Entering the Stream to Enlightenment

This book is a study on the nature and effects of the Theravada Buddhist religious experiences of the four supramundane fruits of the Noble Eightfold Path – the experience of the fruit which is stream-entry, once returning, non-returning and Arahanthship – with special focus on the experience of stream-entry. It represents the first time within Theravada Buddhist studies that a serious textual study has been combined with a substantial field research. Despite disciplinary rules which virtually prohibit a monk with higher ordination from discussing their personal religious experiences, this book presents seven comprehensive anonymous interviews conducted mainly with forest monks on their meditative experiences.

This book is a study on the nature and effects of the Theravada Buddhist religious experiences of the four supramundane fruits of the Noble Eightfold Path – the experience of the fruit which is stream-entry, once returning, non-returning and Arahanthship – with special focus on the experience of stream-entry. It represents the first time within Theravada Buddhist studies that a serious textual study has been combined with a substantial field research. Despite disciplinary rules which virtually prohibit a monk with higher ordination from discussing their personal religious experiences, this book presents seven comprehensive anonymous interviews conducted mainly with forest monks on their meditative experiences. The study presents a definition for the ‘supramundane fruit’ of the path and an alternate framework to discuss and evaluate Theravada Buddhist religious experiences. It then uses this framework to address some longstanding debates around the Theravada path and its fruits thus bringing experience back to the centre stage of these debates.

• By (author) Yuki Sirimane

"The outstanding feature of the present work is that it seeks to substantiate the textual ideas through examining the practice and experience of living practitioners of the path. The interviews alone may be considered a major contribution to our current understanding of the Buddhist soteriological practice and experience." - Professor Asanga Tilakaratne, University of Colombo "Yuki's book explores textual material on the eight noble persons in a clear and helpful way. Its most original and helpful contribution, though, comes from her fieldwork material reporting on a range of meditators' deep experiences." - Professor Peter Harvey, University of Sunderland "The author, a veteran practitioner of Vipassana, with a Doctorate in Buddhist Studies, has presented a beautiful and balanced combination of textual ideas and material, along with the examination of the practise and experiences of living practitioners of the path. The practical shores up in the written word in a way which is encouraging and inspiring for new seekers." --Sheela Bhojwani, East and West Series, March 2017 "In Entering the Stream to Enlightenment, Yuki Sirimane combines careful analysis of Theravada sources and interviews with contemporarty Sri Lankan practitioners who describe in their own words what such levels of attainment are like. The result is a rare glimpse into a living Theravada tradition and the transformative experiences of those dedicated to its practices." --Rory Lindsay, Buddhadharma, Winter 2017
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