

Please see the following link to learn more about the fault finding mind and how it can hinder the path to enlightenment (see labels).

"One bad Brick" - The fault finding mind

Stream Winner.. a great mass of merit that is unreckonable, immeasurable

"Just as it's not easy to take the measure of the water in the great ocean as 'just this many pails of water or hundreds of pails of water or thousands of pails of water or hundreds of thousands of pails of water.' It's reckoned simply as a great mass of water that is unreckonable, immeasurable.

In the same way, when a disciple of the noble ones is endowed with these four bonanzas of merit, bonanzas of skillfulness [the factors of stream-entry]*, it's not easy to take the measure of the merit as 'just this much bonanza of merit, bonanza of skillfulness, nourishment of bliss, heavenly, ripening in bliss leading to heaven, leading to what is agreeable, pleasing, charming, happy, & beneficial.' It's reckoned simply as a great mass of merit that is unreckonable, immeasurable."

— SN 55.41

* Please see the post below: Who is a stream winner ?

The stream-winner...three fetters are abandoned in him

A Poppy blooming in my garden in the morning

after the three coverings are shed.*

For the stream-winner, the arising of the Dhamma eye — with its insight into the causal principles underlying the origination and cessation of stress — is what cuts through the first three fetters.**

"He attends appropriately, This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the way leading to the cessation of stress.*** As he attends appropriately in this way, three fetters are abandoned in him:

1. Self-identity view

2. Doubt

3. grasping at precepts (rituals) & practices

To read more click on the following link:
Stream Entry

*In the photograph (simile) above, the poppy blooming is compared to a "stream winner". The morning sun is the arising of the knowledge of The Four Noble Truths (The Right View). The shedding of the three coverings of the poppy bud is compared to the abandoning of the three fetters.

**Fetters

The five lower fetters:

1. Self-identity views

2. Doubt (uncertainty)

3. Grasping at precepts & practices

4. Sensual desire

5. Ill will.

The five higher fetters:

1. Passion for form

2. Passion for what is formless

3. Conceit

4. Restlessness

5. Ignorance

*** The four Noble Truths

Who is a stream-winner ?

"Sariputta, when you know of a householder clothed in white, that he is restrained in terms of the five training rules(i) and that he obtains at will, without difficulty, without hardship, four pleasant mental abidings(ii) in the here & now, then if he wants he may state about himself: 'Hell is ended; animal wombs are ended; the state of the hungry shades is ended; states of deprivation, destitution, the bad bourns are ended! I am a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening!'

(i)Five training rules
1. Abstains from taking life
2. Abstains from taking what is not given
3. Abstains from illicit sex
4. Abstains from lying
5. Abstains from distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness

(ii) Four pleasant mental abidings
1. 'Endowed with unwavering faith (conviction) in the Awakened One: '
'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy & rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened, blessed.'

2. 'Endowed with unwavering faith (conviction)  in the Dhamma:'
'The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be realized by the wise for themselves.'

3. 'Endowed with unwavering faith (conviction) in the Sangha:

'The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced well... who have practiced straight-forwardly... who have practiced methodically... who have practiced masterfully — in other words, the four pairs, the eight individuals — they are the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples: worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, the incomparable field of merit for the world.'

4. 'Endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones: untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the wise, untarnished, leading to concentration.

Gihi Sutta-The Householder

The four kinds of food...

There are these four kinds of nutriment (food) for the maintenance of beings that already have come to be and for the support of those seeking a new existence.

The four kinds of food:

1. Physical food : gross or subtle
2. Contact food
3. Mental volition food
4. Consciousness food

With the arising of craving there is the arising of nutriment. With the cessation of craving there is the cessation of nutriment. The way leading to the cessation of nutriment is just this Noble Eightfold Path; that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.

Sammaditthi Sutta -The Discourse on Right View

To learn more on nutriment:

The Four Nutriments of Life

Just as if a man were to grasp a branch with a clean hand...

"There is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification*, but as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind doesn't leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is not to be expected. Just as if a man were to grasp a branch with his hand smeared with resin, his hand would stick to it, grip it, adhere to it; in the same way, the monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, but as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind doesn't leap up, grow confident, steadfast, or firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is not to be expected.

"Now, there is the case where a monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, and as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is to be expected. Just as if a man were to grasp a branch with a clean hand, his hand would not stick to it, grip it, or adhere to it; in the same way, the monk enters & remains in a certain peaceful awareness-release. He attends to the cessation of self-identification, and as he is attending to the cessation of self-identification his mind leaps up, grows confident, steadfast, & firm in the cessation of self-identification. For him the cessation of self-identification is to be expected.

