TEN MARKS OF ARAHANISM
The Realm of Nibbāna Is Governed by a Completely Different Set of Laws
The universe in which we live is governed by universal laws of decay and dissolution. Because worldly existence is subject to these laws, living beings undergo aging and death, and the worlds themselves are subject to eventual dissolution. No being remaining within this cosmic order can escape its governing conditions simply by extending the duration of its life.
Nibbāna-Dhātu is governed by a fundamentally different order of existence. Its thirty-five characteristics, drawn from the Pāli Canon’s descriptions of the realm of Nibbāna, express the governing principles of the Deathless Realm. Whereas the laws governing the universe permit decay, death, and dissolution, the governing laws of Nibbāna-Dhātu support Deathlessness, permanence, freedom, peace, and bliss.
In the Pāli Canon, Nibbāna is characterized as Asaṅkhata (the Unconditioned), Amata (the Deathless), Ajara (the Unaging), Dhuva (the Stable or Permanent), Anītika (Free from Affliction), Santa (Peaceful), Khema (Secure), Mutti (Release), and Paṇīta (Sublime). The Asaṅkhata Saṃyutta (SN 43) presents a series of epithets that illuminate the nature of the Unconditioned and the goal of liberation.
Within the Pāli Canon, in the Asaṅkhata Saṁyutta (SN 43.1–44), the Buddha presents a series of concise discourses that systematically delineate the epithets, defining characteristics, and traditional synonyms of Nibbāna, thereby preparing the way for the detailed articulation of thirty-five such features that follows. This definitive canon list contains 35 characteristics describing what the realm of Nibbāna is like including:
Asaṅkhata (unconditioned) ananta (infinite) anāsava (taintless, undefiled), Sacca (truth, real) pāra (beyond, the other shore) nipuṇa (perfect) sududdasa (hard to be seen); Ajajjara (un-aging, undecaying) dhuva (permament, constant) apalokita (undisintegrating), Anidassana (non-manifestive) nippapa (free from proliferation/diffuseness) santa (calmed, peace).
Amata (deathless) paṇīta (sublime, excellent) siva (auspicious) khema (secure, safe), Taṇhākkhaya (destruction of craving) acchariya (wondrous, extraordinary) abbhuta (un-precedented, marvellous); Anītika (free from harm/ plague) anītikadhamma (of a nature free from harm/ plague), Nibbāna (unbinding) sugata (pure wholesomeness) desita (shown, pointed out).
Abyābajjha (without oppression, un-afflicted) virāga (dispassion), Suddhi (purity, cleanness) mutti (release, unbinding) anālaya (un-clinging, free from attachment); Dīpa (island) leṇa (cave) tāṇa (guard, protection), saraṇa (refuge, shelter) parāyana (final destination, ultimate goal).
Arahanism understands these characteristics as expressing the governing laws of Nibbāna-Dhātu, the Deathless of Nibbāna. These laws are fundamentally different from those governing all existence in our young universe. The liberated Soul-Spirit, having departed from our universe and entered this Realm, is no longer subject to our cosmic laws of aging, death, and dissolution. Its existence is therefore not merely prolonged worldly life, but life established beyond the governing conditions we experience here that make our worldly life subject to aging and death.
The governing laws of Nibbāna-Dhātu also explain the four fruits of liberation: Eternal Life, Freedom, Peace, and Joy. Each fruit corresponds to characteristics that express the nature and conditions of existence in the Deathless Realm.
FIRST FRUIT
1). Eternal Life: Freedom from Cosmic Dissolution
Governing characteristics: Amata, Ajara, Dhuva, and Asaṅkhata.
Amata means Deathless; Ajara means Unaging; Dhuva expresses stability and permanence; and Asaṅkhata means Unconditioned.
Together, these characteristics express the foundation of Eternal Life in Nibbāna-Dhātu. Our universe is subject to decay and dissolution because everything within it is conditioned by the universal law of decay and dissolution. The Realm of Nibbāna, by contrast, is Asaṅkhata: it is not governed by the same conditions we experience here that bring about decay and dissolution.
Consequently, the liberated Soul-Spirit that enters Nibbāna-Dhātu is no longer subject to our cosmic dissolution law of our universe because it is outside of the jurisdiction of our universe.
SECOND FRUIT
2). Freedom: No Bondage, No Attachment
Governing characteristics: Mutti, Virāga, Taṇhākkhaya, Anālaya, Khema, and Abyābajjha.
