Ten Fetter Model The Sangha UK 268 11 17 24

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Dhammarato: So, hello folks, it’s Sunday afternoon here in Thailand and Sunday morning for Europe. We could even go so far as to say that this is Sunday morning worship service, except that I spell it worship W A R. And so today we can talk about what is referred to as the 10 fetters, specifically a 10 fetter as a model. And that the first thing that we can do is define what fetters are. But in fact, in several suttas, they have different words for it. One of the Pali words is asava, and the other term is fetter. Now actually kileysa. And so the kileysa is translated as a fetter. And fetter is A what? A 17th, 18th century word or bondage, like a ball and chain, handcuffs, that kind of thing is what the word fetter means. Something like tying a dog to a tree, you would fetter the dog. So the word asava has a different connotation. It has the connotation that’s more like a pox or a blackhead or a cyst, an irregularity that can be cut out. Now think about it in the sense of a face full of blackheads, and you push out one blackhead and you push out another, and you push out another and you push out another. And it looks like that you’re not making a whole lot of progress. But if you keep pushing out the blackheads over and over and over again, the face will become better looking. Not so much stuff there. And so the, the fetters and the Azaba are very, very closely related in, in the sense of the lower. The 5 lower are. Actually, I may just made a mistake. They’re not lower. What they are as rupa. So you have five rupa fetters and five a rupa fetters. And in common English Buddhism, they’re referred to as lower fetters and higher fetters. And that makes a very, very big confusion. All right. Now the second point to make is that the five lower fetters are, let us say, a big topic in the suttas. They’re referred to in a number of different suttas. And that the three most lower fetters are generally associated with sotapan. But the way that the Western Buddhism sees it is that it’s too closely tied without really seeing what’s going on. And so we’ll talk about that. And then the fourth and the fifth fetters are that which can be worked upon once we have the first three fetters. The three the first lower fetters or asava dealt with. Now, this fits in precisely with the what we find in Both the great 40, the discussion of the eight full noble path, and also in the Anapanasati sutta, where the Anapanasati sutta it goes in this sequence that we practice Anapanasati for the fulfillment of the four foundations of mindfulness, the Satipatthana. Now the four foundations of mindfulness are the body, the feelings, the mental states or our attitudes, and the actual thoughts and workings of the mind itself. And so the four foundations of mindfulness are often misunderstood, but in the context of Anapanasati, this is the four sections of Anapanasati and that we practice all of them together at one time. When I say one time, I’m not talking about a nanosecond or even a second, maybe over a five or ten minute period of time, you can cover all four. Now the way that we cover that is the Buddha talks about it in a sense of one by one as they occur. Jesus, you keep shaking your head like you’ve heard all of this stuff before.

Speaker B: It’s yeah, I heard that, yeah.

Dhammarato: All right. So when we practice the first three fetters, which is basically understanding personality view, which we’ll cover, and also see the Bhatta Paramasa or a set of rules that we live by and just to to correct our delusions about how to use rules, rights, rituals, laws, supposed to’s, ought to’s and that kind of thing. And then the third better is the fetter of doubt in the sense of the doubt about what is and what is not the correct way of practice, what is and is not the Eightfold Noble Path or what is the way. Now when we pile on that layer of doubt and the eradication of doubt about what is the right way of practice and whatnot, what’s not the right way of practice, we actually have to consider that issue of rights, rules and rituals in the sense of don’t make this stuff a rule. And that’s exactly what’s happened with Western Buddhism. They like to get structure, they like to have a bottom line, they like to know step by step, what are all of the milestones, etc. Now, as I’ve said before, the five Rupa Jhanas are covered in various suttas along the way, especially in regard to the Eightfold Noble Path. The A Rupajanas are never mentioned in any of the suttas. They are mentioned one time in the Samute Nikya and they are mentioned one time in the abhidhamma. And the 5 suit of the 5A Rupa fetters are different in the Abhidhamma and in the Samute. Now, that’s really weird, isn’t it? Okay, that they’re different? Not exactly the same. There are some similarities. In fact, the ones that are the most similar would be manna or conceit, restlessness or agitation and ignorance. So these are the three that are similar, but the other two are different. Now, what this actually can mean for you is that if we can take care of the 5 lower or Rupa fetters, then as we’re doing that, we remove the five Arupa, Jhana or Arupa fetters along the way. Now, I have never seen it in any literature where it says that these fetters are associated in the way of the first three fetters that I mentioned are associated with SoTAPON. The fourth and the fifth fetters are associated with the Anagami and the Sotagami. And then the five Arupa fetters are associated with the Arahant. Jesus, have you heard that? That the Arupa rock, the Arupa fetters are associated with the Arahat, and that someone doesn’t work on them until after they become the anagami, which means cleaning up the first five fetters. This would be what I would consider a fallacy in belief. Do you have anything to say, Jesus?

Speaker B: I just thinking I heard. Well, I heard the first. The first three for Sutapana and then they were another one for Sakagami. Yeah, I don’t. I didn’t know about Arupa fetters and the Arupa fetters. Never heard about that, honestly.

Dhammarato: Okay, well, generally, you probably heard of them as lower fetters and higher fetters.

Speaker B: Yes.

Dhammarato: Okay, that’s not the case. They’re not listed as lower and higher. They’re listed as Rupa and Arupa. And so that’s again, one of the problems with Western Buddhism is that they keep changing things. And they’ve made this whole system into a method or a plan of action that doesn’t exist in the suttas anywhere. It doesn’t even exist in the Tripitica anywhere, to be honest with you. Then the way to say it is all these Western teachers, especially those that have never been monks before, they’ve jumped on this bandwagon is that, oh, we’ve got now an unreachable goal that we can set for our students so that we can keep them paying, keep paying customers, keep getting them to support us while we never have to deliver anything. But if you understand what the Buddhist teaching really is all about, is that this freedom, this enlightenment, this Nibbana this, whatever you want to call it, is immediately available. It’s instantly available. All you have to do is to, in this particular moment, come out of those fetters, and that’s all there is to it. The issue though is, is that we’ll find ourselves ignorantly back into it again, and so we have to practice over and over and over and over again, and that there is no goal. Now, the. One of the things that I find quite funny is that the. The hindrance called restlessness and worry is also one of the. A Rupa fetters. Is this not true? Yes. Okay, now here’s the funny thing. The very, very first thing that someone needs to do according to the teaching of the Buddha, is to come out of the hindrances immediately. And yet they’ve got this restlessness packed way up there at the top as if it’s the last thing that you have to do. Now, in that regard, that model that they’re practicing, it’s got a fallacy built right into it. Either that or it’s a different kind of restlessness. And so what they’ll say is, oh, one of them is the actuality of restlessness, and the other one is a seed of restlessness. Okay, the next point is that as we practice to see those hindrances and let’s. Let’s take a moment and talk about the Second Noble Truth. The Second Noble Truth, according to the Mahayana is attachment or clinging is the cause of suffering. But a closer examination of the suttas will reveal, first off is a bad translation of Loba moha Dosa, which is the Pali as lust, greed and ignorance or delusion. Well, if we can see what’s happening in the mind immediately and make a change to it, we come out of our wanting things that we don’t have, which is called greed or lust. And also having to put up with stuff that we don’t want to put up, which is called ill will. If we can see that immediately, we can come out of the Dukkha immediately and go right into the Third Noble Truth immediately. And so there’s then these two different models that you can see. One is the Buddhist model, especially Western Buddhist model, of slow, not so steady progress going to a delusional state. And then there is the model of the Buddha. Come out of your ill will, your le. Greed, your wanting, so that you are in a state of safety, security, comfort and satisfaction immediately, and that. That’s all there is to it. Now, let’s define going back to where we were before with the first Three fetters in the Anapanasati Sutta, where it says that we practice an upon usati for the fulfillment of the satipatthana. It also then in a later place says that we practice the satipatthana for the fulfillment of the Sambojjhanga . The Sambojjhanga is now referred to when we say the sambo. The bow in there is awakening or seeing things clearly. And in this case, the word jhna is actually just the word for factor. And in fact, that’s what the word jhana means when we’re Talking about the 4 JHNAS or 8 JHNAS or 9 JHNAS in states that the Western Buddhist is trying to attain. Those that word jhna actually means kind of factors or states. So the Sambojjhangas has a particular position in that it is directly related to the Eightfold Noble Path in the sense that the Eightfold Noble Path is that which the beginner begins to practice and gain skill in. To where the Sambojjhangas is actually the completion of the Eightfold Noble Path, the Sambojjhanga, the seven factors of enlightenment are actually the fulfillment of the Eightfold Noble Path. And you can see that directly by comparing the two. Because, for instance, sati means to remember, to be here, now to look. And in the Anapanasati sutta, the sambhujana is referred to as unremitting sati. Now, what do we mean by unremitting? Unremitting sati means coming back and coming back and coming back and coming back. So let me give you an example of that with a drum. So here is the drum head and here is the mallet. Okay? If I do this slowly, slowly, slowly approach and then get there. Is that how to play a drum? No, no, it’s not how you play a drum. Well, this is not how you play this, the Sambojjhanga . Now, how about this? You keep coming back and coming back and hitting it and hitting it over and over and over again. This is correct practice. And yet the Western model has. That’s the Western model. I see some smiles there of understanding. Right? That’s the Western model. And that’s how they’re trying to apply these fetters to where the reality is that that’s not the case at all. The Sambojjhanga has that quality of unremitting. It’s kind of like the years ago they had an advertisement on television to advertised Duracell or some battery. And they put it into the. To the battery bunny, the Easter bunny. And what does that Bunny do. He’s hitting that drum. Exactly, exactly. Over and over and over and over and over again. This is the way that we see unremitting as we keep hammering at it and hammering at it and hitting it over and over and over again. Now, if we bring mindfulness or sati up over and over and over again, we begin to see the states of mind that we have. Well, remember that we’ve talked about the states of mind as one of the eight fold noble path items is to see the state of mind that you’re in. So that’s the second one in a row that we have. Unremitting investigation of the states of mind is how it’s actually stated in the sutta. Unremitting investigation of the states will then bring on. If we’re doing it correctly, it brings on the third item, unremitting. And in this case, it’s the word energy. But in the Eightfold noble path, it’s referred to as right noble effort. But when our effort becomes unremitting, then it’s quite energetic. The example that I use is a jack in the box. Let us say that you found an old jack in the box in the garage someplace, and now you’re turning it. You know, something about round the monkey goes, and then pop goes the weasel. Except that when the lid gets loose, the jack doesn’t pop out. You got to go in there and grab that jack by the head and pull him out, sometimes over and over and over again. But when the jack of the box is working correctly, after you turn the crank, pop goes the weasel and the jack pops out. Okay, and I’m giving you that analogy in the sense that in the beginning of practice, it takes effort, but once you’re on a roll, and I use that word specifically as a pun, once you’re on a roll, you don’t have to push so much. Then in fact, you can start pushing the car and it stopped and you’re pushing it and pushing it and it’s hard to get it started. But once you get it moving and get it on a roll, if you stop to wipe your brow now you got to go catch up to the car because it’s rolling with its own energy. Okay, so this is why the third item on the Sambojjhanga is exactly that third item. Because now our effort is unremitting. It doesn’t stop. Why? Because we practiced over and over and over again to put the right effort in, and now the effort comes up immediately in the sense of unremitting mindfulness. You remember to look, and then you have unremitting investigation which then follows by the unremitting right noble effort or energy that in fact, if you understand the Sambojjhanga correctly, you can begin to see exactly how the Buddha set up the Eightfold Noble Path. So once we have the right noble effort in the form of unremitting energy, the next item on the Sambojjhanga is guess what? Does anybody know? Anybody here got the fourth one nailed? How about you, Jesu? You got. You’re muted. Go ahead.

