To Proclaim Stream-Entry to Yourself

Householder,

When the fivefold guilty dread is eliminated in the Noble Disciple and he is possessed of the four limbs of Stream-Entry, and has well seen and well penetrated the noble discipline by wisdom…

He may, if he so aspires, himself proclaim thus of himself: I am one who has cut off the doom of hell, of rebirth in the womb of an animal, in the realm of afflicted spirits; cut off is the Waste, the Ill-bourn, the Downfall.

A Stream-Enterer am I, one not doomed to the Downfall, assured, bound for Enlightenment.

Now, Householder, what is the fivefold guilty dread that is eliminated in him?

(1) It is that guilty dread, Householder, which he who kills causes in this same visible state, as a result of his killing; it is that guilty dread about the life to come, which he who kills causes; also that discontentedness and sadness which he experiences. By abstaining from killing he causes no guilty dread in this same visible state nor for the life to come; he experiences no discontentedness and sadness. Thus in him who abstains from killing that guilty dread is eliminated.

(2) It is that guilty dread, Householder, which he who takes what is not given causes in this same visible state, as a result of his taking what is not given; it is that guilty dread about the life to come, which he who takes what is not given causes; also that discontentedness and sadness which he experiences. By abstaining from taking what is not given he causes no guilty dread in this same visible state nor for the life to come; he experiences no discontentedness and sadness. Thus in him who abstains from taking what is not given that guilty dread is eliminated.

(3) It is that guilty dread, Householder, which he who is a wrongdoer in sexual desires causes in this same visible state, as a result of his being a wrongdoer in sexual desires; it is that guilty dread about the life to come, which he who is a wrongdoer in sexual desires causes; also that discontentedness and sadness which he experiences. By abstaining from being a wrongdoer in sexual desires he causes no guilty dread in this same visible state nor for the life to come; he experiences no discontentedness and sadness. Thus in him who abstains from being a wrongdoer in sexual desires that guilty dread is eliminated.

(4) It is that guilty dread, Householder, which he who tells lies causes in this same visible state, as a result of his telling lies; it is that guilty dread about the life to come, which he who tells lies causes; also that discontentedness and sadness which he experiences. By abstaining from telling lies he causes no guilty dread in this same visible state nor for the life to come he experiences no discontentedness and sadness. Thus in him who abstains from telling lies that guilty dread is eliminated.

(5) It is that guilty dread, Householder, which he who is under the influence of liquor fermented and distilled and so given to heedlessness (substances that cause heedlessness) - the guilty dread which, as a result of these things, he causes in this same visible state, also about the life to come; also that discontentedness and sadness these are not caused by him who abstains from occasions (or places) for taking liquor fermented and distilled (substances that cause heedlessness). Thus in him who so abstains that guilty dread is eliminated.

These are the five guilty dreads that are eliminated,

And of what four limbs of Stream-Entry does he possess?

(1) Herein, Householder, the Noble Disciple is possessed of unwavering confidence in The Perfectly Enlightened One thus: The Perfectly Enlightened One is an Arahant, perfectly Enlightened, accomplished in true wisdom and conduct, fortunate, knower of the worlds, unsurpassed leader of persons to be tamed, Teacher of heavenly beings and humans, the Enlightened One

(2) He is possessed of unwavering confidence in The Teachings, thus: The Teachings are well expounded by The Perfectly Enlightened One, directly visible, immediate, inviting one to come and see, applicable, to be personally experienced by the wise.

(3) He is possessed of unwavering confidence in The Community, thus: The Community of The Perfectly Enlightened One’s disciples is practicing the wholesome way, practicing the straight way, practicing the true way, practicing the proper way; that is, the four pairs of persons, the eight types of individuals—this Community of The Perfectly Enlightened One’s disciples is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respectful salutation, the unsurpassed field of merit for the world.

(4) He is possessed of the virtues (moral conduct) dear to the Noble Ones, in the virtues (moral conduct) dear to the Noble Ones, unbroken, untorn, unblemished, unblotched, liberating, praised by the wise, not misunderstood, and leading to concentration.

