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When we chant the Mettasuta, by not holding to fixed views, the pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, with greed for sense pleasures dispelled, surely comes no more to any womb.

That means theyre either not coming back to the human realm, theyre born in one of the highest heavens, or they got fully awakened.

So that would indicate third level.

And there are a number of sutras that would indicate third level, but there are also some sutras that indicate, no, it only leads to the Brahma realms.

But theres many more that indicate that you get to some level and usually its the third level.

But it would seem to indicate that if youre practicing love, compassion, Udhita, equanimity really deeply, you could also gain insight into not-self.

And that seems to be whats really required to break through to full enlightenment.

But to really find out, would suggest practicing it really well and see where it takes you.

Did the Buddha ever say why it is the way it is Did the Buddha ever say why it is the way it is The Buddha was often asked what we might call metaphysical questions and he said, nah, its a waste of time.

Your problem is dukkha, and knowing why it is the way it is, other than the fact that dukkha arises dependent on craving, not going to be helpful.

But kind of questions he was asked that he wouldnt answer how the world began, what is the range of influence of a Buddha How does karma work

And what is the range of influence of someone in the jhanath He said, dont go there.

It will either lead to madness or great vexation.

Or your mind getting really churned and turned inside out.

There was also another questionnaire people would ask, is the world eternal or not Is the world infinite or not Is the soul the same as the body or not So thats six questions.

And then four questions about what happens to an enlightened one after death.

Exist, not exist, both exist and not exist, neither exist or not exist.

And the Buddha said, dont answer those questions.

What sort of questions do you, what do you teach then Four noble truths, eight full path.

So yeah, he never really said, the bout as close as he came was dependent origination.

Things arise because of other things.

Thats basically the four noble truths, at least the first two helps to uproot, uproot craving.

But my question is, okay if Im uprooting and craving, what is the psychological event that is every time happening to reduce this craving The things that help to reduce it are understanding that whatever it is youre craving its going to change.

Theres no guarantee its going to stick around or anything else.

And furthermore your enjoyment of it is going to change.

mean, did you ever want something really bad

and you were so happy and a week later you were kind of bored with it remember growing up in America in November we would get the Sears and Roebuck catalog.

And you turn to the back and its toys, lots of toys.

And Im going to ask Santa Claus for one of these.

Ive had like six weeks to fantasize about how good it was going to be when got one of those.

And then Santa Claus brought me one

So understanding the changeable nature that nothing can give you reliable security, support, satisfaction or anything, that helps.

Seeing that nothing is ultimately satisfying.

yeah, you get one of these

but it still doesnt make you totally happy.

All of these things can help to reduce the tendency towards craving.

And then if the insights are deep enough, then there might be the willingness to let go and have the experience without an experiencer that tends to uproot craving anymore because even more because it doesnt feel so strong in here as Ive got to get mine.

Theres much more recognition of how the world actually works.

These four levels of enlightenment are is the Buddha teaching or has this been added later

This appears to come from the Buddha.

The names however appear to come from the Brahmins.

The Brahmins had this idea of union with Brahma.

If you could get union with Brahma, then youd done it.

And if you could do that, then you dont when you died there, youd only have to come back to the human world once.

Or maybe you could get even better.

Then you didnt have to come back at all.

Then of course maybe you got to union with Brahma.

You got all the way into his retinue there, hanging out in Brahma worlds.

And then you connected and you got union with Brahma.

So the whole idea of once returner and non-returner seems to have been borrowed from the Brahminical teachings of the time.

dont know where that comes from.

Interestingly enough in looking at the sutras and trying to see whats early in the Buddhas career and whats later in the career, you find the first the early sutras in his career talking first about Arhants fully awakened.

And then its only later that once returner or non-returner show up.

it comes from the Buddha, but it doesnt appear to be four levels at least initially in his teaching.

And he seems to have once again adopted something from other traditions, given it his own understanding.

So when you first started teaching, were they all just like making a beeline for Arhants ship Do they just like stick their toes in the stream and then make the leap It seems like it was like stream entry and then not long after that Arhant ship for the first.

In the Vinaya, it gives the story in detail of the Buddhas awakening drawn from the sutras and meeting with the five ascetics and then it starts adding more details and about the next people he encountered.

And eventually they were fully awakened beings and he said, hey, split up.

Everybody go a different direction and teach the Dhamma for the good of all beings.

And had to ask you, what is this all about being reborn in what realm You know.

And in that sutra, the Buddha is talking to a number of monks and among them is Anuruddha.

And he asked the monks are you happy leading the holy life Its cool being monks.

And they agree that it is.

And then in verse he says to Anuruddha, Anuruddha why do you think tell the destination of those who have died Whether they were born in this heaven or that heaven or came right back or wound up in hell or whatever.

Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the blessed one.

Now would be the time for the blessed one to explain this so the monks can remember.

Right, so if the Buddha asks you a question, dont answer.

And so then verse tell the destination of those who have died not to deceive anyone not so that people will think that Im wonderful not so that they will give me alms, food, robes, and lodging, but because it increases the faith of the faithful.

Some monk hears that so and so has died and is fully awakened and thinks that guy if he can get fully awakened, can do it.

Some other monk hears so and so is reborn in that heaven and thinks he got to that heaven He got to non-returner and he got to this highest of the heavens If he can do it, can do it.

And for all the monks and all the nuns, each of the four levels is talked about and then for the lay people its the three lower levels that are talked about.

And he says its to inspire faith and the faithful.

There are some parts that are different.

There certainly is in the sutas after the Buddhas death would say.

And they seem to be like sort of knocking heads.

And theres one sutra remember specifically that is pleading for the scholars to lay off downgrading the meditators and the meditators to lay off them downgrading the scholars.

Both of them have something to contribute and both can learn from the other.

So it would appear, now this appears to be a later sutra.

So it would appear after the Buddhas death certainly there were people who were just scholars and didnt meditate.

Whether all of the monks at the time of the Buddha were, its hard to tell.

But certainly a lot of them were because you can find references to various monks practicing jhana.

And is it then possible to awaken in one life from steam entity to awaken It seems that thats the case.

Theres a lot of people that become stream-enters and then they make some more progress and then eventually theyre fully awakened and you can trace what happens to them.

Sariputa encountered a monk and that monk said to Sariputa sorry, Puta inquired of that monk whos your teacher

What does he teach And the monk said well Im newly ordained really cant say much except he says all that arises also ceases.

Bingo Sorry Puta gets stream entry.

And he goes and finds his friend Mogulana and says think found the real guy.

He teaches all that arises also ceases.

So they go find the Buddha and Mogulana takes him a week to get to full enlightenment.

Sorry Putas a little slower it takes him two weeks.

But these two friends had made a pact that they were going to seek enlightenment and they had been practicing with other teachers so they already had a basis in meditation and training and so forth and all of the sutras where the Buddha gives a discourse and somebody gets enlightened always the person had done a lot of practice.

Most of them were his followers for some time and then they make the breakthrough.

Now its traditionally said that to have that happen to you then you had karma from previous lives.

Alright but we dont know what our karma is from previous lives and in fact the Buddhists dont try and figure out the threads of karma.

So all that we can say really is its definitely possible for people to make breakthroughs in this life that are quite profound and reduce the amount of dukkha that they experience.

That seems to be at least good enough for me.

So Im going to keep on practicing.

This is in the Mayana tradition a long time ago Ive been in one of these centers but it seems that they dont make their life on its color or they dont make any jhana or any breath meditation.

Im just curious if you know about all the practice.

Breath meditation can be found throughout Buddhism but it depends on where you go.