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Fetter (Buddhism)

In Buddhism, a mental fetter, chain or bond (Pāli: samyojana, Sanskrit: संयोजना, saṃyojana) shackles a sentient being to saṃsāra, the cycle of lives with dukkha. By cutting through all fetters, one attains nibbāna (Pali; Skt.: निर्वाण, nirvāa).

Fetter of suffering edit

Throughout the Pali canon, the word "fetter" is used to describe an intrapsychic phenomenon that ties one to suffering. For instance, in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Itivuttaka 1.15, the Buddha states:

"Monks, I don't envision even one other fetter — fettered by which beings conjoined go wandering & transmigrating on for a long, long time — like the fetter of craving. Fettered with the fetter of craving, beings conjoined go wandering & transmigrating on for a long, long time."[1]

Elsewhere, the suffering caused by a fetter is implied as in this more technical discourse from SN 35.232, where Ven. Sariputta converses with Ven. Kotthita:

Ven. Kotthita: "How is it, friend Sariputta, is ... the ear the fetter of sounds or are sounds the fetter of the ear?..."
Ven. Sariputta: "Friend Kotthita, the ... ear is not the fetter of sounds nor are sounds the fetter of the ear, but rather the desire and lust that arise there in dependence on both: that is the fetter there...."[2]

Lists of fetters edit

The Four planes of liberation
(according to the Sutta Piaka[note 1])

stage's
"fruit"[note 2]

abandoned
fetters

rebirth(s)
until suffering's end

stream-enterer

1. identity view (Anatman)
2. doubt in Buddha
3. ascetic or ritual rules

lower
fetters

up to seven rebirths in
human or heavenly realms

once-returner[note 3]

once more as
a human

non-returner

4. sensual desire
5. ill will

once more in
a heavenly realm
(Pure Abodes)

arahant

6. material-rebirth desire
7. immaterial-rebirth desire
8. conceit
9. restlessness
10. ignorance

higher
fetters

no rebirth

Source: Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001), Middle-Length Discourses, pp. 41-43.

The fetters are enumerated in different ways in the Pali canon's Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka.

Sutta Pitaka's list of ten fetters edit

The Pali canon's Sutta Pitaka identifies ten "fetters of becoming":[3]

  1. belief in a self (Pali: sakkāya-diṭṭhi)[4]
  2. doubt or uncertainty, especially about the Buddha's awakeness (vicikicchā)[5]
  3. attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa)[6]
  4. sensual desire (kāmacchando)[7]
  5. ill will (vyāpādo or byāpādo)[8]
  6. lust for material existence, lust for material rebirth (rūparāgo)[9]
  7. lust for immaterial existence, lust for rebirth in a formless realm (arūparāgo)[10]
  8. conceit (māna)[11][12]
  9. restlessness (uddhacca)[13]
  10. ignorance (avijjā)[14]

As indicated in the adjacent table, throughout the Sutta Pitaka, the first five fetters are referred to as "lower fetters" (orambhāgiyāni saṃyojanāni) and are eradicated upon becoming a non-returner; and, the last five fetters are referred to as "higher fetters" (uddhambhāgiyāni saṃyojanāni), eradicated by an arahant.[15]

Three fetters edit

Both the Sagīti Sutta (DN 33) and the Dhammasaṅgaṇi (Dhs. 1002-1006) refer to the "three fetters" as the first three in the aforementioned Sutta Pitaka list of ten:

  1. belief in a self (sakkāya-diṭṭhi)
  2. doubt (vicikicchā)
  3. attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa)[16]

According to the Canon, these three fetters are eradicated by stream-enterers and once-returners.[17]

Abhidhamma Pitaka's list of ten fetters edit

The Abhidhamma Pitaka's Dhamma Sangani (Dhs. 1113-34) provides an alternate list of ten fetters, also found in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Culla Niddesa (Nd2 656, 1463) and in post-canonical commentaries. This enumeration is:[18]

  1. sensual lust (Pali: kāma-rāga)
  2. anger (paṭigha)
  3. conceit (māna)
  4. views (diṭṭhi)
  5. doubt (vicikicchā)
  6. attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa)
  7. lust for existence (bhava-rāga)
  8. jealousy (issā)
  9. greed (macchariya)
  10. ignorance (avijjā).

The commentary mentions that views, doubt, attachment to rites and rituals, jealousy and greed are thrown off at the first stage of Awakening (sotāpatti); gross sensual lust and anger by the second stage (sakadāgāmitā) and even subtle forms of the same by the third stage (anāgāmitā); and conceit, lust for existence and ignorance by the fourth and final stage (arahatta).

Fetters related to householder affairs edit

Uniquely, the Sutta Pitaka's "Householder Potaliya" Sutta (MN 54), identifies eight fetters (including three of the Five Precepts) whose abandonment "lead[s] to the cutting off of affairs" (vohāra-samucchedāya saṃvattanti):

  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)

For English translations, see [19]

Individual fetters edit

The following fetters are the first three mentioned in the Sutta Pitaka's list of ten fetters, as well as the Sagīti Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitaka's list of "three fetters" (DN 33, Dhs. 1002 ff.). As indicated below, eradication of these three fetters is a canonical indicator of one's being irreversibly established on the path to Enlightenment.

