Saṃyojanā, Saṅyojana, Saññojana, Samyojanā

The Three, Five, Ten Fetters; Yokes to Rebirth

References:

[AN 10.13]
ATI: Fetters
Puremind Press, Venerable Punnaji, Awakening Meditation, pp 8-72
[AN 1.1-97]
The Book of the Ones: The Yokes to Rebirth
Appendixes: The 10 Fundamental Attachments
Discussion at: DhammaTalk: The Five Fetters to the Lower Rebirths
AN 4.131: Three sorts of yokes: To the lower worlds, to rebirth, and to existence.
SN 4.35.54, SN 4.35.55, the method for letting go of the s.
AN 7.8 For seven fetters.

 

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Pāḷi	MO	Hare	Horner	Punnaji	Bodhi	Nanamoli	Rhys Davids	(Mrs)Rhys Davids	Thanissaro	Walshe	Woodward
Saṃyojanā	Yokes, attachments, yokes to rebirth	Fetters	Fetters, the fetters of becoming	Entanglements	Fetters, the fetters of being	Fetters	fetters	fetters	Fetters	fetters	Fetters
Sakkāyaditthi	One True Own Body View[1]	References Rhys Davids	Own-Body	Personality perspective, self concept	personality view	personality view	delusion of self, error of permanent individual entity	error of permanent individual entity	self-identity views	personality-belief	The view of the individual-group
Vicikiccha	doubt, vacillation	References Rhys Davids	doubt, perplexity	Vacillation	doubt	doubt	doubt	doubt	Uncertainty	skeptical doubt	doubt and wavering
Sīlabbata-parāmāso	attachment to trust in good works, ethics and rituals	References Rhys Davids	clinging to rites and customs	alienation of morals	adherence to rules and observances	adherence to rules and observances	Reliance on the efficacy of rites and ceremonies, wrong judgment as to rules and ritual	wrong judgment as to rules and ritual	grasping at precepts and practices	attachment to rite and ritual	wrong handling of habit-and-ritual
Kāmacchanda	wanting, pleasure-wishing	References Rhys Davids	desire for sense pleasures	Sensual desire, sensual lust	sensual lust, covetousness	sensual lust, covetousness	bodily lusts or passions, sensuality	sensuality	Sensual Desire	sensuality	sensual desire, hankering
Vyāpādo	deviance, the by-path	References Rhys Davids	malevolence, ill-will	Hate	ill will	ill will	ill-will	ill-will	ill-will, malevolence	ill-will	malevolence, ill-will
Rūparāgo	Lust for material things	References Rhys Davids		Lust for corporeality	form, materiality/lust	form, materiality/lust	lust after rebirth in Rupa (worlds)	lust after rebirth in Rupa (worlds)	passion for form	craving for the world of form	Lust of objective form
Arūparāgo	lust for immaterial things	References Rhys Davids		Lust for in-corporeality	immateriality, immaterial realm/lust	immateriality, immaterial realm/lust	lust after rebirth in Arupa (worlds)	lust after rebirth in Arupa (worlds)	passion for what is formless	craving for the formless world	lust of the formless
Māna	pride	References Rhys Davids		identity, self esteem (positive or negative)	conceit	conceit	pride, conceit	conceit	conceit	conceit	conceit
Uddhaccan	trembling	References Rhys Davids	restlessness	Anxiety	restlessness	restlessness	Self-righteousness, excitement	excitement	restlessness, worry	distraction	excitement, Restlessness
Avijjā	blindness	References Rhys Davids	ignorance	unconsciousness	ignorance	ignorance	ignorance	ignorance	ignorance	ignorance	ignorance

 

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^[1] Previously I have translated this term 'one-truth-view'. This was not a good translation. Happily it resulted, if the view itself is abandoned, in a perception that encompasses abandoning the idea of 'own-body.' But it was not a translation, but an interpretation, and after much pondering I see that the idea, for a beginner (and this idea is very important for the beginner seeking safety) of the error of seeing the body as one's own is easier to understand than the idea that one must abandon all ideas of a single true way of seeing things.
That 'sakkāya' means 'own-body' is the current con census. There is some doubt about that. The 'own' part is 'saka'; 'kāya' is body, in all the senses of the word in English but with the primary meaning not of the physical body but of the grouping together and identification with the khandhas, so the meaning is, for some sorts of beings, more along the lines of 'personal world'.
I have made/am correcting instances of this translation on this page and throughout the site as I find them.

