The fetters model

• Should I pay Michael Stroe to help me break aversion?
• https://www.simplytheseen.com/

Why do I believe in the fetters model?

• I had a ~stream entry experience
• From gemini:

The Irreversible Consequence: The Severing of the First Three Fetters

The power of this direct insight is that it permanently severs the first three of the ten fetters that bind a person to the cycle of suffering:

1. Personality Belief (sakkāya-diṭṭhi): While old habits of thinking in terms of “I” and “mine” may still arise, the underlying belief in a permanent self is destroyed. The Stream-enterer knows, with a certainty that cannot be shaken, that there is no core entity to be found.
2. Sceptical Doubt (vicikicchā): Doubt about the core truths of the Buddha’s teaching vanishes. This is not blind faith but a confidence born from direct experience. The practitioner now knows for themselves that the path is true and leads to liberation.
3. Attachment to Rites and Rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāsa): The mistaken view that salvation can be gained through the mere performance of rituals or adherence to rules is abandoned. While the Stream-enterer continues to live ethically, they understand that it is the cultivation of wisdom, not the external practice itself, that liberates.

The Subjective Experience and Aftermath

For the individual, the experience brings about a profound psychological shift:

• A Sense of Relief and Joy: There is often a feeling of immense relief, peace, and a quiet joy. It’s described as setting down a burden one didn’t even realise one was carrying.
• Unshakable Faith (Saddhā): Their confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma (his teachings), and the Sangha (the community of enlightened ones) becomes absolute.
• Ethical Integrity: A Stream-enterer becomes incapable of intentionally committing acts that would lead to a rebirth in the lower realms (hells, animal realm, or ghost realm). Their commitment to ethical conduct (sīla) becomes natural and spontaneous.
• A New Baseline: The world may look the same externally, but the inner landscape has fundamentally changed. The constant, subtle anxiety of ego-defence is gone, replaced by a deep-seated sense of security and purpose.

In summary, the Stream-entry experience is less a mystical vision and more a moment of radical clarity. It is the point where the intellectual map of the Dhamma becomes a directly perceived, living reality. It is the definitive turning point from which there is no going back, guaranteeing one’s eventual and final release from all suffering.

What is the fetters model?

The Ten Fetters: A Gradual Path to Freedom

The ten fetters are not merely abstract concepts but are deeply rooted in our everyday experience, manifesting as unwholesome thoughts, emotions, and views. The path to their eradication is a gradual one, with each stage of enlightenment marking the permanent removal of specific fetters.

The Five Lower Fetters (Orambhāgiya-samyojanāni): These are the more coarse and fundamental hindrances that tie one to the sensuous realms of existence. Their abandonment marks a significant turning point in one’s spiritual journey.

(The first 3 are fully broken with stream entry)

1. Sakkāya-diṭṭhi (Personality Belief): This is the fundamental belief in a permanent, unchanging self or soul. It is the deep-seated “I” or “mine” consciousness that gives rise to egoism and attachment.
2. Vicikicchā (Sceptical Doubt): This refers to crippling doubt and uncertainty about the Buddha, his teachings (Dhamma), and the community of enlightened ones (Sangha). It is a lack of conviction that hinders committed practice.
3. Sīlabbata-parāmāsa (Attachment to Rites and Rituals): This is the mistaken belief that mere adherence to rules, rituals, or ceremonies can lead to liberation, without the cultivation of genuine wisdom and compassion.

4 and 5 are significantly broken when you are a once-returner (2nd path), fully broken when you’re a non-returner (3rd path)

1. Kāma-rāga (Sensual Desire): This is the craving for and attachment to the pleasures experienced through the five senses. It is the powerful pull towards gratifying sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and physical sensations.
2. Vyāpāda (Ill Will): This encompasses all forms of aversion, from subtle irritation and resentment to intense hatred and anger. It is the mind’s tendency to push away or destroy what is perceived as unpleasant.

4th path (arahant)

The Five Higher Fetters (Uddhambhāgiya-samyojanāni): These are more subtle and refined attachments that bind one to the higher, non-sensuous realms of existence and are the final veils obscuring full enlightenment.

6. Rūpa-rāga (Craving for Form-Realm Existence): This is the desire for rebirth in the fine-material worlds, realms of meditative absorption (jhāna) where the experience of gross sensual pleasure is absent but a subtle attachment to form remains.
7. Arūpa-rāga (Craving for Formless-Realm Existence): Even more subtle, this is the desire for rebirth in the formless realms, which correspond to even deeper states of meditation where all perception of form has ceased.
8. Māna (Conceit): This is the subtle sense of “I am,” the deep-seated pride and self-importance that can persist even after the grosser forms of self-view have been abandoned.
9. Uddhacca (Restlessness): This refers to a subtle mental agitation and distraction, a lack of inner calm and serenity that prevents the mind from settling into perfect equanimity.
10. Avijjā (Ignorance): This is the ultimate and most fundamental fetter, the root cause of all suffering. It is the profound lack of understanding of the true nature of reality, specifically the Four Noble Truths and the principle of dependent origination.

The Stages of Enlightenment and the Severing of Fetters

The journey to Nirvāṇa is marked by the attainment of four distinct stages, each defined by the permanent eradication of a specific set of fetters:

• Stream-enterer (Sotāpanna): At this first stage, one has had a direct, non-conceptual insight into the Dhamma and has unshakable faith. A stream-enterer has completely abandoned the first three fetters: personality belief, sceptical doubt, and attachment to rites and rituals. They are assured of attaining full enlightenment within a maximum of seven more lifetimes.
• Once-returner (Sakadāgāmī): This stage is attained when the fourth and fifth fetters, sensual desire and ill will, are significantly weakened, though not completely eradicated. A once-returner will be reborn only once more into the human realm before attaining enlightenment.
• Non-returner (Anāgāmī): A non-returner has completely eradicated the five lower fetters. They will not be reborn in the human or any lower realm but will be reborn in one of the pure abodes (suddhāvāsa) where they will attain Nirvāṇa.
• Arahant (Fully Enlightened Being): The final stage of the path is that of an Arahant, who has completely severed all ten fetters, including the five higher fetters. The Arahant is fully liberated from the cycle of Saṃsāra and has extinguished all defilements.

In essence, the fetters model provides a detailed and practical map of the inner landscape of the mind. It highlights the specific mental patterns that perpetuate suffering and offers a clear and systematic approach to their dissolution, guiding the practitioner on the profound journey from bondage to ultimate freedom.

Weakening fetters 4 and 5