These four limbs of Stream-Entry he possesses.

And what in him is the noble discipline that is well seen and well penetrated by wisdom?

Herein, Householder, the Noble Disciple thus reflects: This being, that is. By the arising of this, that arises. This not being, that is not. By the ending of this, that comes to be eliminated. That is to say: Because of ignorance (unknowing of true reality), the volitional formations (choices/decisions); because of the volitional formations (choices/decisions), consciousness; because of consciousness; name-and-form; because of name-and-form, the six sense bases; because of the six sense bases, contact; because of contact, feeling; because of feeling, craving; because of craving, clinging; because of clinging, existence; because of existence, birth; because of birth, aging-and-death, grief, displeasure and pain, sadness and despair come into being. Thus is the arising of this whole mass of discontentedness.

But with the diminishing and complete elimination without remainder of ignorance (unknowing of true reality), the ending of the volitional formations (choices/decisions); with the ending of the volitional formations (choices/decisions), the ending of consciousness; with the ending of consciousness, the ending of name-and-form; with the ending of name-and-form, the ending of the six sense bases; with the ending of the six sense bases, the ending of contact; with the ending of contact, the ending of feeling; with the ending of feeling, the ending of craving; with the ending of craving, the ending of clinging; with the ending of clinging, the ending of existence; with the ending of existence, the ending of birth; with the ending of birth, aging-and-death, grief, displeasure and pain, sadness and despair are eliminated to become. Thus is the ending of this whole mass of discontentedness, and this for him is the noble discipline well seen, well penetrated by wisdom.

Now, Householder, since for the Noble Disciple these five guilty dreads are eliminated, and he is possessed of these four limbs of Stream-Entry, and for him this noble discipline is well seen and well penetrated by wisdom.

He, if he so aspires, himself may proclaim of himself: Destroyed is hell for me, destroyed is birth in the womb of an animal, destroyed is the realm of afflicted spirits, destroyed is rebirth in the Waste, the Ill-bourn, the Downfall, in hell; a Stream-Enterer am I, one not doomed to the Downfall, one assured, bound for Enlightenment.

(Reference: AN 10.92)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares the fivefold guilty dread and the four limbs of Stream-Entry.

There are multiple aspects of training a Practitioner will need to accomplish in order to attain the first Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer. Namely, a Practitioner will need to eliminate the first three (3) fetters of The Ten Fetters along with multiple other aspects of learning, reflecting, and practicing The Teachings to attain Stream-Entry.

Here, The Buddha is sharing two aspects of one’s practice that will need to be well developed to attain Stream-Entry but, this is not being shared as an exclusive list. There are more comprehensive Teachings shared in a previous volume of this book series that provide guidance on attaining the first Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer.

The Fivefold Guilty Dread are to fully and deeply practice The Five Precepts. A Practitioner who attains the first Stage of Enlightenment will be deeply practicing The Five Precepts.

Detailed explanation of The Five Precepts is available in this same book series found in Chapter 7 of the book “Developing a Life Practice: The Path That Leads to Enlightenment” (Volume 1).

The Four Limbs of Stream-Entry are to have unwavering confidence in The Buddha, The Teachings, The Community, and to be practicing wholesome moral conduct found in The Eight Fold Path described as Right Speech, Right Action, and Right Livelihood.

Once a Practitioner attains the first Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer, the mind will not regress or backslide out of this Stage of Enlightenment. The Buddha explains this as “A Stream-Enterer am I, one not doomed to the Downfall, assured, bound for Enlightenment”.

A Stream-Enterer will attain Enlightenment in no more than seven (7) rebirths.

The Buddha explains further that a Stream-Enterer will have penetrative wisdom related to Dependent Origination when he explains “And what in him is the noble discipline that is well seen and well penetrated by wisdom?”. The Buddha explains a high-level overview of Dependent Origination pointing to this Teaching as one that a Stream-Enterer will deeply understand.

Detailed explanation of the first Stage of Enlightenment as a Stream-Enterer is available in this same book series found in Chapter 14 of the book “The First Stage of Enlightenment (Stream-Enterer)” (Volume 5).