Speaker B: I think.

Dhammarato: Now guess what? In the Pali, quite often, in fact, in normal language, pittisukha is a word that’s together. One of the few places where pity and sukha are broken apart is in the Anapanasati sutta, where we develop the pit, the sukha first and then we develop the pity. Now, what is then the difference? Well, the sukha is actually the satisfaction, and the pity is the sometimes overwhelming joy that you do have that satisfaction. So the piti sukha now becomes unremitting because the energy is unremitting, because our investigation is unremitting, because our Eightfold and oval path, starting with sati, is unremitting. So that this also ties in the Eightfold noble Path with the practice of anapanasati. All of this stuff fits really well together. When you begin to see what’s happening now, the fourth one leads to the fifth one. What is the fifth one? Mikey, do you have a clue about what is the fifth item on the Sambojjhanga ? How about you? Jesus. Anybody got a clue?

Speaker B: My full investigation. I think it’s samadhi.

Dhammarato: No, it’s rest or peacefulness.

Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Dhammarato: And that, that actually goes back then to the Eightfold Noble Path and specifically to the fourth item of Anapanasati, to relax. To relax the body. So when you have unremitted mindfulness, unremitting sati, unremitting investigation, unremitting energy, unremitting pittisukha and unremitting relaxation, we’re pretty well along the path, especially the part about each one of these is listed as unremitting. Keep going. Keep Easter bunnying this stuff. Keep pounding on that place of being free. Now, the next two are samati and upeka. Now let’s talk about samati for a moment because it’s almost always translated incorrectly as concentration, to where samadhi actually means unification of mind or collectiveness. Or let us also talk about it in the sense of a camera, of being in focus, because you’ve got that peace, you’ve got that stability. You can now really see clearly the mind is actually unified. Now with that unification of mind comes that extra part that we talked about before Upeka, which is actually the real middle path of being balanced for everything except in Sambojjhanga . It’s unremitting, it’s unremitting. So you get unremitting, getting your mind together, you have unremitting balance because of all of these other factors. Now the next part of the Anapanasati states that we practice and attain this unremitting mindfulness, unremitting investigation of the states of mind, unremitting effort and energy, unremitting peacefulness, unremitting samati, an unremitting balance. When we have those seven factors, that then leads to does anybody know the answer to the next? What is the actual point of practicing the Sambojjhanga ? What’s Anapanasati to the Satipatthana to the Sambojjhanga leads into what? What is the end of the Anapanosati? Sutta? What’s the end of the great 40 Sutta number 117 is a state called knowledge and deliverance. If you use Bodhisattva, okay? So it means first knowledge. Now if we go back to this, the Saba Asava Sutta, we could see where it says that knowledge is of the first three fetters. That when you can see that in fact this goes back to the eight Pole Noble Path, all the way back to the four Noble Truths. That if you can see Dukkha unremittingly, if you keep seeing it and keep seeing it and keep seeing it over and over again, every time a thought comes up, you investigate that thought and say, hey, that’s Dukkha out of here. If you have that, then you can see immediately what is the source of it. So the way that it can be said is this is Dukkha. This is the source of Dukkha. This is the finish of Dukkha and the Eightfold Noble Path. That’s the method, right? And then the Sabba as of Sutta states, and this is in verse 11, if you want to look it up, that when you have unremitting, when you have the investigation, when you have awareness, when you have attention, wise noble attention to the four Noble Truths, that will bring the end of personality, view, rights, rules and rituals and doubt about what is the path and what is not the path. So the first three fetters then according to the Suttas are related to that knowledge. Part and then fetter number four and five, which is in fact now back to the second Noble Truth of greed and wanting things and ill will, which comes in the form often of anger. That’s the deliverance that if you can see who you actually are, if you can see personality View, if you can see that you constructed your personality from the rights, rules, rituals, the way things supposed to, a map, a plan, everything that you learned from mommy and Daddy, and that the second fetter and the first fetter, the personality View, get bound up together. And when you pull that stuff apart with the Eightfold Noble Path, you recognize the only way to live our life is with this path. If you keep looking, you keep investigating, you keep noticing, and you remove all doubt about what is and what is not the path. And by the way, this statement that I’m saying about what doubt about what is and what is not the path comes from sutta number 24, the chariot race. But it’s made clear there that that’s what doubt is. And then the Sabba Asaba Sutra number two makes the statement is that if you practice the four Noble Truths over and over and over again to the point that they’re unremitting, then you are free from those first three fetters which are then associated with sodapon believing now that the sodapon is the one that has the knowledge about what to practice and how to practice. Now if you know what to practice and how to practice at an unremitting level, then you can go right to directly to Pittisuka and relaxation as opposed to getting stuck in fetter number five and four wanting stuff. Then in fact, you can see that fetter number five and number four are actually back to the second Noble Truth of greed and ill will. And then we see that the first fetter is about knowledge, which is exactly not ignorance, not delusion. Then you can see right there the first five Rupa Jhanas, or excuse me, Rupa Fetters is actually the second Noble Truth, the cause of suffering. And when we are able to finish that, then we have quite a lot going for us. Now, how do the five Arupa Fetters fit in? Well, one can say then that if you observe someone and you’re a skilled observer, and how do you become a skilled observer of other people is becoming becoming a skilled observer of one’s own mind, recognizing that the human mind is basically all just one thing. Brain is brain and training from our family and culture is just training. There are differences in between Muslims and Christians because of the training that they’ve had. But they’re all really basically trained the same way. Wanting something that you don’t have and angry at those people who are not like you and wanting them to join you. So if you see it this way, we’re talking about the eradication of the second Noble Truth. If you eradicate the second Noble Truth, then by not having a cause for dukkha, there is dukkha left. So where do these high arpa jhanas come in? Is that while the rupa jhanas and by the word rupa means physical, that in fact in Thai they refer to as the Buddha statues as Buddha rupa in the sense that it’s a physical thing as opposed to the real Buddha is mental. It’s a rupa. So in this regard, what they’re actually implying is, is that the rupa fetters can be seen. If somebody’s angry, you can see it even if they can’t. If somebody is greedy for something, you can see it even if they can’t. If someone is doubtful and confused, you can see that even if they can’t. If someone is stuck in rights, rules, rituals, supposed to know, it’s supposed to be this way, and I want it to be that way. That’s Personality view and Sila bhatta paramasa, the second fetter. So these can be seen. However, the high five, which they refer to as five is high, is actually the arupa fetters, those that are difficult to see, not easily seen. Because of this, it’s actually quite difficult for anyone. Anyone, especially ordinary Buddhists, especially, especially Western Buddhist. They can’t tell the difference between an anagami and an arahat. Why? Because the stuff is different only in the sense of the arahat actually does not have to deal with this stuff anymore because he’s dealt with it enough. To where the anagami still has blemishes. He still has unwholesome thoughts that he has to eradicate. So let’s look at these five A. Rupert Fetters but before we do, does anybody have any questions about the 5 lower the 5 Rupa fetters? I’ll go over them again. Personality View. Attachments to right rules, rituals, the way things are supposed to be. All of the stuff that you heard from your parents, any learned stuff, and then Personality View. Let’s talk about that for just a moment. In the sense of who am I? Who am. What is your personality? Where does it come from? If you understand that your personality actually comes from your rights, rules and rituals, that when you begin to change your rules when you become, when you start to change the way you see the world is how it ought to be. Guess what? Your personality begins to change. And yet in all of the religions, the old Hindu, the old Christian, the new Christian, the Islam, all of those religions see it as you are fixed. You can’t change. Christianity is really big on this, is that you cannot change yourself. In Romans it says, what good? You’re not good, only God is good. In John it says, oh, you must take Jesus as your savior. You must get forgiveness of your sins because all have sinned and will continue to sin and stay short of the glory of God. Okay, what that means is that the personality, once it’s set, it’s fixed. It goes so far as to be a soul. You can’t change your core, you can’t change your soul. Once you die, your soul will continue. But now it becomes a football on the field of heaven and hell. One goal or the other. And it’s up to God to kick your football whichever way he wants to. So you better suck up. If you don’t suck up to God, your personality is so stuck that you can’t change. But the Buddha says, oh no. In fact, the right way of looking at it is that your personality is not fixed, that you’re a moving target. In fact, the real way of stating it is you can change who you are. You can take the right noble effort to make a change. Instead of staying in disappointment and unhappiness