Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, a mental fetter, chain or bond (

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

: ''samyojana'',

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: संयोजना, ''saṃyojana'') shackles a sentient being to sasāra, the cycle of lives with dukkha. By cutting through all fetters, one attains

nibbāna Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriologica ...

(

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

; Skt.: निर्वाण, ''nirvāa'').

Fetter of suffering

Throughout the

Pali canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...

, the word "fetter" is used to describe an intrapsychic phenomenon that ties one to suffering For instance, in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Itivuttaka 1.15, the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

states: :"Monks, I don't envision even one other fetter — fettered by which beings conjoined go wandering & transmigrating on for a long, long time — like the fetter of craving. Fettered with the fetter of craving, beings conjoined go wandering & transmigrating on for a long, long time." Elsewhere, the suffering caused by a fetter is ''implied'' as in this more technical discourse from SN 35.232, where Ven. Sariputta converses with Ven. Kotthita: :Ven. Kotthita: "How is it, friend Sariputta, is ... the ear the fetter of sounds or are sounds the fetter of the ear?..." :Ven. Sariputta: "Friend Kotthita, the ... ear is not the fetter of sounds nor are sounds the fetter of the ear, but rather the desire and lust that arise there in dependence on both: that is the fetter there...."

Lists of fetters

The fetters are enumerated in different ways in the

's Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka.

Sutta Pitaka's list of ten fetters

The Pali canon's Sutta Pitaka identifies ten "fetters of becoming": #belief in a self (Pali: ') #doubt or uncertainty, especially about the Buddha's awakeness and nine supermundane consciousnesses ('' vicikicchā'') #attachment to rites and rituals (''sīlabbata-parāmāsa'') #sensual desire (''kāmacchando'') #ill will (''vyāpādo'' or ''byāpādo'') #lust for material existence, lust for material rebirth (''rūparāgo'') #lust for immaterial existence, lust for rebirth in a formless realm (''arūparāgo'') #conceit (''

māna Māna (Sanskrit, Pali; Tibetan: ''nga rgyal'') is a Buddhist term that may be translated as "pride", "arrogance", or "conceit". It is defined as an inflated mind that makes whatever is suitable, such as wealth or learning, to be the foundation of ...

'') #restlessness ('' uddhacca'') #ignorance ('' avijjā'') As indicated in the adjacent table, throughout the Sutta Pitaka, the first five fetters are referred to as "lower fetters" (''orambhāgiyāni saṃyojanāni'') and are eradicated upon becoming a non-returner; and, the last five fetters are referred to as "higher fetters" (''uddhambhāgiyāni saṃyojanāni''), eradicated by an

arahant In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

Three fetters

Both the Sagīti Sutta ( DN 33) and the Dhammasai (Dhs. 1002-1006) refer to the "three fetters" as the first three in the aforementioned Sutta Pitaka list of ten: #belief in a self (') #doubt ('' vicikicchā'') #attachment to rites and rituals (''sīlabbata-parāmāsa'') According to the Canon, these three fetters are eradicated by stream-enterers and once-returners.

Abhidhamma Pitaka's list of ten fetters

The Abhidhamma Pitaka's

Dhamma Sangani Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ''d ...

(Dhs. 1113-34) provides an alternate list of ten fetters, also found in the Khuddaka Nikaya's Culla

Niddesa The Niddesa (abbrev., "Nidd") is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sutta Pitaka's Khuddaka Nikaya. It is in the form of a commentary on parts of the Suttanipata. The tradition ascribe ...

(Nd2 656, 1463) and in post-

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...

commentaries. This enumeration is: # sensual lust (Pali: ''kāma-rāga'') # anger (') # conceit (''

'') # views (') # doubt ('' vicikicchā'') # attachment to rites and rituals (''sīlabbata-parāmāsa'') # lust for existence (''bhava-rāga'') # jealousy ('' issā'') # greed ('' macchariya'') # ignorance ('' avijjā''). The commentary mentions that views, doubt, attachment to rites and rituals, jealousy and greed are thrown off at the first stage of Awakening (sotāpatti); gross sensual lust and anger by the second stage (sakadāgāmitā) and even subtle forms of the same by the third stage (anāgāmitā); and conceit, lust for existence and ignorance by the fourth and final stage (arahatta).

