The Foundations of Buddhism

194 The Buddhist Path

(see above, pp. 72....:.3). By the abandoning of the first three fet-

ters one becomes a 'stream-attainer' (srotiipdnna/sotiipanna),

that is, one whose final awakening is assured within a maximum

of seven rebirths. By the abandoning of the first three and the

permanent weakening of the next two one becomes a 'once-

returner' (sakrdiigiimin!sakadiigiimin ), that is, one whose final.

awakening is assured and who will be reborn as a human being

no more than once. By the complete abandoning of the five lower

fetters one becomes a 'non-returner' (aniigiimin), that is, one who

at death will not be reborn as a human being but in one of five

'Pure Abodes' (realms corresponding to the fourth dhyiina) where

he will gain final awakening. By the complete abandoning of all

ten fetters one becomes an arhat, never to be subject to rebirth

again. The attainment of any of these four successive paths of

stream-attainment, mice-return, non-return, and arhatship con-
stitutes the seventh purification of 'knowledge and seeing'.
What precisely governs which of these four states is attained
is not clear in the earliest texts. Two basic possibilities seem to

be envisaged: either (I) that, at the first arising of the transcend-

ent path, depending on individual circumstances, one may attain

any one ofthe four states immediately; or (2) that one must attain

each state successively, either in one life or over a series of lives.
The interpretation of the later tradition is also not entirely clear.
Buddhaghosa seems closer to the latter understanding, although

one may attain each state in such rapid succession that one in

effect goes straight from being an ordinary being to being an

arhat. As we shall presently see, Vasubandhu seems closer to the

former.

The scheme of the five paths

The classical north Indian manuals of Vasubandhu and Asailga

map out the path according to a system of five paths: the path of

equipment (sambhiira-miirga), the path of application (prayoga-

miirga ), the path of seeing ( darsana-miirga ), the path of develop-

ment ( bhiivanii-miirga ), and the path of completion (ni${hii-miirga)

or of the adept (asaik$a-miirga).^39 The path of equipment covers