A  QUALITATIVE  BIOETHICAL  LIVING,

The claim of being on the Path (born-streamwinner or born-once-returner)

The claim of being on the Path (born-streamwinner or born-once-returner) is only to present a contemporary, alive and kicking, case study, established experientially, empirically and analytically, but based in the Canon. But why make the claim? Addressing Anathapindika, the millionaire supporter, the Buddha indeed says, “If one has clearly seen and thoroughly penetrated with wisdom the noble method, if he wishes, he could by himself declare of himself, “I am … a stream-enterer no longer bound to the nether world, … with Enlightenment as my destination”” (Samyutta Nikaya II 68). But is it not a ‘boast’? Yes, that would be a perception for the puthujjana (masses), but for one on the Path, it is a mere description of a reality. So the intent of the sharing is to invite the Buddhists out of the current myth that is making rounds in Buddhist circles that the Path is no longer available to us today.

It is also to respectfully encourage you to join me to explore within oneself and to cultivate yourself diligently.

It is to be noted, however, that the terms jàti-sotàpanna or jàti-sakadàgmin do not occur in the Canon. But we may also take note of the fact that the Buddha taught contextually, i.e., as called for by the situation. So there would have been no context which required the use of the terms. But the Canon does indeed provide accounts of born stream-winners, but in the sky-realm (as in my usage in my research, or ‘divine realms’ as in religious literature). Anathapindika (Samyutta Nikaya I 71) is only one of them. Since a Path winner will “no longer be bound to the nether world [of misery]”, a human rebecoming (popularly ‘rebirth’) would be the only possible next life, this justifying the prefix ‘born’ (jàti-), in association with ‘streamwinner’, and also with ‘once-returner’, if a path-winner in a given life-time had gone beyond the first stage to the next stage.