Fetters related to householder affairs

Uniquely, the Sutta Pitaka's "Householder Potaliya" Sutta ( MN 54), identifies ''eight'' fetters (including three of the Five Precepts) whose abandonment "lead to the cutting off of affairs" (''vohāra-samucchedāya saṃvattanti''): # destroying life (') # stealing (') # false speech (''musāvādo'') # slandering (''pisunā'') # coveting and greed (''giddhilobho'') # aversion (''nindāroso'') # anger and malice (''kodhūpāyāso'') # conceit (''atimāno'') For English translations, see

Individual fetters

The following fetters are the first three mentioned in the Sutta Pitaka's list of ten fetters, as well as the Sagīti Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitaka's list of "three fetters" (DN 33, Dhs. 1002 ''ff''.). As indicated below, eradication of these three fetters is a canonical indicator of one's being irreversibly established on the path to Enlightenment.

Identity view (sakkāya-dihi)

Etymologically, ''kāya'' means "body," ''sakkāya'' means "existing body," and ' means " view" (here implying a ''wrong'' view, as exemplified by the views in the table below). In general, "belief in an individual self" or, more simply, "self view" refers to a "belief that in one or other of the

khandha (Sanskrit) or ( Pāḷi) means "heaps, aggregates, collections, groupings". In Buddhism, it refers to the five aggregates of clinging (), the five material and mental factors that take part in the rise of craving and clinging. They are als ...

s there is a permanent entity, an ''attā''." Similarly, in MN 2, the Sabbasava Sutta, the Buddha describes "a fetter of views" in the following manner: :"This is how person of wrong viewattends inappropriately: 'Was I in the past? ... Shall I be in the future? ... Am I? Am I not? What am I? ...' :"As one attends inappropriately in this way, one of six kinds of view arises: ... :*'I have a self...' :*'I have no self...' :*'It is precisely by means of self that I perceive self...' :*'It is precisely by means of self that I perceive not-self...' :*'It is precisely by means of not-self that I perceive self...' :*'This very self of mine ... is the self of mine that is constant...' :"This is called a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views. Bound by a fetter of views, the uninstructed ... is not freed, I tell you, from suffering & stress."

Doubt (vicikicchā)

In general, "doubt" ( vicikicchā) refers to doubt about the Buddha's teachings, the

Dhamma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for ' ...

. (Alternate contemporaneous teachings are represented in the adjacent table.) More specifically, in SN 22.84, the Tissa Sutta, the Buddha explicitly cautions against uncertainty regarding the

Noble Eightfold Path The Noble Eightfold Path ( Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices: ...

, which is described as the right path to Nibbana, leading one past ignorance, sensual desire, anger and despair.

Attachment to rites and rituals (sīlabbata-parāmāso)

'' Śīla'' refers to "moral conduct", ''vata'' (or ''bata'') to "religious duty, observance, rite, practice, custom," and ''parāmāsa'' to "being attached to" or "a contagion" and has the connotation of "mishandling" the Dhamma. Altogether, ''sīlabbata-parāmāso'' has been translated as "the contagion of mere rule and ritual, the infatuation of good works, the delusion that they suffice" or, more simply, "fall ngback on attachment to precepts and rules." While the fetter of doubt can be seen as pertaining to the teachings of competing ''samana'' during the times of the Buddha, this fetter regarding rites and rituals likely refers to some practices of contemporary brahmanic authorities.

Cutting through the fetters

In MN 64, the "Greater Discourse to Mālunkyāputta," the Buddha states that the path to abandoning the five lower fetters (that is, the ''first'' five of the aforementioned "ten fetters") is through using

jhana In the oldest texts of Buddhism, ''dhyāna'' () or ''jhāna'' () is a component of the training of the mind ('' bhavana''), commonly translated as meditation, to withdraw the mind from the automatic responses to sense-impressions, "burn up" t ...

attainment and

vipassana ''Samatha'' ( Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' ( Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of ...

insights in tandem. In SN 35.54, "Abandoning the Fetters," the Buddha states that one abandons the fetters "when one knows and sees ... as

impermanent Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is notable for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It ...

" (Pali: ''anicca'') the twelve sense bases (''āyatana''), the associated six sense-consciousness ('), and the resultant

contact Contact may refer to: Interaction Physical interaction * Contact (geology), a common geological feature * Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye * Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects * C ...

(''phassa'') and sensations (''vedanā''). Similarly, in SN 35.55, "Uprooting the Fetters," the Buddha states that one uproots the fetters "when one knows and sees ... as nonself" (''anatta'') the sense bases, sense consciousness, contact and sensations. The Pali canon traditionally describes cutting through the fetters in

four stages Ye Tianshi (1667–1747) was a Chinese medical scholar who was the major proponent of the "school of warm diseases". His major work, ''Wen-re Lun'' (Discussion of Warm Diseases) published in 1746, divided the manifestations of diseases into four s ...