and ordinary worldly stuff. You can have unremitting sukha, unremitting pleasure, unremitting pittisuka. That’s a big change. Up to you if you’re going to make that change. So this is actually why we can begin to see, oh, if I study the four Noble Truths correctly and see that we can in fact change our thought. Then by changing the thought, we change our attitude. By changing our attitude, we change our feeling. By changing our feeling, we begin to relax the body. These are the satipatthana right there. If we can change and relax the body and change our feelings and change our attitude and change our thoughts, then we’re not the same person as the uptight Joe Blow who’s trying to make a name for himself, who was stuck in personality. Okay, so this is what personality, in short is, is that it’s your idea of who you are. And the correct idea of who you are is you’re a moving target. Instead of saying that I’m a German or I’m a Frenchman or I’m a Russian or I’m a Putin or I’m a Democrat, or I’m a loyalist to this religion or that religion. About the only thing that you can say is I’m human. Why? Because everything else in there can change. You’re not a Christian people who, in fact, a lot of people will call themselves ex Christian, which actually means that they still identify as Christian, only they’re not in Christian, they’re beside it, they’re outside of it, but they still identify as Christian by saying they’re ex Christian instead of saying that they’re this or they’re that. Recognize in the issue of personality view, the way that the Buddha says it is that you’re not any of that. In fact, I’m not always human. Sometimes I’m a gorilla, sometimes I’m an invalid, sometimes I’m a this, sometimes I’m a that. I’m a moving target, never the same. So this is real personality view. And then you begin to understand that, oh, well, where did I get that personality? From the beginning? The answer is I made that shit up out of all the stuff that I was told. My mommy defined who I was, my daddy defined who I was, my teachers defined who I was, et cetera, like that. And in fact, if we change our way of looking in the sense of what is right and what is wrong, we begin to change who we are. And if we change enough, we can say that there is no such thing as right or wrong. There’s merely opinions about what is right and what is wrong. What really is real is reality, and reality doesn’t have any good or any bad to it. And that the way that we can come out of these two fetters is by practicing the path to the point that we know for sure what is the correct path and what is not the correct path. Doing it the way that we’ve been doing it is not the correct path. Why? Because you’ve proven to yourself all of these times over and over again that being miserable doesn’t get you out of misery, it just brings more of it. So that’s not the path. And what is the path is unremitting mindfulness, unremitting investigation, unremitting energy, unremitting pitti sukha, unremitting joy. Keep coming back to the joy. Keep being happy. That will bring unremitting peace, which will then, when you’re peaceful, quiet and still, that allows the whole mind, the whole being, your attitude, your feelings, your body, and all your thoughts to congeal into being. Just one thing. But that one thing now is still a moving target to where scatterbrains, they think that, oh, I’m all of those things, or in fact, they’re none of it. So this is the Sambojjhanga in the way of talking about these fetters. And that when we see that we’re not who we thought we were, that we see that the reason that I am who I am and that’s all that I am is because I made that shit up and that I can change it, and that there’s a path and a method to do that. These three things together is real knowledge. And with those, that knowledge, we can see whenever greed comes up, we can see whenever bad feelings come up, we can see that stuff. We’re not ignorant to it anymore. Why? Because we have unremitting mindfulness, unremitting investigation, we can see it. This is in fact what the soda pond really is. Someone who is really so eager to see what’s real, the one who delights in what is real. So you have that quality of delight that Piti Sukha, you have, that quality of unremitting investigation you’re eager to see. And this is what makes the soda pan the actual soda pan is because he is willing at any point in time, in every point in time, to look at his own greed, to look at his own ill will. And so the sodapon doesn’t stay angry for very long. As soon as he catches wind of his own anger, he’s going to put a stop to it. He’s got the energy to do that. So these are where we have the difference in between the sodapon and the sotagami is that the soda pan is already practicing to be a sotagami. So let me put this to you then. Is that the fact that soda panic is a process, it’s a progress, and that the Buddha talks about it in two ways. We have the path and the fruit. So the path would be when someone can see that they can come out of their hindrances, when somebody knows that they can come out of their hindrances just by seeing the hindrances coming out of the hindrances and knows that he can do that and come back. That’s the first path of sodapon. But the fruit of the soda pan is the eagerness and the joy and the delight, being delighted that we’re on the path, that we know what the path is. Without a doubt, we know exactly how to practice. So that’s the fruit of the soda pond. But guess what? The fruit of the soda pond is now the Path of the anagami, it’s the path of the soda of the sotagami. And when we get most of those fourth and fifth feathers released, that is the. The fruit of the sotagami, which is also now the path to the anagami. And so they overlap just like shingles on a rook. If you had shingles on the roof and you had one label soda pot and then you had another shingle labeled Anagami and another one labeled Sotagami and another one, they’re hot. Guess what? You’re going to get rained on underneath. They’ve got to be overlapping. So when you see that it’s overlapping, it’s a process like that, but it’s based upon that quality of knowledge and deliverance. So the knowledge part is the first three lower fetters. And the deliverance is using that knowledge to come out of our greed and our ill will. Now, here’s something that’s very interesting. That the very first day that somebody practices this, isn’t it the case that they’re looking at their hindrance and seeing their own greed, their own ill will, right then and there? So the Sotogami path is actually step one as well as step four and step five. They overlap that much. They stretch really, really far. They stretch so much that in fact, they’re almost not worth having as milestones, because the ordinary mind, the ordinary Western Buddhist mind will put a difference between them. Now, here in Thailand, out on the roads, they do have milestones. If you bicycled or taken a motorbike, you’ll recognize those milestones, especially from a motorbike. Ah, 29 kilometers. Ah, 28 kilometers. They’re little rocks that they paint white and put a number on it. Right. Now, the point is that these milestones, 19 km to Surat than a. 18 km to Surat than a. Like that. Those things are connected together. They only manage to put the rocks there just to help you remember. But the reality is that there is no ditch between rock number 19 and rock number 18. A gulp, an emptiness. Like shingles know they’re overlapping. Then in fact, mile marker number 19, or kilometer 19, melts into 18, and 18 melts into 17. So this is the way to see that progress. But in fact, you can have just a little bit of knowledge and that’ll help you come out of that anger right away. Or you can have full knowledge. And then when you have full knowledge about anger, you’re not likely to stay angry very long. Then in practice would be that the sodapon will get angry and say maybe seven angry words. He’ll get into an argument and argue back and forth about seven times. And after that, he could see it, and I’m out of here. By the time someone reaches this Anagami phase, they only do it one time. Okay, I’ll argue with you for a minute, and then I’m going to stop. I’m not interested in trying to win, not interested in competing with you. And then the Anagami, he can see that argument coming, and he’s going to try to sidestep it to where the Arahant can see it a mile away. And he doesn’t have to step out of the way. He’s already gone. So when we recognize it like that, that it’s all just a process, then we can see that those five lower fetters already have, or the five Rupa fetters already have the five upper fetters built right in. An example of the one that I’ve already given is restlessness. You don’t have to go much into it to see when you’re restless is because you want something. If you don’t want anything, then they’re probably not going to be restless to get it. But sometimes there is anxiety that comes, and we don’t even know what it is. And the reason that we don’t know is because we haven’t watched the thought that happened right before it. And so a momentary, actually a tenth of a second lack of unremitting investigation of states will bring up anxiety. But as soon as the Anagami or the Shotgami sees that anxiety, he’s going to say, aha, I see you, and out you go. So this is the way that we practice the second one that we can look at. Hello, folks. See you, Martin. So the second one that we can look at then is called manna, which is also conceit. Now, what we actually mean by conceit is, I am. Well, we’re back to personality view. Now, the other way of looking at it, in fact, possibly the best way to look at it is that conceit, or manna in Nepali is actually competition. And what do we often compete for? I want to be right. I want to win this conversation. I want to win this argument. Well, if we can see an argument coming a mile ahead, that means then that we’re seeing the invitation to compete with someone, to compare ourselves. Now, the thing about it is that comparison, then always leads to one of two things. It leads to either pride. I win. Or jealousy or envy. He wins and I lose that. In fact, this issue about what is the difference between envy and jealousy does anybody have a working technical definition of the difference between envy and jealousy? Women have a good handle on that. So Martin, what’s your friend’s name? Give her a shot at defining the difference between what is envy and what is jealousy?