Jambali Sutta -The Waste-water Pool

*self-identification- First fetter (see the label-fetters)

He's risen up out of the bottomless chasm...

Whoever can't endure them
once they've arisen —
painful bodily feelings
that could kill living beings —
who trembles at their touch,
who cries & wails,
a weakling with no resiliance:
he hasn't risen up
out of the bottomless chasm
or even gained
a foothold.

Whoever endures them
once they've arisen —
painful bodily feelings
that could kill living beings —
who doesn't tremble at their touch:
he's risen up
out of the bottomless chasm,
his foothold is gained.

Patala Sutta
The Bottomless Chasm

"When an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person is touched by a painful bodily feeling, he sorrows, grieves, & laments, beats his breast, becomes distraught. This is called an uninstructed run-of-the-mill person who has not risen up out of the bottomless chasm, who has not gained a foothold.
"When a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones is touched by a painful bodily feeling, he does not sorrow, grieve, or lament, does not beat his breast or become distraught. This is called a well-instructed disciple of the noble ones who has risen up out of the bottomless chasm, whose foothold is gained

Length of samsara of one person....

"If a single person were to wander & transmigrate* on for an aeon, he/she would leave behind a chain of bones, a pile of bones, a heap of bones, as large as this Mount Vepulla,** if there were someone to collect them and the collection were not destroyed."-Buddha

-Length of samsara Iti 24

*wandering and transmigrating

**Mount Vepulla to the north of Vulture's Peak in the mountain-ring of the Magadhans. Magadha was a kingdom in the time of the Buddha, corresponding roughly to the present day state of Bihar. Its capital city, Rajagaha, was surrounded by a ring of five mountains. Vulture's Peak, a secluded rock outcrop in the middle of the ring, was a spot frequented by the Buddha

How to stop this craving...

The six senses

"Craving is... an arrow. The poison of ignorance spreads its toxin through desire, passion, & ill will."

1. What is craving?

It is the selfish desire or unwholesome disire

2. What is the cause of dukkha (suffering or stress )?

Craving

3. What traps us in samsara?

Craving

Buddha said:"Monks, I don't envision even one other fetter — fettered by which beings conjoined go wandering and transmigrating on (samsara) for a long, long time — like the fetter of craving. Fettered with the fetter of craving, beings conjoined go wandering and transmigrating on for a long, long time."

4. There are three types of cravings

1. Craving for sensuality

2. Craving for becoming

3. Craving for non-becoming

5. Six kinds of craving (classes)

1. Craving for forms

2. Craving for sounds

3. Craving for odors

4. Craving for flavors

5. Craving for tangibles

6. Craving for mind-objects

6. How to stop this craving ?

Before we try to stop this craving we need to know where it arises and dwells. We also need to know where it is abandoned and ceases.

It is “coming to our senses,” again! These are our six senses.

This is how it is explained in Maha –satipattana sutta*

Where does this craving arise, and where does it dwell?

"And where does this craving, when arising, arise? And where, when dwelling, does it dwell? Whatever is endearing & alluring in terms of the world: that is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells."And what is endearing & alluring in terms of the world? The eye is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.(Same is true for other senses, ear, tongue, nose, body, and the mind)

Where does this craving abandoned, and when ceasing, does it cease?"

And where, when being abandoned, is this craving abandoned? And where, when ceasing, does it cease? Whatever is endearing & alluring in terms of the world: that is where, when being abandoned, this craving is abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases."And what is endearing & alluring in terms of the world? The eye is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where, when being abandoned, this craving is abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases.(Same is true for other senses, ear, tongue, nose, body, and the mind)

How do we do this? (difficult but not impossible)

We have already discussed some practical aspects of how we can get rid of this craving WITH INSIGHT MEDITATION (Vipassana) in other threads such as, “it is a sticky business” (“glue” here was the craving), “the party is cancelled” and Dependent origination-how do we apply it?

(Please see below)

The party is cancelled!

It is a sticky business !

Dependent Origination (DO): How do we apply it?

Other related posts:

What is everything?

Our six senses are responsible for our own existence

Why is this dog asking for more ?

Life is like whatching a "movie".....check out how it works !

Keep riding no matter what...

"Why are these two boots tied together"?

* Maha-satipatthana Sutta -The Great Frames of Reference