In entering the Sotapatti path, the Dhamma points out four quality factors that must be cultivated and are known as the factors of Stream-Entry (Sotapatti Anga). That is, there are four quality factors that one preparing to be a Sotapanna, or descending into the Sotapatti path, must practice and cultivate. They are:
- Satpurupa Sevanaya (Association with good/noble people)
- Saddhamma Sravanaya (Listening to the True Dhamma)
- Yonisomanasikaraya (Wise attention / proper reflection)
- Dhammanudhamma Patipada (Practice in accordance with the Dhamma)
If a person cultivates these factors of Stream-Entry, they can attain the state of a Stream-Enterer, which ensures certainty of enlightenment. A brief explanation of how to cultivate these four factors is presented below.
1. Satpurupa Sevanaya (Association with Good/Noble People)
The first factor that a Buddhist disciple aspiring to attain Stream-Entry must cultivate is Satpurupa Sevanaya. This can also be viewed as associating with a spiritual friend (kalyana mittata). Regarding how associating with noble people impacts the continuation of this Buddha dispensation, the Venerable Ananda's answer to the Buddha's inquiry was that this dispensation consists entirely of association with spiritual friends.
In the Cula Tissa Sutta, the Buddha instructs the monks that they should associate with Sariputta and Moggallana, stating that Venerable Sariputta is like a mother who gives birth, and Venerable Moggallana is like one who rears, and both are equal.
The ascetic Kondanna attained the Stream-Entry fruit due to his association with the fully enlightened Buddha. Upatissa the paribbajaka attained Stream-Entry due to the association with the noble friend Venerable Assaji. Kolita the paribbajaka attained Stream-Entry due to his association with Upatissa the paribbajaka.
The opportunity to associate with the Buddha is the highest association with a noble person that a traveler in samsara can receive. Similarly, the subsequent opportunity to associate with the Buddha's name as a noble person, or to associate with His disciples, can be regarded as satpurupa sevanaya.
Where the meaning of a spiritual friend is clarified, several noble qualities that they should possess are stated below:
- Possessing faith (saddha)
- Being virtuous (silavanta)
- Being learned (bahussuta)
- Being generous (cagavanta)
- Being wise (pannamanta) Inclining toward these virtuous qualities and associating with them.
If there is such an association, they are called spiritual friends. It is extremely important for a person traveling on the path to Nibbana to associate with noble beings who nourish their spiritual journey with the virtues mentioned above. The natural tendency of an uneducated ordinary person is to avoid associating with noble people.
To receive proper guidance and instructions when progressing on the Noble Path, one must acquire the association of noble people. When entering into practices such as perfecting virtue (sila) and cultivating insight meditation (vipassana), the association of noble people and receiving their guidance is very important.
Only the Buddha attained Nibbana completely devoid of the association of noble people or teachers. Therefore, after the Buddha, everyone who has seen Nibbana and travels the path to Nibbana has reached Nibbana by following the Noble Path only through the association of noble people or spiritual friends.
2. Saddhamma Sravanaya (Listening to the True Dhamma)
The second factor among the Stream-Entry factors is listening to the True Dhamma (Saddhamma Sravanaya). Listening to the Dhamma lifts one out of questioning, ignorance, and vast ignorance, transforming them into a learned person (bahussutabhavata). Among the factors of enlightenment, listening to the Dhamma acts as a condition for the rise of wisdom (panna). Listening to the Dhamma at the right time and engaging in Dhamma discussions at the proper time are mentioned in the Maha Mangala Sutta as auspicious matters.
Subsequently, many people attained the fruit of Stream-Entry through listening to the True Dhamma. Listening to the True Dhamma is what allows them to enter future paths and see Nibbana, fulfilling this factor completely. Thus, all those who entered the path in this dispensation and entered the Dhamma path have fulfilled the Stream-Entry factor of listening to the True Dhamma.
When preaching the Dhamma, the qualities that the Buddha displayed are very important:
- Adi kalyana (Good in the beginning)
- Majjhe kalyana (Good in the middle)
- Pariyosana kalyana (Good in the end)
- Artha sahita (Endowed with meaning)
- Vyanjana sahita (Endowed with phrasing)
- Kevala paripurna (Completely fulfilled)
These qualities must be fully met. Here, it shows that the Dhamma taught is good in the beginning, middle, and end. The path to extinguishing defilementsāthe pure holy life (brahmacariya)āmust be preached from start to finish. The method of this excellence is to show virtue at the beginning, the path in the middle, and the declaration of Nibbana at the end.
If a discourse is free from descriptions of women and men and focuses instead on the four foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana), it is spoken of as having meaning (satthaka). Using proper linguistic forms without rough language and expressing things clearly is called being endowed with phrasing (vyanjana sahita). A complete and fulfilled discourse in every way is the teaching of the pure holy lifeāthe teaching of the threefold training (triviksha).