Identity view (sakkāya-diṭṭhi) edit

Etymologically, kāya means "body," sakkāya means "existing body," and diṭṭhi means "view" (here implying a wrong view, as exemplified by the views in the table below).

In general, "belief in an individual self" or, more simply, "self view" refers to a "belief that in one or other of the khandhas there is a permanent entity, an attā."[20]

Similarly, in MN 2, the Sabbasava Sutta, the Buddha describes "a fetter of views" in the following manner:

The views of six śramaṇa in the Pāli Canon
(based on the Buddhist text Sāmaññaphala Sutta1)
Śramaṇa view (diṭṭhi)1
Pūraṇa
Kassapa
Amoralism: denies any reward or
punishment for either good or bad deeds.
Makkhali
Gośāla

(Ājīvika)
Niyativāda (Fatalism): we are powerless;
suffering is pre-destined.
Ajita
Kesakambalī

(Lokāyata)
Materialism: live happily;
with death, all is annihilated.
Pakudha
Kaccāyana
Sassatavāda (Eternalism):
Matter, pleasure, pain and the soul are eternal and
do not interact.
Nigaṇṭha
Nātaputta

(Jainism)
Restraint: be endowed with, cleansed by
and suffused with the avoidance of all evil.2
Sañjaya
Belaṭṭhiputta

(Ajñana)
Agnosticism: "I don't think so. I don't think in that
way or otherwise. I don't think not or not not."
Suspension of judgement.
Notes: 1. DN 2 (Thanissaro, 1997; Walshe, 1995, pp. 91-109).
2. DN-a (Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi, 1995, pp. 1258-59, n. 585).
"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 one attends inappropriately in this way, one of six kinds of view arises: ...
  • '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."[21]

Doubt (vicikicchā) edit

In general, "doubt" (vicikicchā) refers to doubt about the Buddha's teachings, the Dhamma. (Alternate contemporaneous teachings are represented in the adjacent table.)

More specifically, in SN 22.84, the Tissa Sutta,[22] 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.

Attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāso) edit

Śīla refers to "moral conduct", vata (or bata) to "religious duty, observance, rite, practice, custom,"[23] and parāmāsa to "being attached to" or "a contagion" and has the connotation of "mishandling" the Dhamma.[24] Altogether, sīlabbata-parāmāso has been translated as "the contagion of mere rule and ritual, the infatuation of good works, the delusion that they suffice"[25] or, more simply, "fall[ing] back on attachment to precepts and rules."[26]

While the fetter of doubt can be seen as pertaining to the teachings of competing samana during the times of the Buddha, this fetter regarding rites and rituals likely refers to some practices of contemporary brahmanic authorities.[27]

Cutting through the fetters edit

Meditation
with the fetters

"Here, O bhikkhus, a bhikkhu understands the eye and material forms and the fetter that arises dependent on both (eye and forms); he understands how the arising of the non-arisen fetter comes to be; he understands how the abandoning of the arisen fetter comes to be; and he understands how the non-arising in the future of the abandoned fetter comes to be. [And thus] he understands the ear and sounds .... the organ of smell and odors .... the organ of taste and flavors .... the organ of touch and tactual objects .... [and] consciousness and mental objects ...."

Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10)[28]

In MN 64, the "Greater Discourse to Mālunkyāputta," the Buddha states that the path to abandoning the five lower fetters (that is, the first five of the aforementioned "ten fetters") is through using jhana attainment and vipassana insights in tandem.[29] In SN 35.54, "Abandoning the Fetters," the Buddha states that one abandons the fetters "when one knows and sees ... as impermanent" (Pali: anicca) the twelve sense bases (āyatana), the associated six sense-consciousness (viññaṇa), and the resultant contact (phassa) and sensations (vedanā).[30] Similarly, in SN 35.55, "Uprooting the Fetters," the Buddha states that one uproots the fetters "when one knows and sees ... as nonself" (anatta) the sense bases, sense consciousness, contact and sensations.[31]

The Pali canon traditionally describes cutting through the fetters in four stages:

Relationship to other core concepts edit

Similar Buddhist concepts found throughout the Pali Canon include the five hindrances (nīvaraāni) and the ten defilements (kilesā). Comparatively speaking, in the Theravada tradition, fetters span multiple lifetimes and are difficult to remove, while hindrances are transitory obstacles. Defilements encompass all mental defilements including both fetters and hindrances.[33]

See also edit

  • 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)

Notes edit

  1. ^ See, for instance, the "Snake-Simile Discourse" (MN 22), where the Buddha states:

    "Monks, this Teaching so well proclaimed by me, is plain, open, explicit, free of patchwork. In this Teaching that is so well proclaimed by me and is plain, open, explicit and free of patchwork; for those who are arahants, free of taints, who have accomplished and completed their task, have laid down the burden, achieved their aim, severed the fetters binding to existence, who are liberated by full knowledge, there is no (future) round of existence that can be ascribed to them. – Majjhima Nikaya i.130 ¶ 42, Translated by Nyanaponika Thera (Nyanaponika, 2006)

  2. ^ The "fruit" (Pali: phala) is the culmination of the "path" (magga). Thus, for example, the "stream-enterer" is the fruit for one on the "stream-entry" path; more specifically, the stream-enterer has abandoned the first three fetters, while one on the path of stream-entry strives to abandon these fetters.
  3. ^ Both the stream-enterer and the once-returner abandon the first three fetters. What distinguishes these stages is that the once-returner additionally attenuates lust, hate and delusion, and will necessarily be reborn only once more.

References edit

  1. ^ Thanissaro (2001).
  2. ^ Bodhi (2000), p. 1230. Tangentially, in discussing the use of the concept of "the fetter" in the Satipatthana Sutta (regarding mindfulness of the six sense bases), Bodhi (2005) references this sutta (SN 35.232) as explaining what is meant by "the fetter," that is, "desire and lust" (chanda-raga). (While providing this exegesis, Bodhi, 2005, also comments that the Satipatthana Sutta commentary associates the term "fetter" in that sutta as referring to all ten fetters.)
  3. ^ These fetters are enumerated, for instance, in SN 45.179 and 45.180 (Bodhi, 2000, pp. 1565-66). This article's Pali words and English translations for the ten fetters are based on Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 656, "Saŋyojana" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09).
  4. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 660-1, "Sakkāya" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), defines sakkāya-diṭṭhi as "theory of soul, heresy of individuality, speculation as to the eternity or otherwise of one's own individuality." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565, SN 45.179, translates it as "identity view"; Gethin (1998), p. 73, uses "the view of individuality"; Harvey (2007), p. 71, uses "views on the existing group"; Thanissaro (2000) uses "self-identify views"; and, Walshe (1995), p. 26, uses "personality-belief."
  5. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 615, "Vicikicchā" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), defines vicikicchā as "doubt, perplexity, uncertainty." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565, SN 45.179, Gethin (1998), p. 73, and Walshe (1995), p. 26, translate it as "doubt." Thanissaro (2000) uses "uncertainty." Harvey provides, "vacillation in commitment to the three refuges and the worth of morality" (cf. M i.380 and S ii.69-70).
  6. ^ See, for instance, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 713, "Sīla" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), regarding the similar concept of sīlabbatupādāna (= sīlabbata-upādāna), "grasping after works and rites." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565, SN 45.179, translates this term as "the distorted grasp of rules and vows"; Gethin (1998), p. 73, uses "clinging to precepts and vows"; Harvey (2007), p. 71, uses "grasping at precepts and vows"; Thanissaro (2000) uses "grasping at precepts & practices"; and, Walshe (1995), p. 26, uses "attachment to rites and rituals."
  7. ^ For a broad discussion of this term, see, e.g., Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 203-4, "Kāma" entry, and p. 274, "Chanda" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09). Bodhi (2000), p. 1565 (SN 45.179), Gethin (1998), p. 73, Harvey (2007), p. 71, Thanissaro (2000) and Walshe (1995), p. 26, translate kāmacchando as "sensual desire."
  8. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 654, "Vyāpāda" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), defines vyāpādo as "making bad, doing harm: desire to injure, malevolence, ill-will." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565, SN 45.179, Harvey (2007), p. 71, Thanissaro (2000) and Walshe (1995), p. 26, translate it as "ill will." Gethin (1998), p. 73, uses "aversion."
  9. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 574-5, "Rūpa" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), defines rūparāgo as "lust after rebirth in rūpa." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565, SN 45.180, translates it as "lust for form." Gethin (1998), p. 73, uses "desire for form." Thanissaro (2000) uses "passion for form." Walshe (1995), p. 27, uses "craving for existence in the Form World."
  10. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 574-5, "Rūpa" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), suggests that arūparāgo may be defined as "lust after rebirth in arūpa." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565, SN 45.180, translates it as "lust for the formless." Gethin (1998), p. 73, uses "desire for the formless." Harvey (2007), p. 72, uses "attachment to the pure form or formless worlds." Thanissaro (2000) uses "passion for what is formless." Walshe (1995), p. 27, uses "craving for existence in the Formless World."