Speaker C: She’s thinking about it, but she’s not. Not sure.

Dhammarato: I bet. So does anybody here have a surefire definition of the difference between jealousy? How about you, Carl? How about you, Ben? How about you, Paul? How about you, Mikey? Come on, Mikey, what’s the difference between envy and jealousy? A big point, because that’s part of the distinction between what’s in the abhidhamma in their high five and what’s in the samute Nikaya. So what is the difference? Go ahead, Martin.

Speaker C: I may have a definition. Maybe. Jalousy is when you are afraid of losing something and envy is when you want something you don’t have.

Dhammarato: Woohoo, he got it. That’s exactly right. Yes, yes, that’s it. Jealousy is what the wife has about her husband’s girlfriend and envy is what the girlfriend has for the wife. If you can see it that way, then you see it exactly. Okay, he’s got her, she’s married to him, and I want him. I am envious of her. Okay, so this is what always happens when we compare ourselves is the wife and the girlfriend are there comparing each other. They’re comparing dresses, they’re comparing shoes, they’re comparing their love, they’re comparing anything that they can because they’re stuck in the fact that the other one has won. The wife thinks that the girlfriend has won and the girlfriend thinks the husband has won. Now here in Thailand they’ve got a various kind of unique arrangement. In fact, it’s part of the culture that the wife gets the house and the girlfriend gets the Mercedes, or I guess this year of Tesla. Why? Because the wife stays in the house, she stays put, and the girlfriend can take her car and go out someplace else. But that’s the tradition in Thailand, is that the wife gets the house and the girlfriend gets the wheels. But in the way of looking at it, we don’t want to be either stuck in jealousy or stuck in envy. We want to win, we want to be the husband, we want to have both. This is called pride, all right? And that in Christianity, they’re very, very big on don’t be full of pride. And what is their opposite of pride is humility. You got to humble yourself before the Lord. How many of you heard statements like that? Yeah, you got to be humble. Okay, I’ve heard The song, it’s a country western song where, Lord, it’s really hard to be humble when you’re great in every way, when you’re perfect in every way. And so this is actually that kind of a pride. Now, the Buddha has it different. You could actually say that the Christians would diss the Buddha because he’s not humble at all. He’s a champion. You’ve heard him referred to as a lion. In other places, it’s referred to as a bull. Now, when we’re talking about a bull in the Pali, we’re not talking about a bull who’s a male cow. We’re talking about a bull elephant, a big dude, someone who voices, okay, that the lion roars. The Dhamma, he’s not prideful. He’s sure. The eradication of doubt is what brings this lion’s war, that you’ve got it. You know you’ve got it. You don’t have to compare yourselves with all of those guys who say they’ve got it and then say they don’t. Which is the answer that I have about the recent video. Some people will say they’ve got it, and then upon better investigation, they see that they don’t. It’s better to not claim anything until you’re sure because you have investigated and you know that you know the Dhamma, you know that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt what the actual teachings of the Buddha are. Well, guess what? Again, that’s sewed upon. That’s not Arahat. So why is then mana part of this Hi5 fetters that the Western Buddhism claims as only for the Arahant? Oh, no. We have this all along the way. Now, the last fetter that I want to talk about because it’s getting late, is the fetter of ignorance. Now, basically, we as Westerners are trained by our school system that we’re supposed to know. They give us tests. I had tests in the first grade. I had tests in the second grade. I remember making a great big high score. In fact, the teacher put a great big O, not an A, but an O, saying that my arithmetic was outstanding. That teacher gave me permission to actually like mathematics. She should have given an O outstanding grade to every kid in class, made them all mathematicians. But I was the only one so into my second grade class. I’m the only one that wound up getting a degree in mathematics. Why? Because I was given permission to be very good at it. And here I’m giving you all, each one, permission to be very good at the Dhamma. So that you don’t go around claiming things that you don’t have and then having to retract it later. Be sure now that you know what you’re talking about. And so in that regard, we do not have to worry too much about these high five fetters because we’re already working on them every step along the way. Now this one about the last one, the last one is called ignorance. Well, let’s refer back before we go too deeply into it. What’s the actual deepest cause of Dukkha? Let’s go in fact, and look at the Satip. Excuse me, The Patica Samupata. Mikey, what’s the very first foundational point of the Paticca Samupata?

Speaker D: I’m not sure.

Dhammarato: A jiva. Jiva ajiva. Not knowing. Ignorance. So we start off in ignorance and we wind up. And guess what? Ignorance. You start off not knowing, but you want to know. And because you want to know, you keep piling on information. That piling up of information is called Sankara. That Sankara, as it piles up, becomes our attachments to the way things are supposed to be. Because we learned about how things are supposed to be. Well, guess what? At the end of the journey, we’re still left with ignorance. The Arahant. He may in fact know Pali, but he doesn’t know every dialect of Pali. And he doesn’t know Sanskrit and he doesn’t know Ancient Greek and he doesn’t know Latin. There is no end to ignorance. But there is an end to not liking being ignorant. That in fact we give up our I want to know so that you become comfortable with what you already do know. You’ve got enough. In fact, I’ve got so much knowledge I’ve got maybe 1/10 of 1% of all human knowledge. That’s about how much I’ve got. But as I’m growing older, that’s rotting away too. In fact, some of you can see that I’m haltering, looking for the right word because I’m forgetful. Guess what? It’s okay to forget so long as you’re not forgetting what you need to remember. And that is, everything is okay. Everything is fine. There’s no reason to want anything that I am comfortable and happy and satisfied with the way things are. I’ve got enough. But I’ll never know everything. I’ll always remain mostly ignorant. As much mathematics that I’ve had, I can’t solve all of the the math problems on YouTube, never mind walking into NASA and blowing them away with my math skills can’t do it. We have to understand that we’re someplace in the middle and that middle is a moving target. And this is why ignorance winds up being the last fetter, is when we get used to that we’re ignorant that we’ll never know everything, we’ll never get everything that we want, we’ll never actually stop wanting so long as we want to know. So can you come to the point of being comfortable and happy with what you do know? And in fact the only really thing that you really do need to know are these three things called knowledge, which are the first three betters, not the last tenth better. The first three is what who am I? And we eventually come to the point of I don’t know. I was Dicky boy then, and then I was Luke and now I was Doc, and then I was this and I was that and then I was a dam ratio and now I don’t know what the hell I am. And isn’t that marvelous? We don’t know. The second one is that everything that I did know was about a right, a rule, a ritual supposed to something that should be the way that it is, culture, et cetera, like that. And now we find out that that’s a major source of discomfort and dissatisfaction. It’s better if I just forget politics, if I forget nationalism, if I forget all about this invention and that invention, if I forget all about mathematics, I would be better off. Because as soon as I think I know mathematics, that’s what I’m doing, is I’m comparing myself to other mathematicians, causing myself either pride or envy or jealousy. But if I forget everything about mathematics, if I become ignorant about it, I’m okay. So I welcome you all to just being ignorant. That’s the best state to be in. In fact, you’ve probably heard ignorance is bliss. Guess what? That’s the fact. The fact is that you’re not going to know everything. And what you don’t know is not going to hurt you. It’s what you do think that you do know, that’s what’s going to hurt you. If I know that Tesla is better than Mercedes, then I want a Tesla. If I don’t know the difference between Tesla and Mercedes, I don’t know doesn’t matter. I don’t want either one of them. So that’s the last fetter. The last letter that they have is actually the first fetter ignorance about who I am. So in that regard there is no such thing as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. They don’t last like that, they’re all bound together. And by seeing it as 1 through 10, as a model in Western Buddhism, you’re setting up a system that you’ll never attain. Which is one of the first things that I said. That’s why the Western teachings group so loves that method. It’s because they’re setting something up this impossible, which means their students keep coming back and paying 5, 10, $100 to listen to the 510 Fetters yet again and still not be able to deal with them. Yes.

