Anāgāmi

In Buddhism, an ''anāgāmin'' (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''anāgāmī'', lit. "non-returning") is a partially enlightened person who has cut off the first five fetters that bind the ordinary mind. ''Anāgāmins'' are the third of the four aspirants.

The ''anāgāmin'' is not reborn into the human world after death, but into the heaven of the Pure Abodes, where only ''anāgāmins'' reside. There they attain full enlightenment (arahantship).

Requisites for becoming an ''anāgāmin''

An ''anāgāmin'' is free from the lowest five chains or fetters (Sanskrit: ; Pali: ''pañcorambhāgiyāni-saṃyojanāni''; 五下分結) which are as follows:
# Belief in ātman or self (Sanskrit: ' or ''svakāya-dṛṣṭi''; Pāli: ''sakkāya-diṭṭhi''; 有身見)
# Attachment to rites and rituals (Sanskrit: '' śīlavrata-parāmarśa-dṛṣṭi''; Pāli: ''sīlabbata-parāmāsa-diṭṭhi''; 戒禁取見)
# Skeptical doubt (Sanskrit: '' vicikitsā''; Pali: ''vicikicchā''; 疑)
# Sensuous craving (''kāmarāga''; 欲貪)
# Ill will or aversion (''vyāpāda'' or ''byāpāda''; 瞋恚)

The remaining five higher fetters (Sanskrit: ''pañca-ūrdhvabhāgiya-saṃyojana''; Pali: ''pañcuddhambhāgiyāni-saṃyojanāni''; 五上分結) from which an anāgāmin is not yet free are:
# Craving for fine-material existence (the first 4 jhanas) (''rūparāga''; 色貪)
# Craving for immaterial existence (the last 4 jhanas) (''arūparāga''; 無色貪)
# Conceit or pride (''māna''; 慢)
# Restlessness (Sanskrit: '' auddhatya''; Pali: ''uddhacca''; 掉挙)
# Ignorance (Sanskrit: avidyā; Pali: ''avijjā''; 無明)

''Kāmarāga'' and ''vyāpāda'', which they are free from, can also be interpreted as craving for becoming and non-becoming, respectively.

''Anāgāmins'' are at an intermediate stage between the '' sakṛdāgāmin'' and the ''arhat''. An arhat enjoys complete freedom from the ten fetters, while an ''anāgāmin's'' mind remains very pure.

Five types of ''anāgāmin''

The Pali '' Puggalapannatti'' and the Sanskrit texts '' Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra'' and the '' Sarvāstivādin-Vaibhaṣika Abhidharma'' both describe five classes of ''anāgāmin''. When an ''anāgāmin'' is reborn in the Pure Abodes, one of the five following scenarios will occur:
# He will attain arhatship immediately after rebirth or within the first half of his life in the Pure Abodes. Such a being is called "one who reaches Nibbāna within the first half of the life" (Sanskrit: ''antarāparinirvāyin''; Pali: ''antarā-parinibbāyī'').
# He will attain arhatship within the latter half of his life in the Pure Abodes or at the moment of death. Such a being is called "one who reaches Nibbāna after crossing half the life-time" (Sanskrit: ''upapadyaparinirvāyin''; Pali: ''upahacca-parinibbāyī'').
# He exerts himself to the point of attaining arhatship. Such a being is called "one who reaches Nibbāna with exertion" (Sanskrit: ''sābhisaṃskāraparinirvāyin''; Pali: ''sasankhāra-parinibbāyī'').
# He does not exert himself, yet attains arhatship. Such a being is called "one who reaches Nibbāna without exertion" (Sanskrit: ''anabhisaṃskāraparinirvāyin''; Pali: ''asankhāra-parinibbāyī'').
# He traverses the five heavens of the Pure Abodes in order from lowest to highest before attaining arhatship. Such a being is called "one who passes up-stream to the highest gods" (Sanskrit: ''ūrdhvasrotas''; Pali: ''uddhamsota-akanittha-gāmī'')."

''Anāgāmins'' in literature

Several figures who appear in the literature achieve the state of an ''anāgāmin''. Some of these people include:
* The Brahmin Bāvarī
* The householder Uggata
* The wandering ascetic Subhadda
* The monk Pukkusāti
* The nun Nandā
* The laywoman Matikamata
* The layman Citta

* The layman Visākha
* The householder Sandhāna
* The Brahman Uṇṇābha
* An unnamed lay follower of the Kāśyapa Buddha

See also

* Four stages of enlightenment
* Fetter (Buddhism)

References

Sources

* Thomas Rhys Davids & 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/.

{{Buddhism topics

Buddhist titles
Buddhist stages of enlightenment