  11. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 528, "Māna" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), defines māna as "pride, conceit, arrogance." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565, SN 45.180, Thanissaro (2000) and Walshe (1995), p. 27, translate it as "conceit." Gethin (1998), p. 73, uses "pride." Harvey (2007), p. 72, uses "the 'I am' conceit."
  12. ^ For a distinction between the first fetter, "personal identity view," and this eighth fetter, "conceit," see, e.g., SN 22.89 (trans., Thanissaro, 2001).
  13. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 136, "Uddhacca" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), defines uddhacca as "over-balancing, agitation, excitement, distraction, flurry." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565 (SN 45.180), Harvey (2007), p. 72, Thanissaro (2000) and Walshe (1995), p. 27, translate it as "restlessness." Gethin (1998), p. 73, uses "agitation."
  14. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 85, "Avijjā" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09), define avijjā as "ignorance; the main root of evil and of continual rebirth." Bodhi (2000), p. 1565 (SN 45.180), Gethin (1998), p. 73, Thanissaro (2000) and Walshe (1995), p. 27, translate it as "ignorance." Harvey (2007), p. 72, uses "spiritual ignorance."
  15. ^ For single-sutta references to both "higher fetters" and "lower fetters," see, DN 33 (section of fives) and AN 10.13. In other instances, a sutta regarding the lower fetters is followed by a sutta regarding the higher fetters, as in: SN 45.179 and 45.180; SN 46.129 and 46.130; SN 46.183 and 46.184; SN 47.103 and 47.104; SN 48.123 and 48.124; SN 49.53 and 49.54; SN 50.53 and 50.54; SN 51.85 and 51.86; SN 53.53 and 53.54; and, AN 9.67 and 9.70. In addition, the five lower fetters alone (without reference to the higher fetters) are discussed, e.g., in MN 64.
  16. ^ For the Sagīti Sutta's list of three fetters, see, e.g., Walshe (1995), p. 484. For the Dhammasaṅgaṇi's list of three, see Rhys Davids (1900), pp. 256-61. Also see, Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 656, entry for "Saŋyojana" (retrieved 2008-04-09), regarding the i saŋyojanāni. (C.A.F. Rhys Davids (1900), p. 257, translates these three terms as: "the theory of individuality, perplexity, and the contagion of mere rule and ritual.")
  17. ^ See, e.g., MN 6 and MN 22.
  18. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 656, "Saŋyojana" entry references Cula Niddesa 657, 1463, and Dhamma Sangani 1113. In fact, an entire chapter of the Dhamma Sangani is devoted to the fetters (book III, ch. V, Dhs. 1113-34), see also Rhys Davids (1900), pp. 297-303. (Rhys Davids, 1900, p. 297, provides the following English translations for these Pali terms: "sensuality, repulsion, conceit, speculative opinion, perplexity, the contagion of mere rule and ritual, the passion for renewed existence, envy, meanness, ignorance.") In post-canonical texts, this list can also be found in Buddhaghosa's commentary (in the Papañcasudani) to the Satipatthana Sutta's section regarding the six sense bases and the fetters (Soma, 1998).
  19. ^ Ñāamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 467-469, and Upalavanna (undated) 2010-11-02 at the Wayback Machine. For a Romanized Pali transliteration, SLTP (undated).
  20. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), pp. 660-1, "Sakkāya" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09). See also, anatta.
  21. ^ Thanissaro (1997a).
  22. ^ Thanissaro (2005)
  23. ^ Rhys Davids & Stede (1921-25), p. 597, "Vata (2)" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09).
  24. ^ Ibid., p. 421, "Parāmāsa" entry (retrieved 2008-04-09).
  25. ^ Ibid., p. 713, "Sīla" entry regarding the suffix "bbata" (retrieved 2008-04-09).
  26. ^ Thanissaro (1997b).
  27. ^ For instance, see Gethin (1998), pp. 10-13, for a discussion of the Buddha in the context of the sramanic and brahmanic traditions.
  28. ^ Soma, 1998, section on "The Six Internal and the Six External Sense-bases." It is worth underlining that only the fetter is abandoned, not the sense organs or sense objects.
  29. ^ Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 537-41.
  30. ^ Bodhi (2000), p. 1148.
  31. ^ Bodhi (2000), p. 1148. Note that the referenced suttas (MN 64, SN 35.54 and SN 35.55) can be seen as overlapping and consistent if one, for instance, infers that one needs to use jhanic attainment and vipassana insight in order to "know and see" the impermanence and selfless nature of the sense bases, consciousness, contact and sensations. For a correspondence between impermanence and nonself, see Three marks of existence.
  32. ^ See, e.g., Bhikkhu Bodhi's introduction in Ñāamoli & Bodhi (2001), pp. 41-43. Bodhi in turn cites, for example, MN 6 and MN 22.
  33. ^ Gunaratana (2003), dhamma talk entitled "Dhamma [Satipatthana] - Ten Fetters."

