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Buddhists/Sottapattihood

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Expert: - 9/8/2010


Question
Is sottapatti-hood (i.e., sottapan-hood, sottapatti enlightenment)achievable (to a Buddhist practitioner) in this era?

Answer
Hi Myo,

According to the text,

Sotapanna or "stream-winner" is a person who has eradicated the first three fetters of the mind.

The three fetters are:

1.belief in an individual self.

2.doubt or uncertainty, especially about the teachings of the Buddha.

3.attachment to rites and rituals.

You can see that anyone can achieve the above.  I don't believe in the existence of a self; I have complete trust in the Dhamma; and I don't attach to rites and rituals.  But I am definitely not a  sotapanna!  So what should we consider next?  It is my opinion that the more important aspects to look into are the three negative roots of greed, hatred and delusion.  It is said that one is enlightened when one is completely rid of these three negative roots.  So logic will tell us that to be a sotapanna there must be a very great degree of depleting these three negative roots.  

From the above premises, then I would say that it is possible to achieve sotapanna here and now.

Hope this helps.

Take care.

Justin Choo  

Buddhists

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Justin Choo

Expertise

When in doubt seek it out. All your questions will be answered, and you may not have to agree with the answers. Such is the beauty of Buddhism. You are free to decide. I follow the Theravada tradition, and have been studying Buddhism for more than 40 years. Please view my profile for more details. I have answered more than 1500 questions since joining this category. You may like to give me the honor to answer your question.

Experience

I was brought up in the 50's as a Buddhist. For the past 40 years I have read numerous books on Buddhism and listened to numerous talks on Buddhism by well-respected and learned monks and lay teachers. I conduct Buddhist classes for parents of Sunday School children in a Theravada Buddhist Temple. My teacher was the late Chief Reverend, The Ven. K Sri Dhammananda of The Brickfields Buddhist Mahavihara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can view the relevent website in memory of my revered late teacher @ http://www.ksridhammananda.com

Organizations
I am a life member of the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia.

Publications
YOU ARE INVITED TO VISIT MY BLOG @ http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/ Published a book called "The Rainbow And The Treasure". It is a compilation of extracts from various sources to introduce Buddhism to beginners. (Currently out of print)

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Commerce And Administration, Victoria University Of Wellington, NZ.(1974)

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