Speaker B: If some student goes to you talking about the fetters, that what is the best, what you will say to him? Like forget about it completely or no.

Dhammarato: I say watch this video.

Speaker B: Okay, okay, okay.

Dhammarato: Because things are a little bit complicated that I could have said just, you know, just forget about that stuff and left everyone disappointed. Why? Because everyone here wants to know. Well, in the past hour I’ve told you everything you need to know. So stop wanting to know more. You’ve already gotten it all. So that’s what I would say to him, is that get a firm foundation. And what really is the first three fetters? The floor, the Rupa fetters. Because the high feathers, the a Rupa fetters are not mentioned in the suttas anywhere. Only one place in the Samyanakaya and only one place in the Abhidhamma. And they’re not even the same. But you know Western Buddhists, you know Western people, we want a long list. We want step after step after step after step to in fact Israeli only two knowledge and deliverance. Which by the way gives us a very good handle on exactly what the definition of enlightenment is. Because there’s one thing about Western Buddhism is they keep leaving the word enlightenment way up there in that level of ignorance. Everybody’s got their own idea about what is enlightenment. So I’ll give it to you now straight. There’s two kinds of enlightenment. One, to turn the lights on, the light of day, shine a light on it. What is that? That’s seeing that that’s knowledge. And once you see that it’s heavy, you can set it down. That’s the deliverance. So you have light that you shine or you have light because you’ve set down something heavy. Those are the two kinds of enlightenment, which is exactly what the Buddha teaches, knowledge and deliverance. And you do not have to wait five, 10 or 20 years paying 100 or two or $300,000 to get that enlightenment by paying some guru. You can do it right bloody now, right now, and then next Time, do it again and then do it again and then do it again. And so this is why we talk about it as practice. We have to practice. We have to remember to practice this because if we don’t practice it, we don’t develop that skill of sati to remember. And when we are well practiced, we practice unremittingly every time that we think about it. We do it every time you remember, you remember it, you do it right then. But we have to set up a bit of time in a formal sense that we’re going to say, okay, I’m going to set the timer for five minutes or so. And in this time of five minutes, I’m going to remember to look at what I’m doing and make a change. I’m going to actually practice for five minutes. The Eightfold Noble path. But once a day is not enough. We need to do a time after time after time. That in fact the best way of thinking about doing it is taking five minutes every hour. And if you can, take five minutes every hour and remember to practice and remember to look and remember to change and remember to be happy, remember to be sukha, remember to be gladdening the mind, remember to feel good, remember to relax, remember all parts of the four foundation of mindfulness. If we keep practicing, then we begin to fill in the gaps in that hour. And so filling in those gaps so that I remember more and more often to come out of my desire to come out of my want, to come out of my hate, to come out of my ignorance and come into a state of everything’s fine, wow, everything is fine, wow, everything is actually quite good. Reality is the good stuff. I could refer to it as paradise because it’s good. Why? Because I can see it as good. Because I can see it not as good in the sense of good and bad, but it’s good in the sense of skillful, in the sense of wholesome, in the sense of that’s my choice to make. How many people here, if they knew they had the choice between being disappointed and unhappy versus being happy and joyful, which would you choose? That’s your choice, you know, and you remember to make that choice. That’s what formal practice is, is to give us the skill to remember that you’ve got a choice. Every thought. So enough of this. Jesus, let me hear it, man. What you got?

Speaker B: Well, this talk made me a lot of satisfaction and I’m very forgetful. So I have to rewatch it to get it super in my system because I think it was touching all the things I needed to know. Thank you very much.

Dhammarato: Okay. How about you, Luke? Hello, Luke. Yes. What you have to say anything. You turn your camera on but I don’t hear you. When you get your microphone straightened out, just bust right in on us. Martin, you have joined us late. You missed the first part of this, but you’ve gotten quite a lot. So what do you think?

Speaker C: That was very good and I’m looking forward to see the beginning of the video. But it’s already very good. It’s enough.

Dhammarato: Ivan, what about you? You’ve got your hand up, kind of.

Speaker C: Forgotten, but I think I was trying to say that I remember how you often say it’s not about striving but persistence. So just apply it over and over. I’m pretty sure I have something to say, but if I remember I will say.

Dhammarato: Okay. How about you, Carl?

Speaker C: Nothing to it to be honest.

Dhammarato: Nothing. You’ve probably heard all of this before. There’s really nothing to it. Basically what we’re talking about is that once you see that you’re not who you thought you were and that who you thought you were was actually just about a set of standards, rules and rituals and now you know for sure that the path out of that, the path of joy is the eight vulnerable path. That’s all there is to it. There’s nothing to it. That’s your knowledge. Carwan. Go ahead, Ivan.

Speaker C: Oh no, I was going to say I have a very quick question. It’s just basically before this call I was like in some very subtle ignorance or dissatisfaction. I don’t know what it is but basically hindrance. But the moment I hear you say something, I mean I hear it a lot of times but I hear it again, it’s like instantly, it’s just like, okay, I know what like this instant satisfaction. I guess I’m just curious what is happening. It’s like the moment I hear you say this, it’s like, yeah, I know this already. Like the self doubt just go away so quickly like it’s crazy.

Dhammarato: That’s a good reason why to come on these video talks so that you can remember that you’ve already got everything you need. Yeah, yeah, you’ve already got it. All you have to do is remember that you’ve got it. That’s the worthwhileness of the practice is practices formally. I’ve got everything I need over and over and over again. And pretty soon you begin to see that really deeply. Yes. That you’re already okay. Yes. So Christopher, what have you got? Hi. I don’t know.

Speaker C: I. I mean, I. I think I will just continue to not pay too.

Dhammarato: Much attention to fetters and perfections and stream enterers versus our hots. And.

Speaker C: I don’t know, doesn’t have my curiosity too much.

Dhammarato: It’s the sunset right now. I’m gonna go sit. I’m gonna go sit and watch it get dark. I’m gonna go show the toilet. I’m gonna go watch it get dark. Thank you, guys. All right, Carwan, you have. Go ahead. I have enjoyed it a lot, man. I’m just starting to actually to read.

Speaker C: About the fetters, and I was surprised.

Dhammarato: About what you said, that some of those fetters are not even maybe in.

Speaker C: The suttas, and that basically we have made it up. Some people before us have made the model up.

Dhammarato: And I’m curious to know in the.

Speaker C: Time of Buddha, whether he has taught it in those. Because you said five of them were not in the.

Dhammarato: In the suttas, if I understood it correctly. And so who have made them up? The guys who wrote the Abhidhamma that was written three or four hundred years after the Buddha. The guys who wrote the Samute Nikaya actually came centuries after the Buddha. The Samute Nikaya is generally talked about as being written somewhere around the time of a soak, and definitely the Dinga Nikaya was written during the time of Emperor Asok. So we’re talking about a hundred years or more after the Buddha. And the Samuda Nikaya is basically just a collection. It’s just a collection of all the stuff that was already said. The oldest stuff is in the Sutra Napata, the Udana and the Majumanakaya. All of that’s at the time of the Buddha. Everything else, the Ankara, much of the Kuman and Nakaya, and for sure the Abhidhamma, and absolutely the Vasudi Maga is hundreds and hundreds of years after the Buddha, which means you’ve got hundreds and hundreds of viewpoints being added to the actual teachings of the Buddha, which were quite simple. So we’ve been running along about an hour and a half now. Mikey, why don’t you take this thing home?

Speaker D: Okay. Thank you, everyone, for being here today. This was a splendid Sangha call. Nice to see happy faces and hear the Buddha Dhamma. If you’re watching this on YouTube, go ahead and check out OpenSongA foundation.org you can make a profile, make new friends, find Watts. There’s all sorts of resources and fun things to play with on the website. We also have, you know, these Skype calls. We have Skype groups. We have a Sangha UK and Asanga US that you can join and come chat with us and join these calls. And we also have a new Skype group called One on One Dhamma Calls, where you can schedule and set up a call with Domino or one of the other seasoned practitioners in our Sangha.