Bibliography edit

External links edit

  • The Fetters of 'I', 'Mine', 'Myself'

fetter, buddhism, buddhism, mental, fetter, chain, bond, pāli, samyojana, sanskrit, जन, saṃyojana, shackles, sentient, being, saṃsāra, cycle, lives, with, dukkha, cutting, through, fetters, attains, nibbāna, pali, nirvāṇ, contents, fetter, suffering, lists, fe. In Buddhism a mental fetter chain or bond Pali samyojana Sanskrit स य जन saṃyojana shackles a sentient being to saṃsara the cycle of lives with dukkha By cutting through all fetters one attains nibbana Pali Skt न र व ण nirvaṇ a Contents 1 Fetter of suffering 2 Lists of fetters 2 1 Sutta Pitaka s list of ten fetters 2 2 Three fetters 2 3 Abhidhamma Pitaka s list of ten fetters 2 4 Fetters related to householder affairs 3 Individual fetters 3 1 Identity view sakkaya diṭṭ hi 3 2 Doubt vicikiccha 3 3 Attachment to rites and rituals silabbata paramaso 4 Cutting through the fetters 5 Relationship to other core concepts 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External linksFetter of suffering editThroughout the Pali canon the word fetter is used to describe an intrapsychic phenomenon that ties one to suffering For instance in the Khuddaka Nikaya s Itivuttaka 1 15 the Buddha states Monks I don t envision even one other fetter fettered by which beings conjoined go wandering amp transmigrating on for a long long time like the fetter of craving Fettered with the fetter of craving beings conjoined go wandering amp transmigrating on for a long long time 1 Elsewhere the suffering caused by a fetter is implied as in this more technical discourse from SN 35 232 where Ven Sariputta converses with Ven Kotthita Ven Kotthita How is it friend Sariputta is the ear the fetter of sounds or are sounds the fetter of the ear Ven Sariputta Friend Kotthita the ear is not the fetter of sounds nor are sounds the fetter of the ear but rather the desire and lust that arise there in dependence on both that is the fetter there 2 Lists of fetters editThe Four planes of liberation according to the Sutta Piṭ aka note 1 stage s fruit note 2 abandonedfetters rebirth s until suffering s end stream enterer 1 identity view Anatman 2 doubt in Buddha 3 ascetic or ritual rules lowerfetters up to seven rebirths inhuman or heavenly realms once returner note 3 once more as a human non returner 4 sensual desire 5 ill will once more ina heavenly realm Pure Abodes arahant 6 material rebirth desire 7 immaterial rebirth desire 8 conceit 9 restlessness 10 ignorance higherfetters no rebirth Source Naṇamoli amp Bodhi 2001 Middle Length Discourses pp 41 43 The fetters are enumerated in different ways in the Pali canon s Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka Sutta Pitaka s list of ten fetters edit The Pali canon s Sutta Pitaka identifies ten fetters of becoming 3 belief in a self Pali sakkaya diṭṭhi 4 doubt or uncertainty especially about the Buddha s awakeness vicikiccha 5 attachment to rites and rituals silabbata paramasa 6 sensual desire kamacchando 7 ill will vyapado or byapado 8 lust for material existence lust for material rebirth ruparago 9 lust for immaterial existence lust for rebirth in a formless realm aruparago 10 conceit mana 11 12 restlessness uddhacca 13 ignorance avijja 14 As indicated in the adjacent table throughout the Sutta Pitaka the first five fetters are referred to as lower fetters orambhagiyani saṃyojanani and are eradicated upon becoming a non returner and the last five fetters are referred to as higher fetters uddhambhagiyani saṃyojanani eradicated by an arahant 15 Three fetters edit Both the Saṅ giti Sutta DN 33 and the Dhammasaṅgaṇ i Dhs 1002 1006 refer to the three fetters as the first three in the aforementioned Sutta Pitaka list of ten belief in a self sakkaya diṭṭhi doubt vicikiccha attachment to rites and rituals silabbata paramasa 16 According to the Canon these three fetters are eradicated by stream enterers and once returners 17 Abhidhamma Pitaka s list of ten fetters edit The Abhidhamma Pitaka s Dhamma Sangani Dhs 1113 34 provides an alternate list of ten fetters also found in the Khuddaka Nikaya s Culla Niddesa Nd2 656 1463 and in post canonical commentaries This enumeration is 18 sensual lust Pali kama raga anger paṭigha conceit mana views diṭṭhi doubt vicikiccha attachment to rites and rituals silabbata paramasa lust for existence bhava raga jealousy issa greed macchariya ignorance avijja The commentary mentions that views doubt attachment to rites and rituals jealousy and greed are thrown off at the first stage of Awakening sotapatti gross sensual lust and anger by the second stage sakadagamita and even subtle forms of the same by the third stage anagamita and conceit lust for existence and ignorance by the fourth and final stage arahatta Fetters related to householder affairs edit Uniquely the Sutta Pitaka s Householder Potaliya Sutta MN 54 identifies eight fetters including three of the Five Precepts whose abandonment lead s to the cutting off of affairs vohara samucchedaya saṃvattanti destroying life paṇatipato stealing adinnadanaṃ false speech musavado slandering pisuna coveting and greed giddhilobho aversion nindaroso anger and malice kodhupayaso conceit atimano For English translations see 19 Individual fetters editThe following fetters are the first three mentioned in the Sutta Pitaka s list of ten fetters as well as the Saṅ giti Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitaka s list of three fetters DN 33 Dhs 1002 ff As indicated below eradication of these three fetters is a canonical indicator