Lokuttara cittas - What defilements has the sotāpanna eradicated?

A.

The sotāpanna has eradicated doubt or vicikicchā. Doubt is classified as

one of the 'hindrances': it prevents us from performing kusala. We may doubt

about the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, about the right practice. The

sotāpanna has no more vicikicchā. 

Another akusala cetasika, eradicated by the sotāpanna, is macchariva or

stinginess. The 'Visuddhimagga' (XXII, 52) mentions five kinds of avarice:

The kinds of avarice are the five, namely, avarice about dwellings, families,

gain, Dhamma and praise, which occur as inability to bear sharing with others

any of these things beginning with dwellings.

The 'Atthasālinī (Expositor, Book II, part II, Ch. II, 374, 375) gives an

explanation of these five kinds of stinginess concerning the monk's dwelling-

place, the family he is used to visit in order to receive the four requisites

(robes, food, shelter, medicine), the four requisites themselves (mentioned as

'gain'), knowledge of the Dhamma and praise (concerning personal

beauty or virtues).

It is explained that there is stinginess if one does not want to share any of

these things with others. However, there is no stinginess if one does not want

to share these things with someone who is a bad person or someone who

would abuse any of these things. For instance, if one does not teach Dhamma

to someone who will abuse Dhamma, there is no stinginess as to Dhamma.

Thus we see that the eradication of macchariya does not mean sharing

everything one has with anybody. The sotāpanna has eradicated macchariya;

the five kinds of stinginess just mentioned do not arise.

Furthermore, the sotāpanna has eradicated issā or envy. Issā can arise with

a dosa-mūla-citta (citta rooted in aversion). The 'Visuddhimagga' (XIV, 172)

states concerning envy:

Envying is envy. It has the characteristic of being jealous of other's success.

Its function is to be dissatisfied with that. It is manifested as averseness from

that. It proximate cause is another's success...

B.

It is so human to be jealous. I heard that some psychiatrists are founding an

institute where they will train people not to be jealous.

A.

Psychiatrists may try to cure people of jealousy, but how could they eradicate

the tendencies of jealousy in the citta of others? Only the wisdom which is

developed to the degree of the sotāpanna can eradicate jealousy completely,

so that it never arises again.

B.

It is marvelous that such ugly things as stinginess and jealousy can be

eradicated. It is right to call the sotāpanna an ariyan ('noble one'),

although not all defilements are eradicated by him.

A.

The sotāpanna is an ariyan because at the moment of enlightenment the

sotāpanna has become a different person; he is no longer a

'worldling' (puthujjana). There is no more latent tendency of ditthi

accumulated in the citta, nor are there latent tendencies of vicikicchā

(doubt), macchariya (stinginess) or issā (envy) either.