The Buddha classifies beings according to their attachment or detachment from sensual pleasures and conditioned existence. Those entangled in both are returners; those detached from sensual pleasures but still bound to existence are non-returners; and those freed from both are arahants who have ended the taints.
Vuttañhetaṁ bhagavatā vuttamarahatāti me sutaṁ:
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, as I have heard:
“Kāmayogayutto, bhikkhave, bhavayogayutto āgāmī hoti āgantā itthattaṁ. Kāmayogavisaṁyutto, bhikkhave, bhavayogayutto anāgāmī hoti anāgantā itthattaṁ. Kāmayogavisaṁyutto, bhikkhave, bhavayogavisaṁyutto arahā hoti, khīṇāsavo”ti.
“Bhikkhus, 1) one who is |bound to the yoke of sensual pleasures::under the sway of sensuality [kāmayogayutta]| and bound to the yoke of |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]| is a returner, a returner to the |present state of existence::earthly existence [itthatta]|. 2) One who is detached from the yoke of sensual pleasures but bound to the yoke of existence is a |non-returner::third stage of awakening where the lower five fetters of 1] personal existence, i.e. view that one is an embodied being, 2] doubt regarding suffering, the arising of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering, 3] adherence to rules and observances as a means of liberation, 4] sensual desire and 5] ill will are completely overcome [anāgāmī]|, not a returner to the present state of existence. 3) One who is detached from the yoke of sensual pleasures and also detached from the yoke of existence is an |Arahant::a worthy one, a fully awakened being, epithet of the Buddha [arahant]|, |whose mental defilements are ended::who is awakened through the complete exhaustion of the mental effluents, taints [khīṇāsava]|.”
Etamatthaṁ bhagavā avoca. Tatthetaṁ iti vuccati:
The Blessed One spoke on this matter. In this regard, it is said:
“Kāmayogena saṁyuttā,
bhavayogena cūbhayaṁ;
Sattā gacchanti saṁsāraṁ,
jātimaraṇagāmino.
“Entangled in sensual pleasures,
bound to the yoke of existence, as well as both;
Beings wander on in |cyclic existence::wandering on from one state of existence to another, the cycle of birth and death, moving on continuously [saṁsāra]|,
|bound for birth and death::headed toward repeated birth and dying [jātimaraṇagāmī]|.
Ye ca kāme pahantvāna,
appattā āsavakkhayaṁ;
Bhavayogena saṁyuttā,
anāgāmīti vuccare.
But those who have abandoned sensual pleasures,
yet have not reached the wearing away of |taints::defilements, pollutants [āsava]|;
Though still entangled in becoming,
they are called non-returners.
Ye ca kho chinnasaṁsayā,
khīṇamānapunabbhavā;
Te ve pāraṅgatā loke,
ye pattā āsavakkhayan”ti.
But those who are freed from doubt,
who have eradicated |conceit::self-view expressed as comparison—seeing oneself as superior, inferior, or equal; the persistent “I am” conceit (asmimāna) that underlies identification and fuels rebirth [māna]| and the potential for renewed existence;
They are the ones who have gone beyond the world,
those who have reached the wearing away of taints.”
Ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti.
This matter too was spoken by the Blessed One, as I have heard.
This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, as I have heard:
“Bhikkhus, 1) one who is |bound to the yoke of sensual pleasures::under the sway of sensuality [kāmayogayutta]| and bound to the yoke of |existence::continued conditional existence, the karmically conditioned mode of being that leads to future rebirth [bhava]| is a returner, a returner to the |present state of existence::earthly existence [itthatta]|. 2) One who is detached from the yoke of sensual pleasures but bound to the yoke of existence is a |non-returner::third stage of awakening where the lower five fetters of 1] personal existence, i.e. view that one is an embodied being, 2] doubt regarding suffering, the arising of suffering, the end of suffering, and the path leading to the end of suffering, 3] adherence to rules and observances as a means of liberation, 4] sensual desire and 5] ill will are completely overcome [anāgāmī]|, not a returner to the present state of existence. 3) One who is detached from the yoke of sensual pleasures and also detached from the yoke of existence is an |Arahant::a worthy one, a fully awakened being, epithet of the Buddha [arahant]|, |whose mental defilements are ended::who is awakened through the complete exhaustion of the mental effluents, taints [khīṇāsava]|.”
The Blessed One spoke on this matter. In this regard, it is said:
“Entangled in sensual pleasures,
bound to the yoke of existence, as well as both;
Beings wander on in |cyclic existence::wandering on from one state of existence to another, the cycle of birth and death, moving on continuously [saṁsāra]|,
|bound for birth and death::headed toward repeated birth and dying [jātimaraṇagāmī]|.
But those who have abandoned sensual pleasures,
yet have not reached the wearing away of |taints::defilements, pollutants [āsava]|;
Though still entangled in becoming,
they are called non-returners.
But those who are freed from doubt,
who have eradicated |conceit::self-view expressed as comparison—seeing oneself as superior, inferior, or equal; the persistent “I am” conceit (asmimāna) that underlies identification and fuels rebirth [māna]| and the potential for renewed existence;
They are the ones who have gone beyond the world,
those who have reached the wearing away of taints.”
This matter too was spoken by the Blessed One, as I have heard.
Vuttañhetaṁ bhagavatā vuttamarahatāti me sutaṁ:
“Kāmayogayutto, bhikkhave, bhavayogayutto āgāmī hoti āgantā itthattaṁ. Kāmayogavisaṁyutto, bhikkhave, bhavayogayutto anāgāmī hoti anāgantā itthattaṁ. Kāmayogavisaṁyutto, bhikkhave, bhavayogavisaṁyutto arahā hoti, khīṇāsavo”ti.
Etamatthaṁ bhagavā avoca. Tatthetaṁ iti vuccati:
“Kāmayogena saṁyuttā,
bhavayogena cūbhayaṁ;
Sattā gacchanti saṁsāraṁ,
jātimaraṇagāmino.
Ye ca kāme pahantvāna,
appattā āsavakkhayaṁ;
Bhavayogena saṁyuttā,
anāgāmīti vuccare.
Ye ca kho chinnasaṁsayā,
khīṇamānapunabbhavā;
Te ve pāraṅgatā loke,
ye pattā āsavakkhayan”ti.
Ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti.