Reaching nirvana, or full awakening, is the ultimate goal in Buddhism. At this stage, you\u2019re free of every worldly illusion and suffering and have eliminated greed, hatred, and ignorance from your being. It is also in the state of full spiritual awakening that the enlightened individual escapes the endless cycle of death and rebirth. <\/p>\n
This cycle is known as Sa\u1e43s\u0101ra. Simply put, it is the Buddhist view of the world we live in. It is perpetuated and fueled by Karma, the future consequences of one\u2019s actions. The cycle is seen to be filled with pain and suffering, and it is the goal of every disciple on the path to nirvana to escape it.<\/p>\n
According to Theravada<\/a> and Early Buddhism, two of the oldest Buddhist schools, there are four stages to full awakening. These include: <\/p>\n These stages are achieved progressively, with the earliest being Sot\u0101panna, and the Arahant representing a fully awakened person.<\/p>\n This is the first stage of spiritual awakening. Sot\u0101panna means “one who enters the stream,” with the stream being the Noble Eightfold Path. This path is a summary of the Buddhist practices that lead to nirvana and liberation from rebirth. As its name indicates, the path consists of eight practices: <\/p>\n The individual realizes that liberation can only be attained by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path. With this realization, they drop their attachment to rites and rituals. This is one of the first three fetters that must be eradicated to become a Sot\u0101panna. <\/p>\n The fetters are shackles that chain a being to Sa\u1e43s\u0101ra, the cycle. There are five lower fetters and five higher fetters. To be completely free, one has to eradicate all ten fetters and become an arahant. <\/p>\n The three fetters that the Sot\u0101panna has dropped on their journey are: <\/p>\n Having eradicated the fetters, the individual has opened the eye of the Dharma. This simply means they now understand Buddha\u2019s teachings intuitively and have unshakable faith in the Dharma. An individual who has attained this stage has escaped rebirth as any of the three forms lower than humans; an animal, a hungry ghost, or a being from hell.\n<\/li>\n At this stage, the individual can be regarded as partially enlightened, having discarded the first three lower fetters and significantly reduced the hold of the fourth and fifth. The fourth and the fifth fetters are sensual desire and ill will. In comparison, these are still largely present in the Sot\u0101panna. <\/p>\n Like the Sot\u0101panna, the Sakad\u0101g\u0101mi will never be reborn in any of the three realms lower than human. Having moved to the second stage of full awakening, they will also be reborn in the realm of the senses only once. This realm contains beings that range from humans to celestial beings<\/li>\n The An\u0101g\u0101mi is the non-returner, and as the name indicates, this simply means they won\u2019t be reborn in the human world. They also wouldn\u2019t be reborn in any realm lower than that of humans. Instead, they are reborn in one of the five special worlds in the “Pure Abodes.” The Pure Abodes, or \u015auddh\u0101v\u0101sa worlds, are in a plane in Buddhist cosmology that only an An\u0101g\u0101mi can enter. <\/p>\n The non-returner gains access to this world having abandoned all five lower fetters, including the fetters of sensual desire and ill will that were still present in the Sakad\u0101g\u0101mi. It is in the Pure Abodes that the An\u0101g\u0101mi will destroy the five higher fetters and attain full awakening as Arahants. <\/p>\n In some cases, instead of reaching Nirvana, the An\u0101g\u0101mi is reborn sequentially in each of the five heavens in the Pure Abodes. Starting from the lowest, they reach the highest heaven before they can become fully awakened.<\/li>\n This is an individual who has achieved full awakening and destroyed all five lower and five higher fetters. The five higher fetters that the Arahant has fully discarded are: <\/p>\n The Arahant will never be reborn in any world, having fully escaped the cycle of death and rebirth. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n There are a few Buddhist schools with somewhat different teachings on how to attain full awakening. The one you choose depends on what you decide works best for you. However, note that Theravada Buddhism might be the purest (closest to Buddha\u2019s original teaching) in existence. <\/p>\n It\u2019s important not to link the 4 stages of awakening with any popular chakra system<\/a> through your own understanding, as the Buddha never directly mentioned chakras in any of his teachings. Acknowledging subtle energies and learning how to harness them is best done with proper spiritual guidance, guru,or teacher. <\/p>\n Karen Sarandon is a mindfulness teacher<\/a> and the proud mother of three beautiful kids. She is also a writer and the founder of Mother\u2019s Guide Online<\/a>. Passionate about motherhood, she spends her days teaching moms and expectant mothers to meditate and grow their mental strength. You can always find her doing one of three things: meditating, teaching chess to her youngest (Alice), or pouring decades of meditation practice and learning into an article. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reaching nirvana, or full awakening, is the ultimate goal in Buddhism. At this stage, you\u2019re free of every worldly illusion and suffering and have eliminated greed, hatred, and ignorance from your being. It is also in the state of full spiritual awakening that the enlightened individual escapes the endless cycle of death and rebirth. This… Read More »The 4 Stages Of Spiritual Awakening<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":71,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"The 4 Stages Of Awakening | Mother\u2019s Guide Online ","_seopress_titles_desc":"These are the 4 stages of awakening according to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Learn what happens at each stage, as well as the requirements to progress and reach nirvana, full awakening. 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Your Journey To Full Awakening: Final Thoughts <\/h2>\n
About the Author <\/h2>\n