Entering the Stream to Enlightenment; Yukie Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane [+–]

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

It represents the first time within Theravāda Buddhist studies that a serious textual study has been combined with a substantial field research. Despite disciplinary rules which virtually prohibit a monk with higher ordination from discussing their personal religious experiences, this book presents seven comprehensive anonymous interviews conducted mainly with forest monks on their meditative experiences.

The study presents a definition for the ‘supramundane fruit’ of the path and an alternate framework to discuss and evaluate Theravāda Buddhist religious experiences. It then uses this framework to address some longstanding debates around the Theravāda path and its fruits thus bringing experience back to the centre stage of these debates.

Preliminaries

Acknowledgements [+–] xi-xii

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

This book presents the outcome of a study on the nature and effects of the Theravāda Buddhist religious experiences, namely, the experiences of the four supramundane fruits of the Noble Eightfold Path, (i.e. the experience of the fruit which is stream-entry, once returning, non-returning and Arahanthship) with special focus on the experience of stream-entry. The book is based on research that was done for the Doctorate of the author in Buddhist Studies. The novelty of the book is that a substantial textual study has been substantiated with extensive field research. This is the first time, to our knowledge, in Theravāda Buddhist studies arena that a serious textual study has been combined with a substantial field research. It contains a gamut of personal experiences of contemporary meditators from Sri Lanka, expressed in unorthodox ways. Despite disciplinary rules which virtually prohibit a monk with higher ordination from discussing their personal religious experiences, this book presents 7 comprehensive interviews (though anonymous) conducted mainly with forest monks with high credibility, on their meditative experiences. It presents a definition for the ‘supramundane fruit’ of the path and an alternate framework to discuss and evaluate a religious experience of a Theravāda Buddhist and uses this framework to address some longstanding debates around the Theravāda path and its fruits. The book brings experience back to the centre stage of the Buddhist debates on the nature of the sorteriological path and its fruits.

Foreword by Professor Asanga Tilakaratne [+–] xiii-xv

Asanga Tilakaratne

University of Colombo

Asanga Tilakaratne graduated from Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka, specializing in Buddhist Philosophy. He has published, both in Sinhala and English, more than one hundred papers on Buddhist studies. Of his more recent academic works, Theravada Buddhism: the View of the Elders (2012) was published by University of Hawaii Press. He co-edited with Prof. Oliver Abenayaka 2600 Years of Sambuddhatva: Global Journey of Awakening (2012), a work covering the history and the current status of global Buddhism of all three traditions. Prof. Tilakaratne founded Sri Lanka Association of Buddhist Studies (SLABS), an academic and professional organization of Buddhist scholars in Sri Lanka, and continues to serve as its joint secretary.

This book is a study on the nature and effects of the Theravāda Buddhist religious experiences of the four supramundane fruits of the Noble Eightfold Path – the experience of the fruit which is stream-entry, once returning, non-returning and Arahanthship – with special focus on the experience of stream-entry. It represents the first time within Theravāda Buddhist studies that a serious textual study has been combined with a substantial field research. Despite disciplinary rules which virtually prohibit a monk with higher ordination from discussing their personal religious experiences, this book presents seven comprehensive anonymous interviews conducted mainly with forest monks on their meditative experiences. The study presents a definition for the ‘supramundane fruit’ of the path and an alternate framework to discuss and evaluate Theravāda Buddhist religious experiences. It then uses this framework to address some longstanding debates around the Theravāda path and its fruits thus bringing experience back to the centre stage of these debates.

Foreword by Professor Peter Harvey [+–] xvii-xix

Peter Harvey

University of Sunderland

Peter Harvey is Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Sunderland. He co-founded with Ian Harris the UK Association for Buddhist Studies and edits its journal Buddhist Studies Review. His research has been on early Buddhist thought and practice, Buddhist ethics and making accessible the rich history of Buddhist thought.

Abbreviations and primary sources xxi-xxii

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Chapter 1

Introduction [+–] 1-30

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

In this introductory Chapter I have set out some current debates and controversies relating to the Buddhist religious experiences and identified some of the issues which are dealt with in this study. This study depends on both textual analysis and findings of field research based on reports of religious experiences of practitioners of the Path. Hence the issue of identifying those with attainments of the Path particularly for the purpose of the field research is a vital factor for the success of the study.