: *one cuts the first three fetters (Pali: ') to be a "stream enterer" (''sotapanna''); *one cuts the first three fetters and significantly weakens the next two fetters to be a "once returner" (''sakadagami''); *one cuts the first five fetters (''orambhāgiyāni samyojanāni'') to be a "non-returner" (''anagami''); *one cuts all ten fetters to be an

Relationship to other core concepts

Similar Buddhist concepts found throughout the Pali Canon include the

five hindrances In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances ( Sinhala: ''පඤ්ච නීවරණ pañca nīvaraṇa''; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in our daily lives. In the Theravada tradition, the ...

(''nīvaraāni'') and the ten defilements ( ''kilesā''). Comparatively speaking, in the

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...

tradition, fetters span multiple lifetimes and are difficult to remove, while hindrances are transitory obstacles. Defilements encompass ''all'' mental defilements including both fetters and hindrances.Gunaratana (2003), dhamma talk entitled "Dhamma atipatthana- Ten Fetters."

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2000). ''The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Samyutta Nikaya''. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. . *Bodhi, Bhikkhu (18 Jan 2005). ''MN 10: Satipatthana Sutta (continued)'' inth dharma talk on the Satipatthana Sutta (MP3 audio file) Available on-line at http://www.bodhimonastery.net/MP3/M0060_MN-010.mp3. * Gethin, Rupert (1998). ''The Foundations of Buddhism''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. . * Gunaratana, Henepola (2003). ''Satipatthana Sutta'' harma talks (MP3 on CD) High View, WV: Bhavana Society. Orderable on-line at https://web.archive.org/web/20070205193623/http://www.bhavanasociety.org/resource/satipatthana_sutta_cd/. *Harvey, Peter (1990/2007). ''An introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, history and practices''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . * , Bhikkhu & Bhikkhu Bodhi (2001). ''The Middle Length Discourse of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya''. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications. . * Nyanaponika Thera (trans.) (1974). ''Alagaddupama Sutta: The Snake Simile'' ( MN 22). Kandy:

Buddhist Publication Society The Buddhist Publication Society (BPS) is a publishing house with charitable status whose objective is to disseminate the teaching of Gautama Buddha. It was founded in Kandy, Sri Lanka in 1958 by two Sri Lankan lay Buddhists, A.S. Karunaratna and ...

. Retrieved 15 Aug. 2010 from "Access to Insight" (2006) at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.022.nypo.html . * Rhys Davids, C.A.F. ( 900 2003). ''Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics, of the Fourth Century B.C., Being a Translation, now made for the First Time, from the Original Pāli, of the First Book of the Abhidhamma-Piṭaka, entitled Dhamma-Sangaṇi (Compendium of States or Phenomena)''. Kessinger Publishing. . * Rhys Davids, T.W. & William Stede (eds.) (1921-5). ''The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English dictionary''. Chipstead:

Pali Text Society The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts". Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The ...

. A general on-line search engine for the PED is available at http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/. *Soma Thera (1998) (6th rev. ed.). ''The Way of Mindfulness: The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary''. Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html. *Sri Lanka Buddha Jayanti Tipitaka Series

LTP LTP may refer to: Biology and medicine * Lateral tibial plateau, part of a leg bone * Lipid transfer proteins, proteins found in plant tissues * Long-term potentiation (neurophysiology), a long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between ...

(''undated''). ' n Pali( MN 54). Available on-line at http://www.metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/2Majjhima-Nikaya/Majjhima2/054-potaliya-p.html. * Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997a). ''Sabbasava Sutta: All the Fermentations'' ( MN 2). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.002.than.html. *Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997). ''Samaññaphala Sutta: The Fruits of the Contemplative Life'' ( DN 2). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html. *Thanissaro, Bhikkhu (trans.) (1997b). ''Sona Sutta: About Sona'' ( AN 6.55). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an06/an06.055.than.html. *Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2000). ''Sanyojana Sutta: Fetters'' ( AN 10.13). http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an10/an10.013.than.html. *Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2001). ''The Group of Ones § 15'' (Iti. 1.15). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/iti/iti.1.001-027.than.html#iti-015. *Thanissaro Bhikkhu (trans.) (2005). ''Tissa Sutta: Tissa'' ( SN 22.84). Available on-line at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.084.than.html. *Upalavanna, Sister (trans.) (''undated''). ''To The Householder Potaliya'' ( MN 54). Available on-line at https://web.archive.org/web/20101102225156/http://metta.lk/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/2Majjhima-Nikaya/Majjhima2/054-potaliya-e1.html. *Walshe, Maurice O'Connell (trans.) (1995). ''The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya''. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. .

External links

The Fetters of 'I', 'Mine', 'Myself'
{{Buddhism topics Buddhist philosophical concepts