Dhammarato: Yes, seasoned is the right word for me. I’m pepper.

Speaker D: I’m a little salty.

Dhammarato: You’re a little salty. Okay. Well, thank you very much. So, everybody, thank you for joining.

Speaker B: Thank you very much.

Dhammarato: We’ll see you later. Be sure to jungle. Be sure to get on the website, open Sangha foundation, post on the groups. Post a post. In fact, write something up. Tell us about yourself. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy changing yourself.

Speaker C: Hey, maybe this is not the place.

Dhammarato: For this, but I did try to post to follow up or comment on something on the forums there once and it never came through. I think it’s a permission issue. I’m not sure. You guys talk to Mikey about it.

Speaker C: Okay?

Dhammarato: All right, talk to you later. All right, thank you, guys.

Outline of this Dhamma Talk

I. Introduction (0:04 - 0:30)

• Setting the Scene: Dhammarato begins by noting the time and framing the session as a kind of “Sunday morning worship service” (0:04-0:17), but playfully emphasizes the difference in his spelling of worship as “warship” (0:21-0:27). This immediately sets a tone of casual yet intentional learning.
• Topic Introduction: He announces the topic as the “10 Fetters,” (0:33) specifically as a model for understanding Buddhist practice.

II. Defining Fetters (0:30 - 2:27)

• Multiple Terms: Dhammarato explains that the concept of “fetters” is expressed using different words in the suttas: “Asava” and “Kilesa” (0:48-0:57).
• Kilesa (Fetters): He explains that “Kilesa” translates to “fetter,” a 17th-18th century word meaning “bondage” (1:02-1:23) such as “a ball and chain,” handcuffs,” or tying a dog to a tree.
• Asava (Pox): “Asava,” on the other hand, is likened to a “pox,” “blackhead,” or “cyst” (1:32-1:45) that is an “irregularity that can be cut out.”
• Analogy of Blackheads: He uses the analogy of pushing out blackheads (1:45 - 2:14) one by one to show how one might not notice much progress, but with persistence and consistency the face will clear up.
• Relationship Between kilesa and Asava: He points out that “fetters” (kilesa) and “asava” (pox) are very closely related (2:20-2:27)

III. Rupa and Arupa Fetters (2:27 - 3:07)

• Five Rupa Fetters: Dhammarato introduces the idea of “five Rupa fetters” (2:31 - 2:47) (“Rupa” referring to the physical), which are commonly referred to as “lower fetters.”
• Five Arupa Fetters: He introduces “five Arupa fetters” (2:47-2:53) (“Arupa” referring to the formless), commonly known as “higher fetters” in Western Buddhism.
• Misconception of Lower and Higher: He points out that the use of the terms “lower” and “higher” leads to much confusion and is not found in the original suttas (2:53 - 3:07).

IV. The Three Lower Fetters and the Eightfold Path (3:07 - 4:30)

• Significance of the Lower Fetters: He states that the first three “lower” fetters are a significant topic in the suttas (3:11-3:25).
• Western Buddhism’s Misinterpretation: Dhammarato critiques how Western Buddhism often sees these first three fetters as tied only to the Sotapanna stage, a common misconception, rather than seeing them more broadly in conjunction with the rest of the path. (3:29-3:46).
• Integration with Eightfold Path and Anapanasati Sutta: He ties the fetters to the practice of Anapanasati Sutta and the four foundations of mindfulness (Satipatthana) and the Eightfold Path (4:05-4:30)

V. The First Three Fetters (5:46 - 6:43)

• Personality View: The first fetter is the “understanding [of] personality view” (6:00-6:02), which involves our deeply ingrained sense of self and identity.
• Attachment to Rules and Rituals: The second fetter is “Sila-vrata-paramarsa” (6:02-6:22), which is translated as attachment to rules, rituals, laws, and “supposed-to’s” and “ought-to’s”.
• Doubt: The third fetter is “doubt” (6:26-6:30) about what is the correct path or way of practice (6:30-6:43).

VI. Western Buddhism’s Misinterpretations (6:43 - 7:32)

• Misunderstanding of Rights, Rules, and Rituals: Dhammarato argues that Western Buddhism has turned rights, rules, and rituals into rules rather than seeing them as aids to practice (7:01-7:13).
• Emphasis on Structure and Milestones: He critiques Western Buddhism for seeking a structured, step-by-step approach and milestones, which is not how the suttas are presented (7:13-7:28).

VII. Arupa Fetters and their Limited Mention in Sutras (7:32-8:22)

• Rupa Fetters in the Sutras: Dhammarato explains that the five Rupa fetters are mentioned in various suttas (7:32-7:46).
• Limited Arupa Mention The Arupa fetters, however, are only mentioned once in the Samyutta Nikaya and once in the Abhidhamma (7:46-8:03).
• Discrepancies in the Arupa lists The Arupa fetters are not even listed the same way in the two texts that do mention them (8:03-8:22)

VIII. The Relationship Between Rupa and Arupa Fetters (8:55-9:25)

• Interconnectedness: Dhammarato argues that by dealing with the five Rupa fetters, we simultaneously remove the five Arupa fetters along the way (8:58-9:25).
• Disagreement with common western Buddhist views Dhammarato states that he has never seen it written that the Arupa fetters are only worked on after the Rupa fetters are completely done.

IX. The Fallacy of Western Buddhist “Milestones” (9:25 - 10:36)

• Sotapanna, Anagami, Arahant Model: He criticizes the common Western Buddhist model of linking the fetters to fixed stages (Sotapanna, Anagami, Arahant), implying that the Arupa fetters are only addressed by the Arahant (9:30 - 10:17) which he considers a fallacy.
• Western Buddhism as a “Bandwagon”: He accuses some Western teachers of jumping on the bandwagon and setting up “unreachable goals” to keep students paying for their services (11:46-12:18).

X. The Immediate Availability of Freedom (12:18 - 12:48)

• Freedom is Now: Dhammarato emphasizes that liberation, enlightenment, and “Nibbana” are immediately available in the present moment (12:18-12:38) by understanding and coming out of the fetters.
• The Need for Continuous Practice: The challenge, he states, lies in our tendency to fall back into ignorance and the need for continuous practice (12:48-13:04).

XI. Restlessness and Worry (13:04 - 14:21)

• Restlessness as an Arupa Fetter: He points out that “restlessness and worry,” often considered the last Arupa fetter, is a hindrance that needs to be addressed at the very beginning of practice (13:04-13:30).
• Fallacy of the Model: He highlights the fallacy in the Western Buddhist model of placing restlessness at the top of the fetters as the last thing to work on. (13:30-14:21)

XII. Second Noble Truth and Dukkha (14:21 - 16:31)

• Second Noble Truth: Dhammarato reframes the second noble truth (14:21-14:43). While commonly interpreted as “attachment” being the cause of suffering, a closer look reveals “Loba Mosa Dosa” or lust/greed, ill will and delusion (14:43-15:12).
• Greed and Ill-Will: These are wanting things that we don’t have or having to deal with things that we don’t want to deal with.
• Immediate Freedom from Dukkha: By seeing what’s happening in our mind immediately and making a change, we can immediately come out of dukkha, thereby going right into the third noble truth (15:12-15:46).
• Western Buddhism’s Slow Progress vs Buddha’s Immediacy: He contrasts the Western model of slow progress to a delusional state with the Buddha’s model of immediate freedom (15:46-16:31)

XIII. Sambojjhangas and the Eightfold Path (16:31 - 18:20)

• Anapanasati Sutta and Sati-Patthana: He links the practice of Anapanasati Sutta, the Sati-Patthana (Four Foundations of Mindfulness), and the Sambojjhangas (Factors of Enlightenment) (16:31-17:00).
• Sambojjhangas as Factors: Dhammarato states that Jhana means “factors” or “states,” not attainment (17:00-17:29).
• Eightfold Path as a Beginner’s Path: He explains that the Eightfold Path is a beginner’s path, and the Sambojjhangas are its completion (17:38-18:20).

XIV. The Importance of Unremitting Practice (18:20 - 20:33)

• Sati (Mindfulness) as Unremitting: He highlights that the Sambojjhanga Sati is “unremitting” mindfulness, meaning consistent, repeated effort (18:20-18:48).
• Drum Analogy: He uses the analogy of repeatedly hitting a drum (18:48-19:33) to illustrate unremitting practice as opposed to a slow methodical approach.
• Western Model of Slow and Steady: He says the Western Model of working through the fetters slowly is incorrect (19:33-20:03)
• Duracell Battery Analogy: He relates unremitting practice to the Duracell Bunny (20:03-20:33) repeatedly hitting the drum.

