Anāgāmi

Translations of
Anāgāmin
EnglishNon-returner
Sanskritअनागामिन्
(IAST: Anāgāmin)
PaliAnāgāmī
Chinese不還 or 阿那含
(Pinyin: bùhuán or Ānàhán)
Japanese不還 or 阿那含
(Rōmaji: fugen or anagon)
Korean불환 or 아나함
(RR: bulhwan or anaham)
TagalogAnagami
Tibetanཕྱིར་མི་འོང་བ་
Wylie: phyir mi 'ong ba
THL: chir mi ongwa
Thaiอนาคามี
(RTGS: anakhami)
VietnameseBất hoàn or A-na-hàm
Glossary of Buddhism
Anagami
Anagami

In Buddhism, particularly Theravāda Buddhism, an anāgāmin (अनागामिन्, anāgāmin; Pāli: anāgāmī; literally "non-returner") is a partially enlightened person who has severed the first five fetters (saṃyojana) binding the ordinary mind and has reached the third of the four stages of enlightenment, or the third stage of the path towards attainment (ārya-mārga).

An anāgāmin is so called because, after death, such a person does not "return" to rebirth in the human world. Since the anāgāmin has not yet become free from the bond of existence (bhava-yoga), however, existence continues in a higher realm: the person is reborn in the heaven of the Pure Abodes, where only anāgāmins reside, and there ultimately attains full enlightenment, or arahantship.

Requisites for becoming an anāgāmin

The four stages of awakening according to the Sutta Piṭaka
Outcome Further rebirths Abandoned fetters
stream-enterer
(sotāpanna)		 up to seven,
in earthly or
heavenly realms		 1. identity view
2. doubt in Buddha
3. clinging to rites
and ritual		 lower
fetters
once-returner
(sakadagami)		 one more,
as a human
non-returner
(anāgāmi)		 one more,
in a pure abode		 4. sensual desire
5. ill will
arahant none 6. desire for
material rebirth
7. desire for
immaterial rebirth
8. conceit
9. restlessness
10. ignorance		 higher
fetters

An anāgāmin is free from the lowest five chains or fetters (Sanskrit: pañcāvarabhāgīya-saṃyojana; Pali: pañcorambhāgiyāni-saṃyojanāni; 五下分結) which are as follows:

  1. Belief in ātma or ego/self (Sanskrit: satkāya-dṛṣṭi or svakāya-dṛṣṭi; Pāli: sakkāya-diṭṭhi; 有身見)
  2. Attachment to rites and rituals (Sanskrit: śīlavrata-parāmarśa-dṛṣṭi; Pāli: sīlabbata-parāmāsa-diṭṭhi; 戒禁取見)
  3. Skeptical doubt (Sanskrit: vicikitsā; Pali: vicikicchā; 疑)
  4. Sensuous craving (kāmarāga; 欲貪)
  5. 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:

  1. Craving for fine-material existence (the first 4 jhanas) (rūparāga; 色貪)
  2. Craving for immaterial existence (the last 4 jhanas) (arūparāga; 無色貪)
  3. Conceit or pride (māna; 慢)
  4. Restlessness (Sanskrit: auddhatya; Pali: uddhacca; 掉挙)
  5. 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:

  1. 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).
  2. 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).
  3. 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).
  4. He does not exert himself, yet attains arhatship. Such a being is called "one who reaches Nibbāna without exertion" (Sanskrit: anabhisaṃskāraparinirvāyin; Pali: asankhāra-parinibbāyī).
  5. 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:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rhys Davids, T. W.; Stede, William (1921–1925). The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary. pp. 31, 95. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  2. 1 2 Bowker, John, ed. (1997). "Anāgāmin". The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-19-213965-7. OCLC 896422819.
  3. ↑ "Byāpāda". Pali Text Society Pali-English Dictionary. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Anagamin, aka: Anāgāmin, Anāgamin; 4 Definition(s)". Wisdom Library. 2019-08-24. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  5. ↑ "Anāgāmī". Buddhist Dictionary of Pali Proper Names. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  6. ↑ Buswell, Robert E. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9781400848058.
  7. ↑ Mingun Sayadaw (1990). "40". The Great Chronicle of Buddhas. Myanmar: Tipitaka Nikaya Sasana Organization.
  8. ↑ Tin, Daw Mya (2019). The Dhammapada: Verses & Stories. Pariyatti Publishing. ISBN 9781681721200.
  9. ↑ "MN 81 Ghatikara Sutta: Ghatikara the Potter".
  10. ↑ Karashima, Seishi; Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, Margarita I., eds. (2015). "The Avadāna Anthology from Merv, Turkmenistan" (PDF). Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia: The St. Petersburg Sanskrit Fragments. 1. Tokyo: The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences; The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology; Soka University. Retrieved 2019-10-25.

Sources