There is a further issue here which is not easy to understand: These yokes are not, in-and-of themselves, the problem. The goal is not simply to know about them or to see that they are true, but what must be done is to abandon living by them, the way they are obsessed by, adopted by as true, thirsted for as values, must be abandoned. See MN 64 for the importance of this.

 

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[AN 4.131] Saṅyojana Puggala Suttaṃ the Pāḷi,
Fetters, Woodward translation.
The Buddha describes four sorts of persons in relationship to the sorts of yokes to rebirth [saṅyogana] they have or have not yet got rid of.

This sutta raises many important issues. First is an unusual breakdown of the saṅyoganas:

1. those yoking one to rebirth in the lower worlds Woodward translates 'this World' and then, for the Once Returner translates in a way that can be misunderstood as indicating that he has not broken any of the first five fetters (this, apparently, an opinion derived from commentary). But these are yokes to any 'kama-loka' which includes the deva-worlds up to the Tusita Realm — see the Buddhist cosmology here — These first five yokes are: 1. The One-true Own-Body view, 2. Doubt, 3. Belief that good deeds, ethical conduct or rituals can bring an end to Pain, 4. Wishing for pleasure, 5. Deviant thinking. When the first three of these are broken by the Streamwinner, he is no longer subject to rebirth lower than the world of humans. He is able to see when he is hanging on to a way of viewing his individuality that will lead him to hell or some other low state and is able to let that go without having the strength to let go of every sort of being. The Once-returner is also a Streamwinner, so he will have at least broken the first three yokes. The Buddha is in this case speaking of the category as a whole, not it's individual components. He does not say 'has not broken any fetters' he says 'has not broken the 'orambhāgiyāni saṅyojanāni.' All five.

2. those yoking one to rebirth

3. those yoking one to existence.

Bhikkhu Bodhi cites the commentary for definition of the last two and the result is a restatement of the terms with nothing informative added.

You are welcome to disagree, but I suggest we do not need to go off into bizarre speculations relying on the commentary to understand these last two categories. It is sufficient to carefully examine the nature of the 10 saṅyojanāni that we are given.

First, to understand the latter two categories, one must understand fetter #1: sakkāyaditthi. The usual understanding is that this means 'view of self' understanding that to mean the idea one has that one has an eternal self, etc. (Actually the usual understanding is to flip to the view that there is no self, but that is just an error.) The emphasis should be on the 'view' part of the compound. The holding onto points of view concerning individuality with the idea: 'This alone is the truth, all other views are stupidity.' The Streamwinner who has freed himself from this yoke will have understood that the problem of pain arises as a result of the holding on to a view concerning his having an eternal self, but he will not necessarily have actually abandoned the identification, thoughts, and so forth that arise from having had that point of view in the past. Its like the phantom limb phenomena. He is likened to the person who has come across a well without a bucket to retrieve the water. He can see the solution (as it were) but has not got the means to drink.

In a similar way all the first five fetters have to do with orienting the intellect to the goal and focusing the individual's behavior on elimination of various gross obstructions to perception of his inner workings. These first five do not constitute having uprooted the underlying drive to be. The next two fetters are lust for form and lust for immaterial existence: the underlying drives to be, aka: yokes to actual rebirth.

The final three yokes are pride, a fear-ridden-anxiety, and being subject to misunderstanding (aka blindness). Here we have the case of the person who has sufficient experience to prevent him from behavior that would result in rebirth in any realm of being, but for whatever reason (long habit, experience, difficult circumstances) there remain these subtle states of mind. This is the case of the Non-Returner who no longer own-makes (sankharams) and who obtains final release at some point after the death of the body but before assuming any rebirth.

There is much discussion back and forth concerning the precise state this individual is in caused by trying to imagine a state of existence which does not require rebirth. A between-births. But this is not necessary if one examines AN 11.7 and similar suttas where it is stated that there is the possibility of perception without perception of any realm of being. 'Existence' is a matter of perception, rebirth is a matter of having acted upon perception to the effect of having set rolling identification with form or the formless. The paṭicca samuppāda differentiates between bhava and jāti: existence and rebirth. This person is percipient of these subtle mental states. That is what remains for him of existence. That is what he gets rid of, without assuming rebirth, to become Arahant.
Say I.

 

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The Seven Saṅyogana

Anunaya-saṅyojanaɱ,||
paṭigha-saṅyojanaɱ,||
diṭṭhi-saṅyojanaɱ,||
vicikicchā-saṅyojanaɱ,||
māna-saṅyojanaɱ,||
bhavarāga-saṅyojanaɱ,||
avijjā-saṅyojanaɱ.|| ||

Collaboration
resistance
views
doubt and wavering,
pride,
lust for life,
blindness.

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