The connection between the Blowing Out the Kleshas and Stream Entry.
So with regards to Nibbana it is said that once someone blows out all of their candle flames of material kleshas they attain stream entry. The Blowing Out. So clearly this stream is not a new self, nor was there an old one, but there is new experience there for the Arhat or Buddha. New Wisdom comes, as well as the perfection of the Brahmaviharas and a perfect Anattic Empty mind is reborn, nondifferent from that of Shakyamuni.
So where in the process of the Blowing Out does the Stream of Nibbana come, and wherein does one enter it, in the Peace of becoming a Thus Come One? This is a common topic but it is important to me today.
There is a lot there in the lower part of the Suttas mentioned by Thanissaro that reminds me of one of my favorite parts of the Lotus Sutra that makes this kind of dilemma clearer for me.
Check:
“But although I preach nirvana, this is not a true extinction. All phenomena from the very first have of themselves constantly borne the marks of tranquil extinction. Once the sons of the Buddha have carried out this way, then in a future existence they will be able to become Buddhas.”
-The Lotus Sutra, Chapter Two, Expedient Means.
When investigating stream entry it is more practical to approach it from the fetters and their severing. Whenever ‘clinging’ is seen in the suttas it means the sustenance which fuels the fire. When attachments are broken the fire is reduced, and in stream entry three fetters are eliminated:
