How does the attainment of the higher paths, such as becoming a sakitakami, and the fruits differ from the attainment of stream entry?
They differ based on the defilements that they cut.
And it is difficult really to
To match practice and theory, because in theory it seems to be a very definite, like a signposting where you can now see, now you're a sakitagami, now you're an anagami.
That is totally different from the practice, like you're practicing, practicing, practicing, and boom, suddenly you're a sodapanna.
or let's say Sotapanna, that is actually quite a profound shift.
But from a Sotapanna to a Saketakami, for example, in practice, I would say the safest thing, both from our practical experience and still keeping with the theory,
is it's simply a marker, like a marker on a thermostat, that when you get to a certain level, when the temperature gets to a certain level, you can see that it's past that line.
Or a gas tank, because you're emptying all the defilements out.
So when it gets to a certain line, you can say, now it's gone three quarters of a tank, now it's half a tank, and now it's a quarter of a tank.
Because in between Sotapanna and Sakyatakami there are still the realizations of Nibbana.
One practices again and again and realizes, attains the fruit of the first path again.
One can never realize the path of the Sotapatti Magga again.
Because that's just a technical name for the first realization of Nibbana.
The next realization and subsequent realizations
are palanjana.
And so you can continue to go back to palanjana which will continue to weaken the defilements.
But until one reaches a certain unverifiable state, unless you're the Buddha, a certain unrecognizable state where
there's not enough defilements left to cause you to be born more than once as a human being or as an angel, then you can say you're a sakitagami.
But it's very difficult.
If you're not a Buddha, how could you know what that line is?
An anagami will be more easy to see because you get to the point where you have eradicated all...
all lust and aversion.
And arahat is, I would say, easier to see, because at the realization of arahat, there is then no defilement whatsoever.
And one realizes this when one comes out of the palanjana.
One is able to see what defilements are left, because the mind is very pure at that point, like clear water.
And one is able to see clearly what defilements are left, what defilements are gone.
And
and so what remains to be done.
But the actual realization is the same.
So if you want to forget about all four of these things, you just say the realization, the subsequent and continued, repeated realization of nibbana cuts off more and more defilements, and you just have these markers until they're all gone, and then it's arahant.