XV. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment (20:33 - 28:31)

• Unremitting Investigation: Unremitting mindfulness (Sati) leads to unremitting investigation of the states of mind (20:33-21:31).
• Unremitting Energy: Unremitting investigation leads to unremitting energy (right effort) (21:31-23:14)
• Analogy of Jack-in-the-Box: He uses the analogy of a Jack-in-the-Box to illustrate the difference between beginning efforts and effortless momentum (21:49-23:30).
• Unremitting Piti and Suka Unremitting energy then leads to unremitting Suka and Piti (Joy and Satisfaction) (24:15-25:16).
• Unremitting Relaxation He then states that unremitting Joy leads to unremitting relaxation (25:50-27:01)
• Unremitting Samadhi (Unification of Mind): Relaxation then leads to the unremitting unification of the mind (27:01-28:21).
• Unremitting Upekkha (Equanimity): Unification of the mind then leads to unremitting balance, or Upekkha (28:02-28:31).

XVI. Knowledge and Deliverance (28:31 - 33:41)

• Completion of Anapanasati Sutta: He states that the practice of the sambojjanga is the completion of the Anapanasati Sutta and that it leads to knowledge and deliverance (28:31 - 29:46).
• Knowledge as the Eradication of the First Three Fetters: He says that the knowledge is about the first three fetters (Personality View, Rules and Rituals, and Doubt).
• Deliverance as Freedom from Greed and Ill-Will: The deliverance is about coming out of greed and ill will. (31:51-33:41).
• Sotapanna’s Knowledge: The Sotapanna has this knowledge (33:33-33:41).

XVII. Rupa and Arupa Fetters Revisited (33:41 - 38:17)

• Rupa Fetters as the Second Noble Truth: The Rupa fetters are linked back to the second noble truth, the cause of suffering (34:11-34:35).
• Observation and Skillful Observation: The Arupa fetters are more difficult to see, requiring a skilled observer. Skillful Observation is developed by observing one’s own mind (34:44 - 35:06).
• Training and Culture: Dhammarato states that all minds are basically the same; training from family and culture are what makes them different (35:16-35:35).
• Arupa Fetters are Difficult to See: The Rupa fetters, being more physical, are easier to see (e.g. anger, greed, doubt, adherence to rules) whereas the Arupa fetters are more subtle (36:37-37:32).
• Western Buddhist Misunderstanding of Arupa: This is why ordinary Buddhists often cannot tell the difference between a Anagami and an Arahant (37:32-38:17).

XVIII. The First Three Fetters in Detail (38:17 - 45:11)

• Recap of the Rupa Fetters: Dhammarato briefly reviews the first three fetters (38:17-38:41).
• Personality View: He elaborates on personality view, emphasizing that it is not fixed. Rather, it is constructed from our adherence to rights, rules, and rituals. (38:41-40:16)
• Change in Personality: Changing those rules and rituals leads to a change in personality (40:16-40:31).
• Buddhism’s view of a “Moving Target”: He states that personality is a moving target. In fact, the only true identity you have is “human.” (40:43-42:51)
• Source of Personality: He states that your personality is something you “made up” based on what you were told by family and teachers (43:51-44:12).
• Right and Wrong: When we can see that the idea of “right” and “wrong” are simply opinions, we begin to see the path. (44:12-44:44)
• Unremitting Practice: He ties unremitting mindfulness, investigation, and energy back to the path. (45:11)

XIX. Unremitting Practice and the Benefits of Sotapanna (45:11 - 47:56)

• Practice Leads to Freedom from Fetters Through unremitting practice we free ourselves from the first three fetters.
• Unremitting Practice and the Eightfold Path: By practicing the Eightfold Path we realize that being miserable does not get you out of misery and we cultivate unremitting mindfulness, investigation, energy, and joy (piti/suka).
• Sotapanna as Delighted in Reality: He states that the Sotapanna delights in what is real, with the eagerness to see (46:51-47:30).
• Sotapanna’s Speed in Addressing Negative States: The Sotapanna can address anger more quickly than before (47:30-47:56).

XX. The Process of the Paths and Fruits (47:56 - 50:31)

• The Paths and Fruits: He explains the difference between the path and the fruit of practice. The path is to see that one can come out of hindrances, and the fruit is the joy of knowing the path (47:56-48:46)
• Overlapping Stages: He describes the overlap between the stages of Sotapanna, Anagami, Sakadagami, and Arahant, using the analogy of shingles on a roof (48:48-49:32).
• The Process of Practice He restates that all of this is a process that is based on knowledge and deliverance (49:32-50:31).

XXI. The Overlapping Nature of the Paths (50:31 - 52:15)

• Milestones as a Reminder: The different stages (Sotapanna, Sakadagami, Anagami) are milestones that are all connected, not separate. (50:31 - 51:33).
• Overlapping Paths: He stresses the overlapping nature of these paths (51:33-52:15).
• The Stages of Anger: He uses an example of how one addresses anger at different levels of practice (Sotapanna, Anagami, Arahant) (52:15-52:59).

XXII. The Arupa Fetters in Context (52:59 - 54:16)

• Arupa Fetters are Built-in: He reiterates that the five Rupa fetters already have the five Arupa fetters built-in (52:59-53:08).
• Restlessness Revisited: Restlessness is revisited as an example. He states that if you don’t want anything you won’t be restless (53:21 -53:41) but that anxiety can happen if you aren’t mindful in the moment.
• Addressing Anxiety: The anagami and arot will immediately address that anxiety (53:41-54:16)

XXIII. Arupa Fetter: Conceit (Mana) (54:16 - 57:41)

• Mana as Competition: Conceit is reinterpreted as competition (54:32-54:57).
• Comparison Leads to Pride or Envy: He says that comparing oneself leads to pride or envy and jealousy (55:15-55:33).
• Difference Between Envy and Jealousy: Martin’s definition of the difference between envy (wanting what others have) and jealousy (fear of losing what you have) is discussed. (55:33-57:07)
• Examples of Envy and Jealousy: The example of the wife and girlfriend is used to highlight envy vs jealousy (57:07-57:41).

XXIV. Pride and the Lion’s Roar (57:41 - 61:31)

• Pride and Humility: The Christian idea of pride as negative is contrasted to the Buddhist view. (58:57-59:27)
• Buddha as Lion, Not Prideful: Dhammarato states that Buddha is a “lion” and not humble, but sure and strong in what he knows (59:27-60:30)
• Certainty Through Investigation: That certainty comes from the eradication of doubt about the Buddha’s teachings (60:30-61:31).

XXV. Arupa Fetter: Ignorance (61:31 - 66:50)

• Western Training to “Know”: Dhammarato says we are trained in the West to know and to excel (61:31-62:36)
• Permission to be Good at Dharma: The speaker gives everyone permission to be very good at Dharma, so that they do not claim things they don’t have, only to have to retract them later.
• Ignorance as the First Fetter: He connects ignorance back to the first fetter. (63:11-64:07).
• The Cycle of Ignorance: Our desire to know leads to more and more information (Sanara), which leads to more attachment to the way we think things “should” be.
• Comfort with Ignorance: While there will always be some ignorance, we should become comfortable with what we already know (64:47-65:10).
• Contentment with Enough: He says that he is content with the knowledge he has, even though it is only 10% of the human collective knowledge (65:10-65:25).
• The Last Fetter is Ignorance: Dhammarato states that the last fetter is ignorance because we must become content with the knowledge we already have.

XXVI. The Final Message (66:50 - 70:16)

• The Most Important Knowledge: He says the most important things to know is who you are (that you are a moving target), that everything you knew came from rules and rituals, and that a path exists out of these fetters (66:50-67:34).
• Forgetting the Rules and Rituals: Forgetting the “rules” that cause us suffering leads to freedom from them (67:34-68:29)
• Comfort with Being Ignorant: That being comfortable with ignorance is the best state to be in (68:29-69:11)
• The Last Fetter is the First That the last fetter is actually the first, the ignorance of who I am (69:11-69:23)
• Western Model is Flawed: He reiterates that the Western model of 1-10 is not accurate and sets people up for failure.

XXVII. Knowledge and Deliverance, Re-Defined (70:16 - 73:01)

• Advice to Students: Dhammarato tells a hypothetical student to watch this video to understand the fetters rather than try to grasp them as an intellectual concept (70:18-70:30).
• The Importance of the Rupa Fetters: He emphasizes the significance of the Rupa fetters because the Arupa fetters are barely mentioned in the suttas (71:05-71:35).
• Enlightenment as Knowledge and Deliverance: He redefines enlightenment as knowledge (seeing/understanding) and deliverance (letting go) (71:35-72:34).
• Enlightenment is Immediate: He states you can attain this enlightenment now and you don’t have to wait years for it (72:34-73:01).

