The Ten Fetters

1. The belief in an individual self (sakkaya ditthi).

2. Doubt concerning the Buddhadharma.

3. The belief that rites and rituals can lead to awakening.

Stream entry (sotapanna) follows when these first three fetters are weakened.

4. Sense desire.

5. Ill will.

Once-returning (sakadagami) follows when fetters one-three are destroyed and fetters four and five are weakened.

Non-returning (anagami) follows when fetters one-five are destroyed.

6. The desire of an individual self to transcend the world of form and to enter into the world of formlessness, i.e., the desire to attain the four jhanas.

7. The desire of an individual self to transcend the world of formlessness and to enter into the immaterial world, i.e., the desire to attain the immaterial attainments.

8. The comparison of one’s progress on the path with the progress of others on the path.

9. Restlessness.

10. Ignorance of the Four Noble Truths.

Arahatship follows the destruction of all ten fetters. Fetters six-ten are the most subtle and the hardest to overcome.

 

 

 

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