Chapter 2

Noble persons and how to recognize one [+–] 31-51

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Chapter 2 discusses the topic “Noble persons and how to recognize one.” In this chapter, this subject has been dealt with under four sub-topics: 1) The references in the Pāli Nikāyas to the four supramundane fruits of the Path: linking them to the corresponding fetters that are eliminated on the attainment of each fruit. 2) Declarations of having attained a phala as set out in the Pāli Nikāyas: This includes the various expressions used by those who claim to have attained a fruit of the Path, and highlights the various ways in which the attainment of a fruit of the Path is signaled: i.e. with references to the types or the number of fetters broken, knowledge acquired, consequences [ānisaṃsa] in terms of future rebirths, and lists out a spectrum of such expressions. It further examines as to by whom these claims have been made and concludes that the declarations have been made only by the person who attained the phala or by the Buddha, excluding a teacher or any third party bestowing such status. 3) The possibility of recognizing a noble person: This sub-topic sets out the possibilities of and limitations for recognizing a noble person as set out in the texts and who, if any, can recognize one. It concludes that one with the same or a higher attainment may recognize another with the same or lower attainment, or certain gross behaviours may be indications of not having a particular supramundane fruit, if such behaviour has been categorized in the text as impossible at the level of a particular attainment. In general, none other than the Buddha (or one equal to him) and the person who attained himself would know for sure about the attainment of a supramundane fruit. 4) Contemporary difficulties of recognizing a noble person: Presented in terms of the field research of the writer and other recent research and contemporary books such as research by psychologists, psychiatrists and meditators.

Chapter 3

Does the attainment of a supramundane fruit necessarily involve a specific experience? [+–] 53-64

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

in Chapter 3 we study in depth whether attainment of a phala really does involve a specific experience. This issue is vital to this study and the following chapters are based on this foundation. It concludes that attaining a phala entails a specific, striking experience with a peak-point which I refer to as a “fetterbreaking-experience,” and the intensity of the experience may vary from person to person. The fetter-breaking-experience has been articulated in the secondary sources quoted herein and in this field research as a “strange experience,” “a fine point,” “a tapering off,” “cessation,” “emptiness,” “a breaking of a boundary,” “a going beyond,” “an oceanic experience” etc. Hence for the purposes of this study, attainment of a phala has been defined as a specific, striking experience of a person treading or making an effort to tread the Noble Eightfold Path, resulting in the understanding or knowledge which leads to breaking of the corresponding fetters [saṃyojanas].

Chapter 4

‘Path, fetter-breaking-experience and effect’ (of the fetter-breaking- experience) [+–] 65-86

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Based on the conclusion that attainment of a phala entails a specific, fetterbreaking-experience, in Chapter 4 we proceed to establish that a supramundane “phala” in the Suttas is a fetter-breaking-experience together with its ongoing effects, as opposed to the Pāli commentarial usage in which a “phala” of the Path is just a “peak-experience” that lasts only a few moments following the fetterbreaking “path” moment. This chapter includes: 1) Definition of the word “phala”: This extracts the various meanings attributed to the word “phala” in general. 2) References in the Nikāyas to Path, fetter-breaking-experience and the effect (of the fetter-breaking-experience) as three different phenomena: This extracts evidence from the Nikāyas to highlight references to fetter-breaking-experiences and their effects as distinctly different phenomena. 3) Implications of the thesis of “Path, fetter-breaking-experience and effect”

Chapter 5

Noble persons and the nature of their fetter-breaking-experiences [+–] 87-119

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Having established in Chapter 4, the significance of the fact that there is a distinction between the fetter-breaking-experience and its effect, Chapter 5, “Noble persons and the nature of their fetter-breaking experience” proceeds to analyze the nature of different types of fetter-breaking-experiences and their respective effects. It sets out in detail: 1) Types of Noble persons 2) Analysis of the “fetter-breaking-experience” both in terms of the Pāli Nikāyas and Visuddhimagga and in terms of the expressions found in the field research such as “cessation,” “complete emptiness” “a strange experience” “tapering off” etc 3) Differences between the fetter-breaking-experience and other religious experiences: Differentiating the fetter-breaking-experience from similar Buddhist and non-Buddhist religious experiences such as turiya inthe Upaniṣads or the Islamic sufi experiences 4) An analysis of the re-experiencing of the fetter-breaking-experience [phala-samāpatti] 5) Differences between phala-samāpatti and cessation of perception and feeling [nirodha-samāpatti]: This includes a comparison of these two states and it contrasts them with the fetter-breaking-experience.