XXVIII. The Need for Practice (73:01 - 75:39)

• The Need for Practice: Dhammarato emphasizes the need for constant practice to remember the truth (73:01-73:20)
• Skill of Sati: You must practice to develop the skill of Sati.
• Formal Practice: He recommends setting aside a time for formal practice (five minutes every hour), or more if you can. In that practice one should be actively looking, investigating, changing, feeling good, relaxing, and remembering all four foundations of mindfulness (73:35-74:28).
• Filling in the Gaps: Constant practice will fill in the gaps in one’s memory throughout the day (74:28-74:51).
• Reality as Skillful: We must come out of ignorance and see that everything is good because it is reality. The choice is ours (74:51-75:39)

XXIX. Closing Remarks (75:39 - 84:46)

• Reactions from Participants: A few participants share their thoughts and questions (75:39-77:41).
• The Importance of Memory: The speaker stresses that a lot of this material may have to be listened to more than once (76:02-76:11).
• Everything You Need is Within: Dhammarato states that everything you need is already within (79:08-79:21).
• The Simplicity of the Practice: Carl, in his brief remarks, states that once you realize that you are not who you thought you were, and that the path to freedom is the Eightfold Path, that’s all there is to it.
• Knowledge and Deliverance: The speaker re-iterates the need to have the knowledge of who we are, and that we can then deliver ourselves from the suffering of that illusion (78:01-78:25).
• Recap of Fetter Model: One of the participants was surprised to find out that some of the Arupa fetters aren’t even in the sutras, and wonders where they came from. (80:37-81:15)
• Historical Origins of Sutras and Abhidhamma: Dhammarato explains that the Abhidhamma and Samyutta Nikaya were written centuries after the Buddha, whereas the oldest suttas were written during his time. (81:15-82:30)
• Call to Action: He encourages everyone to explore the opanga foundation website, make friends, and participate in the community (82:30-84:46).
• Practical Advice: He offers practical advice in how to join one of the Skype groups or book a one-on-one call with him. (82:30-84:46).

How to Put This Into Practice

This is a practical guide on how to implement the teachings given in the transcript. The key is to move from intellectual understanding to experiential realization:

A. Understand the Core Concepts

1. Dukkha as Dissatisfaction, Not Just Suffering: Recognize that dukkha isn’t just extreme pain, but the subtle unease and dissatisfaction that underlies much of our experience. It’s the feeling of things not being quite right.
2. The Fetters as Bondages: Understand that the “fetters” are mental and emotional habits that bind us to this dissatisfaction. They are things that keep us from truly seeing the truth.
3. Rupa vs. Arupa: See “Rupa” fetters as visible, surface-level manifestations of discontent (e.g., anger, greed) and “Arupa” fetters as subtle, underlying patterns (e.g., restlessness, pride).
4. Western Buddhist model as a fallacy Understand that the Western Buddhist model of a 1-10 system of fetters to be worked on in a linear way is a fallacy.

B. Practice Continuous Self-Observation (Sati)

1. Cultivate Unremitting Mindfulness: Throughout your day, aim for unremitting mindfulness (sati). This doesn’t mean perfect, constant focus, but consistent effort to notice the thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations that occur.
   • Practical Step: Set a timer for 5 minutes (or 10, depending on what feels right for you) every hour, and commit that time to noticing what’s happening in the body and mind.
2. Investigate: Notice the contents of the mind. Investigate those feelings, attitudes, and thoughts. Don’t get caught up in them, just notice.
3. Recognize Dukkha: See the subtle dissatisfaction that arises when you are not in a state of peace and joy. When you notice a negative feeling, thought, or attitude, consciously acknowledge “This is dukkha”.
4. Investigate the Source: Ask yourself, “What is the cause of this dukkha?” Notice if it’s greed (wanting), ill-will (not wanting) or delusion.

C. Implement the Eightfold Path in Every Moment

1. Right View: Develop a clear understanding that dukkha is rooted in our attachments and ignorance, rather than external circumstances. Start by recognizing that personality is a construct based on “rights”, “rules”, and “rituals” taught by culture and family.
2. Right Thought: Cultivate thoughts of compassion, generosity, and wisdom. Recognize thoughts that lead to suffering and consciously change them to thoughts that lead to well-being.
3. Right Speech: Be mindful of the words you use. Use words that are kind, truthful, and helpful.
4. Right Action: Act in ways that are ethical, kind, and compassionate. If an action leads to suffering, don’t do it.
5. Right Livelihood: Earn your living in a way that doesn’t harm others or the environment. If your livelihood is rooted in a bad ethic, choose another.
6. Right Effort (Energy): Engage in wholesome activities with enthusiasm and dedication. When you find yourself exerting extra effort at the beginning of practice, see that as a sign that that effort will soon transform into unremitting energy.
7. Right Mindfulness: Continuously observe the changing nature of your mind and body (as outlined in B.).
8. Right Concentration: Develop the ability to focus your mind with ease and stability.

D. Overcome Specific Fetters

1. Personality View (Sakkaya-ditthi): Recognize that your personality is a shifting construct, not a fixed entity. It is a “moving target.” The only real identity you have is human.
   • Practical Step: Challenge any rigid idea you have about yourself. Ask: “Where did this idea come from?”
2. Attachment to Rites and Rituals (Sila-vrata-paramasa): Question your attachments to rules, rituals, and fixed ways of doing things.
   • Practical Step: Notice any “should” statements you tell yourself (“I should eat this,” “I should be like this.”) Question where this “should” came from, and if it really serves you.
3. Doubt (Vicikiccha): Cultivate confidence in the path by seeing its effects in your own life. Do this by applying the path and noticing the results.
   • Practical Step: When doubt arises, don’t ignore it. Ask yourself if the path is working, and use your own experience to find the answers.
4. Sense Desire and Ill Will: When you see the desire for something that is not there, or the ill will for something that is present, recognize it for what it is (a fetter). Come out of that feeling immediately and choose a path of well-being.
   • Practical Step: Remind yourself that desiring what is not there or rejecting what is there is a choice. Choose not to want or reject, but to see things as they are.
5. Restlessness: Address the feeling of restlessness as soon as it comes up, rather than pushing it off to be addressed later in the practice.
   • Practical Step: When restlessness arises, find out what it is you want. If you find yourself wanting something, remind yourself that you already have everything you need.
6. Conceit (Mana): Recognize the tendency to compare yourself to others. Understand that comparison leads to pride, envy and jealousy, and these are not skillful qualities.
   • Practical Step: When you notice yourself being competitive or feeling envious, remind yourself that you have nothing to prove to anyone, you are enough as you are.
7. Ignorance (Avijja): Accept that you will never have complete knowledge of everything. The most important thing to realize is that the real ignorance is not knowing who you are, and being attached to the rules and rituals that cause suffering. The most important part of this is to become content with what you already know.
   • Practical Step: Stop striving for more knowledge, and find comfort with what you know. Focus on the quality of the knowledge rather than the quantity.

E. Cultivate the Sambojjhangas

1. Mindfulness (Sati): Continuously return to the present moment through observation.
2. Investigation (Dhamma-vicaya): Investigate the nature of your experiences, looking for patterns and insights.
3. Energy (Viriya): Apply consistent, enthusiastic effort to your practice.
4. Joy/Satisfaction (Piti/Sukha): Cultivate a sense of joy and satisfaction by understanding that the path is open to you.
5. Tranquility/Relaxation (Passadhi): Allow your body and mind to relax with the joy you cultivate.
6. Concentration (Samadhi): Unify your mind by focusing on the present moment.
7. Equanimity (Upekkha): Develop a balanced, non-reactive attitude to whatever arises.

F. Shift from Striving to Unremitting Practice

1. Embrace the Process: View the journey as a continuous practice rather than a series of fixed goals. There is no “destination.” The point is to keep practicing.
2. Focus on Being, Not Becoming: Concentrate on how your practice is making you feel now, rather than on a future state of attainment.
3. Unremitting effort: Keep coming back to the practice. Don’t strive, rather, just keep coming back.

G. Immediate Liberation

1. The Present Moment: Remember that freedom is always available in the present moment.
2. Knowledge and Deliverance: Seek knowledge of the first three fetters, and then use that knowledge to deliver yourself from greed and ill-will in the moment. This is freedom.

H. Community and Support

1. Engage with Others: Join the Open Sangha Foundation or other Buddhist groups to practice and learn with others.
2. Ask for Help: Seek out experienced practitioners if you need help.

Important Notes:

• Individual Pace: Adapt these practices to your own experience. There is no right or wrong way to practice, you must discover your own path.
• No Milestones: Do not create milestone to try to attain. Release all the “should’s” that you have created for yourself.
• Simplicity: This is not a complicated system. It is simply about seeing and understanding.

By integrating these principles into your daily life, you can move beyond mere intellectual understanding and experience the freedom that Dhammarato describes.

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