About Yuganaddha Sutta (AN 4.170)

Hi there, I have questions about Yuganaddha Sutta (AN 4.170):

In the sutta, we find 4 ways to attain arahantship, 3 of which are developing insight and tranquillity together whether one is preceeded by another or in tandem, but the fourth way is “controlling restlessness concerning the Dhamma (Dhammuddhacca)” where the commentary said it is the eradication of “the corruptions of insight”. Obviously, this commentary gloss are late because it has influence by the notion of dry-insight (insight-only way) which are not found in early suttas.

So the questions is: What is meant by “restlessness concerning the Dhamma (Dhammuddhacca)”? And how this fourth way of attaining arahantship to be done? Is it refer to a Dhamma-follower (Dhammanusari) type of stream-entry or something else?

And are this sutta or at least the fourth way of attaining arahantship are late addition? Considering it is spoken by a disciple (i.e., Venerable Ananda), it may be suspected to be not an authentic EBT. Although I see it has a paralel in the Samyukta Agama (SA 560), but I can not sure about the content of the parallel sutra because I can’t read Chinese.

Thank you,

:anjal:

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This is the only place dhammuddhacca occurs in the Pali EBTs, and as such it is not an important concept. Moreover, as you rightly point out, it is spoken by Ven. Ānanda, not by the Buddha, and this marginalises it further. Ven. Kaṭukurunde Ñāṇananda speculates (here) that it relates to Ānanda’s personal experience as he tried to attain full awakening in time for the first council. This is impossible to substantiate, but it seems to me to be as plausible as any other explanation.

Generally speaking, I do not think such marginal ideas deserve much attention.

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@seniya

Re: the 4th way, I’ve heard it suggested (by Bhikkhu Bodhi and/or Bhikkhu Anālayo) that an example of this could be the Bāhiya sutta, ud1.10.

I believe this subject came up in one of Anālayo’s on-line lecture series comparing the Chinese MĀ discourses with the Pali suttas. I’m not sure my memory is correct but I think it was in the 2013 series, maybe the 1st and/or 2nd lecture.

Seems I’m often recommending Anālayo’s research here on SC Discourse, but I have a great deal of respect for his scholarship in comparative studies in Early Buddhism.

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@Brahmali
Thanks for the reference to Ñāṇananda’s idea, will be interesting to read.

Thank you, Bhante, for recommending an article by Ven. Kaṭukurunde Ñāṇananda. It’s an interesting new hypothesis for me too…

By the way, I have attending your dhammatalk at Indonesia, it’s a great for me that your dhammatalk fully based on early suttas of 4 Nikayas, many Buddhist monks just give dhammatalk based on popular Buddhist teaching from the commentaries. :slight_smile:

Oh yes, thank you, I have found Bhikkhu Analayo’s article about it at this link. He too wrote about attaining stream-entry as a possible explanation of the fourth way, but I think it is more plausible explained as the case of Bahiya or the experience of Ananda himself because the sutta talks about attaining arahantship, not stream-entry.

But, as Bhante Brahmali said, it’s just a rare case which has many possible explanations…

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This topic is discussed recently in stack exchange.

In my opinion, the fourth method is a very important concept.
I feel many of the participants in internet forums come under the fourth category.
I am sure many of them at least attain Sotapanna state due to their unrest regard to Dhamma.

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I do not think it is only Ven. Ananda’s personal experience. He was summarising the experience of all the Arhants who declared their attainments to Ananda.

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“Then there is the case where a monk’s mind has its restlessness concerning the Dhamma well under control. There comes a time when his mind grows steady inwardly, settles down, and becomes unified & concentrated. In him the path (magga) is born. He follows that path, develops it, pursues it. As he follows the path, developing it & pursuing it—his fetters are abandoned, his obsessions destroyed.

The first three paths, to me, are superior to the 4)th path. I think they are in order -from superior (most probable to deliver) to the weakest method. The fourth method is clearly neither samatha, vipassana or any of combination of those two.

I think here @SarathW1 is probably right- the internet user (not having any time to mediate, with full time family and job…) is acquiring dhammic concepts (like not-self)- which are in some conflict with average ignorance. If all the concepts are correctly in place and defilements temporarily cease as they naturally do, it may be possible in a moment when the mind becomes settled, for the path (magga or Dhamma eye) to arise assuming the other path factors are in place.

It is said the realisation can happen when reading, thinking about the Dhamma, memorising, reciting and teaching. Ven Ananda was interstingly, quite involved with all those, and quite involved with administrative and attendant duties and was often involved with engaging with people!

I am curious whether it is possible to write a website which would be able to deliver the required concepts and 'create some ‘dhammaudacca’- Dhamma agitation :slightly_smiling_face:. I think it was Ajhan Chah who said it is when the mind is in conflict with the Dhamma, that the Dhamma is working.

with metta

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Perhaps you may be right.
This may be referring to the dry insight attainer.
I can’t remember the sutta.