of one s being irreversibly established on the path to Enlightenment Identity view sakkaya diṭṭ hi edit Etymologically kaya means body sakkaya means existing body and diṭṭhi means view here implying a wrong view as exemplified by the views in the table below In general belief in an individual self or more simply self view refers to a belief that in one or other of the khandhas there is a permanent entity an atta 20 Similarly in MN 2 the Sabbasava Sutta the Buddha describes a fetter of views in the following manner The views of six sramaṇa in the Pali Canon based on the Buddhist text Sa mannaphala Sutta1 Sramaṇa view diṭṭ hi 1PuraṇaKassapa Amoralism denies any reward orpunishment for either good or bad deeds MakkhaliGosala Ajivika Niyativada Fatalism we are powerless suffering is pre destined AjitaKesakambali Lokayata Materialism live happily with death all is annihilated PakudhaKaccayana Sassatavada Eternalism Matter pleasure pain and the soul are eternal and do not interact NigaṇṭhaNataputta Jainism Restraint be endowed with cleansed byand suffused with the avoidance of all evil 2SanjayaBelaṭṭhiputta Ajnana Agnosticism I don t think so I don t think in that way or otherwise I don t think not or not not Suspension of judgement Notes 1 DN 2 Thanissaro 1997 Walshe 1995 pp 91 109 2 DN a Naṇamoli amp Bodhi 1995 pp 1258 59 n 585 vte 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 one attends inappropriately in this way one of six kinds of view arises 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 amp stress 21 Doubt vicikiccha edit In general doubt vicikiccha refers to doubt about the Buddha s teachings the Dhamma Alternate contemporaneous teachings are represented in the adjacent table More specifically in SN 22 84 the Tissa Sutta 22 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 Attachment to rites and rituals silabbata paramaso edit Sila refers to moral conduct vata or bata to religious duty observance rite practice custom 23 and paramasa to being attached to or a contagion and has the connotation of mishandling the Dhamma 24 Altogether silabbata paramaso has been translated as the contagion of mere rule and ritual the infatuation of good works the delusion that they suffice 25 or more simply fall ing back on attachment to precepts and rules 26 While the fetter of doubt can be seen as pertaining to the teachings of competing samana during the times of the Buddha this fetter regarding rites and rituals likely refers to some practices of contemporary brahmanic authorities 27 Cutting through the fetters editMeditationwith the fetters Here O bhikkhus a bhikkhu understands the eye and material forms and the fetter that arises dependent on both eye and forms he understands how the arising of the non arisen fetter comes to be he understands how the abandoning of the arisen fetter comes to be and he understands how the non arising in the future of the abandoned fetter comes to be And thus he understands the ear and sounds the organ of smell and odors the organ of taste and flavors the organ of touch and tactual objects and consciousness and mental objects Satipatthana Sutta MN 10 28 In MN 64 the Greater Discourse to Malunkyaputta the Buddha states that the path to abandoning the five lower fetters that is the first five of the aforementioned ten fetters is through using jhana attainment and vipassana insights in tandem 29 In SN 35 54 Abandoning the Fetters the Buddha states that one abandons the fetters when one knows and sees as impermanent Pali anicca the twelve sense bases ayatana the associated six sense consciousness vinnaṇa and the resultant contact phassa and sensations vedana 30 Similarly in SN 35 55 Uprooting the Fetters the Buddha states that one uproots the fetters when one knows and sees as nonself anatta the sense bases sense consciousness contact and sensations 31 The Pali canon traditionally describes cutting through the fetters in four stages one cuts the first three fetters Pali tiṇi saŋyojanani 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 orambhagiyani samyojanani to be a non returner anagami one cuts all ten fetters to be an arahant 32 Relationship to other core concepts editSimilar Buddhist concepts found throughout the Pali Canon include the five hindrances nivaraṇ ani and the ten defilements kilesa Comparatively speaking in the Theravada tradition fetters span multiple lifetimes and are difficult to remove while hindrances are transitory obstacles Defilements encompass all mental defilements including both fetters and hindrances 33 See also editAnatta regarding the first fetter sakkaya 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 Notes edit See for instance the Snake Simile Discourse MN 22 where the Buddha states Monks this Teaching so well proclaimed by me is plain open explicit free of patchwork In this Teaching that is so well proclaimed by me and is plain open explicit and free of patchwork for those who are arahants free of taints who have accomplished and completed their task have laid down the burden achieved their aim severed the fetters binding to existence who are liberated by full knowledge there is no future round of existence that can be ascribed to them Majjhima Nikaya i 130 42 Translated by Nyanaponika Thera Nyanaponika 2006 The fruit Pali phala is the culmination of the path magga Thus for example the stream enterer is the fruit for one on the stream entry path more specifically the stream enterer has abandoned the first three fetters while one on the path of stream entry strives to abandon