Mutti means Release; Virāga means Dispassion; Taṇhākkhaya means the Destruction of Craving; Anālaya means Non-Clinging; Khema expresses security or safety; and Abyābajjha means freedom from affliction or oppression.
These characteristics express freedom from the bonds that sustain our worldly existence. The complete eradication of rāga, dosa, and moha brings liberation from our worldly bondage. Craving no longer binds the liberated being to our worldly existence; no aversion and hostility to disturb the mind; and ignorance of the path to liberation has been overcome.
Within Arahanist cosmology, entry into Nibbāna-Dhātu completes this release by taking the Soul-Spirit beyond the jurisdiction of the universe’s governing laws. Freedom therefore encompasses both liberation from the defilements that sustain worldly bondage and release from the cosmic conditions to which worldly existence is subject.
THIRD FRUIT
3). Peace: Freedom from Affliction and Disturbance
Governing characteristics: Santa, Santi, Suddhi, Anāsava, and Virāga.
Santa expresses the Peaceful; Santi means Peace; Suddhi means Purity; Anāsava means freedom from the taints; and Virāga means Dispassion.
Our worldly existence is marked by instability, craving, aversion, and the continual struggle to preserve what is subject to change. Even when worldly beings experience periods of calm, their existence remains exposed to loss, aging, death, and the dissolution of the conditions on which their well-being depends.
The characteristics of Nibbāna-Dhātu express a different condition. The eradication of the defilements removes the causes of mental bondage, while the Deathless Realm stands beyond the cosmic conditions that sustain worldly vulnerability. Santa and Santi express its Peace; Suddhi and Anāsava express freedom from defilement and taint.
Peace in Nibbāna-Dhātu is therefore not merely a temporary feeling of calm. It is the existential state, free from the afflictions and insecurity that characterize conditioned existence in our universe.
FOURTH FRUIT
4). Joy: The Bliss and Sublimity
Governing characteristics: Paṇīta, Siva, Acchariya, and Abbhuta, together with the broader Pāli conception of Sukha.
Paṇīta means Sublime or Exquisite; Siva means Auspicious; Acchariya means Wonderful; and Abbhuta means Marvellous. Sukha, in the broader Pāli vocabulary of liberation, expresses happiness or bliss.
These characteristics point toward the sublime and fulfilling nature of the existential condition in the realm of Nibbāna. Our worldly pleasures depend on conditions that change and eventually disappear. Their enjoyment remains vulnerable to loss, dissatisfaction, and the fear of separation from what is cherished.
The joy associated with Nibbāna-Dhātu is understood differently. It does not depend on the continued possession of changing objects, the fulfilment of changing desires, or the preservation of a universe subject to dissolution. It belongs to the existential condition beyond our worldly bondage.
In Arahanism, the governing laws of Nibbāna-Dhātu establish the conditions for a life there of lasting freedom, peace, and bliss. Joy is therefore inseparable from the freedom and security of the Deathless Realm: it is the fruit of liberation from the conditions that make our worldly happiness unstable.
The Four Fruits as Expressions of the Governing Laws
The relationship between the characteristics of Nibbāna-Dhātu and the four fruits of liberation can be summarized as follows:
- Eternal Life arises from the order of Deathlessness, Unaging, Permanence, and the Unconditioned: Amata, Ajara, Dhuva, and Asaṅkhata.
- Freedom arises from Release, Dispassion, the Destruction of Craving, Non-Clinging, Security, and Freedom from Affliction: Mutti, Virāga, Taṇhākkhaya, Anālaya, Khema, and Abyābajjha.
- Peace is expressed through Peacefulness, Purity, Freedom from Taints, and Dispassion: Santa, Santi, Suddhi, Anāsava, and Virāga.
- Joy is expressed through Sublimity, Auspiciousness, Wonder, and the bliss associated with liberation: Paṇīta, Siva, Acchariya, Abbhuta, and Sukha.
These fruits are interconnected expressions of one liberated condition in the realm of Nibbāna. Arahanism teaches that Nibbāna-Dhātu is the real Deathless Realm beyond the universe, governed by principles fundamentally different from those governing our conditioned existence here. The thirty-five characteristics express these principles, while Eternal Life, Freedom, Peace, and Joy describe their example fruits. Liberation from our worldly bondage culminates not in annihilation or empty nothingness, but in the Soul-Spirit’s departure from our world and entry into the Deathless Realm.
