Diamond Sutra Commentary: Why Can an Anāgāmin Not Have the Thought 'I am an Anāgāmin'?

One Mark No-Mark, Nine Original text: 须菩提。于意云何。阿那含能作是念。我得阿那含果不。须菩提言。不也。世尊。何以故。阿那含名为不来。而实无不来。是名阿那含。

Explanation: Subhūti, what do you think about this matter? Could an anāgāmin have the thought that "I have attained the fruit of anāgāmin"? Subhūti replied: An anāgāmin cannot have such a thought. Why is this said? Because the anāgāmin is called "non-returner," yet in reality there is no dharma-mark of "non-returning"; that is, there is no such event as attaining the fruit of anāgāmin — "anāgāmin" is merely a provisional name.

A person who has attained the third fruit has a mind even emptier than that of a second-fruit person, and has no thoughts of "I am such and such"; therefore he will not constantly think "I am an anāgāmin." If it were otherwise, the mind's thoughts would not be empty, and the fruit of anāgāmin would not have been attained. Because the anāgāmin possesses meditative concentration (dhyāna) at the level of the first dhyāna or above, after death he is reborn among the five Pure Lands (five non-returners' heavens) of the form realm to continue cultivating the path, attains the fourth fruit of arhatship in the five Pure Lands, and directly enters Nirvāṇa without remainder, no longer returning to the human world; hence it is called the fruit of non-returning, also called the fruit of no-coming. In reality there is no such event as "not returning to the human world"; both coming and not coming have no real existence — they are all illusory, false appearances. Giving this false appearance a name, it is called anāgāmin, called the third fruit. Therefore one must not think that there truly is an anāgāmin fruit to be attained, must not think that a third-fruit person is a truly existent being, and must not give rise to a grasping mind or an arrogant mind — otherwise one is not a third-fruit person.

Why can an arhat not have the thought "I have attained the fruit of arhatship"?

Original text: 须菩提。于意如何。阿罗汉能作是念。我得阿罗汉道不。不也。世尊。何以故。实无有法。名阿罗汉。世尊。若阿罗汉作是念。我得阿罗汉道。即为著我人众生寿者。

Explanation: Subhūti, what do you think about this matter? Could an arhat have the thought "I have attained the fruit of arhatship"? Subhūti replied: An arhat cannot have such a thought, World-Honored One. Why is this said? Because in reality there is no dharma that can be named "arhat." World-Honored One, if an arhat thought in his mind: "I have attained the fruit of arhatship," then he would be attached to the mark of self, the mark of person, the mark of sentient beings, and the mark of life span, and he would no longer be an arhat.

Anyone who has the thought "I am such and such," believing there truly is an "I" who is such and such, is attached to the mark of self, and the other three marks will then appear in succession. It is the same with the arhat: if he believed he had attained the fruit of arhatship, there would be the mark of self in his mind, and then the mark of person, the mark of sentient beings, and the mark of life span would all clearly exist as well; such a person would not be an arhat. In this world there truly is no dharma called "arhat." The five aggregates composed of the arhat's material body and conscious mind are subject to arising, ceasing, change, and illusion; they are not truly existent dharmas and cannot be called "arhat." The fruit of arhatship is merely a state and a realm; there is no substantial fruit to be obtained or seen. The event of attaining the fruit of arhatship is an illusory dharma of arising, ceasing, and change, and is not a truly existent dharma. If it were a truly existent dharma, it would exist eternally, and one would eternally be attaining the fruit of arhatship without cultivating.

Therefore the arhat has no thought of "I have attained the fruit of arhatship." After attaining the fruit of arhatship, his mind is empty and tranquil, without even a shadow of the four marks; walking in the human world he is like an empty shell, without any conflicts or disputes. Ordinary beings are just the opposite: due to the mischief of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), the four marks flourish, and they constantly dwell amid afflictions and disputes. The heavier a person's view of self, the heavier his mark of self, the less pure his mind, the heavier his afflictions, and the more his conflicts and disputes; conversely, the purer and freer from disputes he is.