A Stream-Enterer Understands as They Really are the Cause and the Passing Away of the World

Monks, without having abandoned six things, one is incapable of realizing accomplishment in view.

Monks, an instructed Noble Disciple does not think: When what exists, does what come to be? With the arising of what, does what arise?

When what exists do volitional formations (choices/decisions) come to be?

When what exists does consciousness come to be?

When what exists does name-and-form come to be?

When what exists does the six sense bases come to be?

When what exists does contact come to be?

When what exists does feeling come to be?

When what exists does craving come to be?

When what exists does clinging come to be?

When what exists does existence come to be?

When what exists does birth come to be?

When what exists does aging-and-death come to be?

Rather, Monks, the instructed Noble Disciple has wisdom about this that is independent of others: When this exists, that comes to be; with the arising of this, that arises.

When there is ignorance, volitional formations (choices/decisions) come to be.

When there are volitional formations, consciousness comes to be.

When there is consciousness, name-and-form comes to be.

When there is name-and-form, the six sense bases come to be.

When there are the six sense bases, contact comes to be.

When there is contact, feeling comes to be.

When there is feeling, craving comes to be.

When there is craving, clinging comes to be.

When there is clinging, existence comes to be.

When there is existence, birth comes to be.

When there is birth, aging-and-death comes to be.

He understands thus: In such a way is there a cause and effect in the world.

Monks, an instructed Noble Disciple does not think: When what does not exist, does what not come to be? With the elimination of what, is what eliminated?

When what does not exist do volitional formations (choices/decisions) not come to be?

When what does not exist does consciousness not come to be?

When what does not exist does name-and-form not come to be?

When what does not exist do the six sense bases not come to be?

When what does not exist does contact not come to be?

When what does not exist does feeling not come to be?

When what does not exist does craving not come to be?

When what does not exist does clinging not come to be?

When what does not exist does existence not come to be?

When what does not exist does birth not come to be?

When what does not exist does aging-and-death not come to be?

Rather, Monks, the instructed Noble Disciple has wisdom about this that is independent of others: When this does not exist, that does not come to be; with the elimination of this, that is eliminated.

When there is no ignorance, volitional formations (choices/decisions) do not come to be.

When there are no volitional formations, consciousness does not come to be.

When there is no consciousness, name-and-form does not come to be.

When there is no name-and-form, the six sense bases do not come to be.

When there are no the six sense bases, contact does not come to be.

When there is no contact, feeling does not come to be.

When there is no feeling, craving does not come to be.

When there is no craving, clinging does not come to be.

When there is no clinging, existence does not come to be.

When there is no existence, birth does not come to be.

When there is no birth, aging-and-death does not come to be.

He understands thus: In such a way the world is eliminated.

Monks, when a Noble Disciple thus understands as they really are the cause and the passing away of the world, he is then called: ‘A Noble Disciple who is accomplished in view, (who is) accomplished in vision, who has arrived at these true Teachings, who sees these true Teachings, who possesses a trainee’s wisdom, (who possesses) a trainee’s true wisdom, who has entered the stream of The Teachings, a Noble One with penetrative wisdom, one who stands squarely before the door to the Deathless (Enlightenment).’

(Reference: SN 12.49)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares that a Practitioner who is “accomplished in view” will understand Dependent Origination. “An instructed Noble Disciple does not think: When what exists, does what come to be? With the arising of what, does what arise?”.

During Gotama Buddha’s lifetime, there was a caste system in place that taught people that as they were born into a low or high family, they were either a low or high person in society. This rigid caste system made people believe that if they were of low status, they were essentially a low or somewhat of a worthless individual. But, if they were of a high status, they were a “noble” individual.

People were taught that if they were interested in a spiritual life, they would need to make offerings and payments to Brāhmins to be able to have them pray to the Gods on their behalf. People believed in multiple Gods during The Buddha’s lifetime. People of a low caste were convinced that they were unable to pray to the Gods because of their low status in life and due to that birth, they’d need to give money to the Brāhmin priests to have them pray on their behalf.

The Buddha observed that this was not true and only created opportunity for corruption and false beliefs. He understood that people of all backgrounds and upbringing are capable of attaining Enlightenment. He described his Teachings as “noble”, thus, The Noble Eight Fold Path, and he also referred to Practitioners as “Noble Ones” or a “Noble Disciple”.

The Buddha essentially provided guidance that people should adjust their thinking that being born into a certain family and the material possessions available to them within their family is not an indication of what makes them noble or un-noble. Instead, it is one’s wisdom, moral conduct, and mental discipline that determines if one is wholesome or unwholesome.

In this way, all beings are capable of becoming noble through learning, reflecting, and practicing these Teachings to improve the condition of their mind. The Buddha accepted all individuals as Students no matter what caste they were born into or what moral conduct they had participated in prior to deciding to undertake training in these Teachings. The Buddha was known to accept a prostitute and a murderer into his Community of Practitioners who eventually attained Enlightenment during their lifetime. He did not discriminate based on what family one was born into or past conduct. Instead, he focused on helping all people learn and progress in the development of their life practice to awaken the mind to Enlightenment.

At a time when all of society was discriminating against people of insignificant material possessions, occupations, past conduct, and even gender, The Buddha practiced loving-kindness and compassion towards all beings. He was willing to support anyone who was interested to investigate his Teachings helping them to progress towards Enlightenment through being invited and welcomed to do so within The Community of Practitioners.

A Stream-Enterer who is “accomplished in vision” is one who can see clearly. They are able to see true reality rather than having a distorted view through misperceptions or judgment of others. They are one “ who has arrived at these true Teachings, who sees these true Teachings, who possesses a trainee’s wisdom, (who possesses) a trainee’s true wisdom, who has entered the stream of The Teachings, a Noble One with penetrative wisdom”.

A Stream-Enterer sees clearly and is “one who stands squarely before the door to the Deathless (Enlightenment)” being close to Enlightenment. The deathless is a Practitioner who has attained Enlightenment and no longer fears death or will experience death but instead, they understand it is the physical body that dies where the mind separates from the physical body described as “the breakup of the body” in other Teachings. A Practitioner who attains Enlightenment will no longer be reborn, thus, they will no longer experience death described as the “deathless”. They are unable to experience death again as there will no longer be rebirth.

A Stream-Enterer “stands squarely before the door to the Deathless” because they are fixed in destination to attaining Enlightenment in this life or some subsequent life - a maximum of seven (7) more rebirths.