Chapter 6

The stream-enterer [+–] 121-170

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Chapter 6 is a comprehensive and a detailed analysis of the attainment of the sotāpatti-phala, it being the most vital milepost on this Path. This chapter includes a discussion on the following: 1) The state of mind of a stream-enterer 2) The conduct of a stream-enterer 3) The blessings and strengths of a stream-enterer 4) The possibility of someone having become a noble person in a past life Can a stream-enterer commit suicide? 6) To what extent does a stream-enterer see Nibbāna? 7) Lay noble disciples 8) Non-humans attaining supramundane fruits The chapter concludes that the experience of attaining sotāpatti-phala becomes the most significant experience one ever encounters up to such time in saṃsāra. It makes one a Buddhist by conviction.

Chapter 7

An interview with a ‘possible Arahant’ [+–] 171-195

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

This chapter sets out the relevant extracts from the interview under a given topic and compares these with available textual evidence which sets out the mindset of an Arahant.

Chapter 8

Conclusion [+–] 197-214

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

In Chapter 8, this study concludes that the Buddhist religious experience is unique and it is impossible to draw adequate conclusions about it based on a mere textual study alone. Many debates, controversies and confusions are dueto overlooking the experiential aspects and teachers and preachers introducing new elements, terminology and analyses to Dhamma over and above what the Buddha declared, at times even against the advice of the Buddha. Even amongst the successful practitioners there are varied views depending on the route each one followed personally up to their goal and they take it that that alone is the Path and all others are not-the-Path. However, despite these debates amongst successful practitioners, a common ground can be established with regard to the fundamentals of their transforming experience on the Path. These fundamentals also correspond to what has been laid down in the texts. Further, many current trends of thought relating to supramundane fruits and noble persons and even public claims made by certain individuals with regard to the Path and attainment of its fruits, can at least be evaluated technically against the texts. In fact there is ample room to do so without having to accept them blindly or reject them outright, or even getting confused about contradictory views and opinions expressed by equally knowledgeable and known authorities. It also concludes that, despite rampant distortions, myths and wrong views professed publicly, the true Dhamma is not limited to the texts. It is still very much alive, taught generously and is practised diligently, though discretely or even silently.

End Matter

Appendix I – The questionnaire used for the fieldwork and its rationale [+–] 215-220

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Fieldwork data

Appendix II – Interview synopsis and analysis [+–] 221-279

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Interview synopsis and analysis

Appendix III – Interview no.1 (Sample interview) [+–] 281-318

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Fieldwork data; interview

Bibliography [+–] 319-321

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Indices [+–] 325-343

Yuki Sirimane

Yuki Sirimane is an Attorney-at-Law. She holds a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies from the Postgraduate Institute of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

Reviews

A beautiful and balanced combination of textual ideas and material, along with the examination of the practise and experiences of living practitioners of the path.
East and West Series

The outstanding feature of the present work is that it seeks to substantiate the textual ideas through examining the practice and experience of living practitioners of the path. The interviews alone may be considered a major contribution to our current understanding of the Buddhist soteriological practice and experience.
Professor Asanga Tilakaratne, University of Colombo

Yuki’s book explores textual material on the eight noble persons in a clear and helpful way. Its most original and helpful contribution, though, comes from her fieldwork material reporting on a range of meditators’ deep experiences.
Professor Peter Harvey, University of Sunderland

Yuki Sirimane’s Entering the Stream to Enlightenment combines textual analysis as well as fieldwork to highlight the personal experiences of Buddhist monks who have entered the stream of the noble eightfold path. It is an exceptionally rare kind of work: it seeks to show a glimpse of the Nibbanic experience mainly through interviews with those who are already on the path to Nibbana. It is a difficult task indeed, but Yuki Sirimane has executed it with great diligence and circumspection. This well-researched and well-documented work is a major contribution to an important aspect of the Buddhist soteriological practice and experience that has remained less exhaustively dealt with.
Y. Karunadasa, Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies, Kelaniya University, Sri Lanka

Her field research produces fascinating material which provides new understanding of the Buddhist Path and which, she finds, provides evidence for its authenticity.
Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies

Yuki Sirimane combines careful analysis of Theravada sources and interviews with contemporary Sri Lankan practitioners who describe in their own words what such levels of attainment are like. The result is a rare glimpse into a living Theravada tradition and the transformative experiences of those dedicated to its practices.
Buddhadharma

... the current book examines an awkward and understudied feature of the Theravāda religious experiences: the experiential aspects of practitioners from a perspective of the faithful. Sirimane’s study of experiences of the stages of the Buddhist path in contemporary Sri Lanka is, therefore, a very welcome contribution to Buddhist Studies.
Buddhist Studies Review

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Entering the Stream to Enlightenment

Experiences of the Stages of the Buddhist Path in Contemporary Sri Lanka

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