these fetters Both the stream enterer and the once returner abandon the first three fetters What distinguishes these stages is that the once returner additionally attenuates lust hate and delusion and will necessarily be reborn only once more References edit Thanissaro 2001 Bodhi 2000 p 1230 Tangentially in discussing the use of the concept of the fetter in the Satipatthana Sutta regarding mindfulness of the six sense bases Bodhi 2005 references this sutta SN 35 232 as explaining what is meant by the fetter that is desire and lust chanda raga While providing this exegesis Bodhi 2005 also comments that the Satipatthana Sutta commentary associates the term fetter in that sutta as referring to all ten fetters These fetters are enumerated for instance in SN 45 179 and 45 180 Bodhi 2000 pp 1565 66 This article s Pali words and English translations for the ten fetters are based on Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 656 Saŋyojana entry retrieved 2008 04 09 Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 pp 660 1 Sakkaya entry retrieved 2008 04 09 defines sakkaya diṭṭhi as theory of soul heresy of individuality speculation as to the eternity or otherwise of one s own individuality Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 179 translates it as identity view Gethin 1998 p 73 uses the view of individuality Harvey 2007 p 71 uses views on the existing group Thanissaro 2000 uses self identify views and Walshe 1995 p 26 uses personality belief Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 615 Vicikiccha entry retrieved 2008 04 09 defines vicikiccha as doubt perplexity uncertainty Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 179 Gethin 1998 p 73 and Walshe 1995 p 26 translate it as doubt Thanissaro 2000 uses uncertainty Harvey provides vacillation in commitment to the three refuges and the worth of morality cf M i 380 and S ii 69 70 See for instance Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 713 Sila entry retrieved 2008 04 09 regarding the similar concept of silabbatupadana silabbata upadana grasping after works and rites Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 179 translates this term as the distorted grasp of rules and vows Gethin 1998 p 73 uses clinging to precepts and vows Harvey 2007 p 71 uses grasping at precepts and vows Thanissaro 2000 uses grasping at precepts amp practices and Walshe 1995 p 26 uses attachment to rites and rituals For a broad discussion of this term see e g Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 pp 203 4 Kama entry and p 274 Chanda entry retrieved 2008 04 09 Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 179 Gethin 1998 p 73 Harvey 2007 p 71 Thanissaro 2000 and Walshe 1995 p 26 translate kamacchando as sensual desire Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 654 Vyapada entry retrieved 2008 04 09 defines vyapado as making bad doing harm desire to injure malevolence ill will Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 179 Harvey 2007 p 71 Thanissaro 2000 and Walshe 1995 p 26 translate it as ill will Gethin 1998 p 73 uses aversion Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 pp 574 5 Rupa entry retrieved 2008 04 09 defines ruparago as lust after rebirth in rupa Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 180 translates it as lust for form Gethin 1998 p 73 uses desire for form Thanissaro 2000 uses passion for form Walshe 1995 p 27 uses craving for existence in the Form World Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 pp 574 5 Rupa entry retrieved 2008 04 09 suggests that aruparago may be defined as lust after rebirth in arupa Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 180 translates it as lust for the formless Gethin 1998 p 73 uses desire for the formless Harvey 2007 p 72 uses attachment to the pure form or formless worlds Thanissaro 2000 uses passion for what is formless Walshe 1995 p 27 uses craving for existence in the Formless World Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 528 Mana entry retrieved 2008 04 09 defines mana as pride conceit arrogance Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 180 Thanissaro 2000 and Walshe 1995 p 27 translate it as conceit Gethin 1998 p 73 uses pride Harvey 2007 p 72 uses the I am conceit For a distinction between the first fetter personal identity view and this eighth fetter conceit see e g SN 22 89 trans Thanissaro 2001 Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 136 Uddhacca entry retrieved 2008 04 09 defines uddhacca as over balancing agitation excitement distraction flurry Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 180 Harvey 2007 p 72 Thanissaro 2000 and Walshe 1995 p 27 translate it as restlessness Gethin 1998 p 73 uses agitation Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 85 Avijja entry retrieved 2008 04 09 define avijja as ignorance the main root of evil and of continual rebirth Bodhi 2000 p 1565 SN 45 180 Gethin 1998 p 73 Thanissaro 2000 and Walshe 1995 p 27 translate it as ignorance Harvey 2007 p 72 uses spiritual ignorance For single sutta references to both higher fetters and lower fetters see DN 33 section of fives and AN 10 13 In other instances a sutta regarding the lower fetters is followed by a sutta regarding the higher fetters as in SN 45 179 and 45 180 SN 46 129 and 46 130 SN 46 183 and 46 184 SN 47 103 and 47 104 SN 48 123 and 48 124 SN 49 53 and 49 54 SN 50 53 and 50 54 SN 51 85 and 51 86 SN 53 53 and 53 54 and AN 9 67 and 9 70 In addition the five lower fetters alone without reference to the higher