To listen to the Dhamma in a way that fulfills these quality factors, the disciple engages in listening through four specific modes of engagement:
- Atthikatva dhammam sunati (Listens to the Dhamma with attentiveness/respect)
- Manasikatva dhammam sunati (Listens to the Dhamma with mental application/reflection)
- Sabbacetaso samannaharitva dhammam sunati (Listens to the Dhamma with the whole mind focused)
- Ohitasotano dhammam sunati (Listens to the Dhamma with lent/attentive ears)
Here, atthikatva dhammam sunati means listening to the Dhamma with deep reflection on its meaning and profound value. It is spoken of as listening to the Dhamma while generating a wholesome desire (kusalachanda) for the rare opportunity of hearing the True Dhamma.
Manasikatva dhammam sunati means reflecting on it. In every instance where the Buddha taught the Dhamma, the underlying instruction is that listening to the Dhamma must be accompanied by reflectionāthis is an essential requirement. Listening to the Dhamma while reflecting is an encouraged practice by the Buddha. It means examining word by word, reflecting on the meaning, and hearing the Dhamma with a subtle mind.
Sabbacetaso samannaharitva dhammam sunati means listening to the Dhamma by gathering all the mental elements together, much like stringing pearls one by one into a pearl necklace, and reflecting on it fully. While listening to the Dhamma, the Dhamma elements must be arranged sequentially without gaps or overlaps so they can be heard clearly.
Ohitasotano dhammam sunati refers to listening to the Dhamma with lent ears, as if in meditative concentration (samadhi). This means listening to the Dhamma without doing other things or being engaged in various tasks, but rather listening with bent/attentive ears.
Nowadays, many people listen to the Dhamma while engaged in other tasks, or listen to the Dhamma day and night without interruption while carrying out various chores; this does not complete the Sotapatti factor of listening to the True Dhamma correctly. Listening to the Dhamma as the completion of the Sotapatti factor requires guarding the three doors of action (mind, body, and speech), reflecting on the Dhamma with the mind, and listening with subtle awarenessālike stringing a pearl necklace or a flower garlandāwithout interruptions or gaps.
By listening to the Dhamma in this way, one enters the Dhamma path and becomes a learned noble disciple. At every moment of listening to the Dhamma, the five hindrances (nivarana) are abandoned, and the factors of enlightenment (bojjhanga) grow, filling the heart with joy directed toward Nibbana.
3. Yonisomanasikaraya (Wise Attention)
The second factor among the Stream-Entry factors is yonisomanasikaraya, which is wise investigation with wisdom. Its opposite is investigating without wisdom or with foolishness, which is ayonisomanasikaraya. Reflecting on something mentally is known as manasikara, and reflecting on it wisely is yonisomanasikaraya.
Here, reflecting wisely means that when an affliction or mental defilement arises or exists, reflecting on it wisely causes wholesome qualities to grow, while unwholesome qualities that have not yet arisen do not ariseāand if they do, wise reflection causes them to be abandoned.
When such reflection causes defilements to be abandoned and wholesome qualities to grow, it is called yonisomanasikaraya. Reflecting wisely also refers to seeing things as they truly are, without viewing them as pleasant, pleasurable, or as a self. That is, reflecting wisely on things as impermanent (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and non-self (anatta).
4. Dhammanudhamma Patipada (Practice in Accordance with the Dhamma)
The fourth factor among the Stream-Entry factors is dhammanudhamma patipada. This is the practice of following the True Dhamma, which has been grasped and directly understood through the association of noble people and listening to the Dhamma. If a person does not transgress even a minor training rule laid down by the Master, nor crosses the boundary set by the Tathagata, by even the slightest amount, they have entered the dhammanudhamma patipada.
The training rules laid down by the Tathagata here refer to the threefold training (triviksha) of virtue (sila), concentration (samadhi), and wisdom (panna). Practicing these three trainingsāmeaning following the Noble Eightfold Pathāis stated to be the dhammanudhamma patipada. Cultivating the factors of enlightenment (bodhipakkhiya dhamma) is also referred to by these same factors.
By following these four Stream-Entry factors, the three fetters of identity view (sakkaya ditthi), skeptical doubt (vicikiccha), and adherence to wrong rites and rituals (silabbata paramasa) are abandoned, serving as the foundational step to entering the Stream-Entry path, and subsequently leading toward the other path factors. These can be seen as the primary factors of Stream-Entry.
Developing the association with noble people, listening to the True Dhamma, wise attention (yonisomanasikaraya), and dhammanudhamma patipada leads a person entering the Sotapatti path to perfect unshakable faith (avesappasada) in the Triple Gem and noble virtue (ariya kanta sila).