fetters are discussed e g in MN 64 For the Saṅ giti Sutta s list of three fetters see e g Walshe 1995 p 484 For the Dhammasaṅgaṇ i s list of three see Rhys Davids 1900 pp 256 61 Also see Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 656 entry for Saŋyojana retrieved 2008 04 09 regarding the tiṇ i saŋyojanani C A F Rhys Davids 1900 p 257 translates these three terms as the theory of individuality perplexity and the contagion of mere rule and ritual See e g MN 6 and MN 22 Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 656 Saŋyojana entry references Cula Niddesa 657 1463 and Dhamma Sangani 1113 In fact an entire chapter of the Dhamma Sangani is devoted to the fetters book III ch V Dhs 1113 34 see also Rhys Davids 1900 pp 297 303 Rhys Davids 1900 p 297 provides the following English translations for these Pali terms sensuality repulsion conceit speculative opinion perplexity the contagion of mere rule and ritual the passion for renewed existence envy meanness ignorance In post canonical texts this list can also be found in Buddhaghosa s commentary in the Papancasudani to the Satipatthana Sutta s section regarding the six sense bases and the fetters Soma 1998 Naṇ amoli amp Bodhi 2001 pp 467 469 and Upalavanna undated Archived 2010 11 02 at the Wayback Machine For a Romanized Pali transliteration SLTP undated Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 pp 660 1 Sakkaya entry retrieved 2008 04 09 See also anatta Thanissaro 1997a Thanissaro 2005 Rhys Davids amp Stede 1921 25 p 597 Vata 2 entry retrieved 2008 04 09 Ibid p 421 Paramasa entry retrieved 2008 04 09 Ibid p 713 Sila entry regarding the suffix bbata retrieved 2008 04 09 Thanissaro 1997b For instance see Gethin 1998 pp 10 13 for a discussion of the Buddha in the context of the sramanic and brahmanic traditions Soma 1998 section on The Six Internal and the Six External Sense bases It is worth underlining that only the fetter is abandoned not the sense organs or sense objects Naṇamoli amp Bodhi 2001 pp 537 41 Bodhi 2000 p 1148 Bodhi 2000 p 1148 Note that the referenced suttas MN 64 SN 35 54 and SN 35 55 can be seen as overlapping and consistent if one for instance infers that one needs to use jhanic attainment and vipassana insight in order to know and see the impermanence and selfless nature of the sense bases consciousness contact and sensations For a correspondence between impermanence and nonself see Three marks of existence See e g Bhikkhu Bodhi s introduction in Naṇ amoli amp Bodhi 2001 pp 41 43 Bodhi in turn cites for example MN 6 and MN 22 Gunaratana 2003 dhamma talk entitled Dhamma Satipatthana Ten Fetters Bibliography editBodhi Bhikkhu 2000 The Connected Discourses of the Buddha A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya Somerville MA Wisdom Publications ISBN 0 86171 331 1 Bodhi Bhikkhu 18 Jan 2005 MN 10 Satipatthana Sutta continued Ninth dharma talk on the Satipatthana Sutta MP3 audio file Available on line at http www bodhimonastery net MP3 M0060 MN 010 mp3 permanent dead link Gethin Rupert 1998 The Foundations of Buddhism Oxford Oxford University Press ISBN 0 19 289223 1 Gunaratana Henepola 2003 Satipatthana Sutta Dharma talks MP3 on CD High View WV Bhavana Society Orderable on line at https web archive org web 20070205193623 http www bhavanasociety org resource satipatthana sutta cd Harvey Peter 1990 2007 An introduction to Buddhism Teachings history and practices Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 31333 3 Naṇamoli Bhikkhu amp Bhikkhu Bodhi 2001 The Middle Length Discourse of the Buddha A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya Somerville MA Wisdom Publications ISBN 0 86171 072 X Nyanaponika Thera trans 1974 Alagaddupama Sutta The Snake Simile MN 22 Kandy Buddhist Publication Society Retrieved 15 Aug 2010 from Access to Insight 2006 at http www accesstoinsight org tipitaka mn mn 022 nypo html Rhys Davids C A F 1900 2003 Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics of the Fourth Century B C Being a Translation now made for the First Time from the Original Pali of the First Book of the Abhidhamma Piṭaka entitled Dhamma Sangaṇi Compendium of States or Phenomena Kessinger Publishing ISBN 0 7661 4702 9 Rhys Davids T W amp 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 Soma Thera 1998 6th rev ed The Way of Mindfulness The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary Available on line at http www accesstoinsight org lib authors soma wayof html 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 1997 Samannaphala Sutta The Fruits of the Contemplative Life DN 2 Available on line at http www accesstoinsight org tipitaka dn dn 02 0 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 2000 Sanyojana Sutta Fetters AN 10 13 http www accesstoinsight org tipitaka an an10 an10 013 than html Thanissaro Bhikkhu trans 2001 The Group of Ones 15 Iti 1 15 Available on line at http www accesstoinsight org tipitaka kn iti iti 1 001 027 than html iti 015 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 https web archive org web 20101102225156 http metta lk tipitaka 2Sutta Pitaka 2Majjhima Nikaya Majjhima2 054 potaliya e1 html Walshe Maurice O Connell trans 1995 The Long Discourses of the Buddha A Translation of the Digha Nikaya Somerville Wisdom Publications ISBN 0 86171 103 3 External links editThe Fetters of I Mine Myself Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fetter Buddhism amp oldid 1185098346, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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