About This Answer
Asked for the most direct way to stream entry, Ajahn Dtun begins with firm confidence in the Buddha, his teaching and the noble Sangha, and belief in kamma, which leads one to keep the five precepts so that body and speech grow peaceful.
Concentration then calms the mind and gives rise to mindfulness and wisdom, which filter out greed and anger. Generosity and reflecting on death counter greed; loving-kindness and forgiveness counter anger. Attachment to the body is worn away by contemplating the 32 parts, the asubha (unattractiveness) reflections or the four elements, seeing the body as earth, water, air and fire held together for less than a hundred years.
The mark of the sotapanna, he says, is that the mind sees the body break apart before death actually comes, letting go of the coarse third of attachment to the body. Such a person no longer bears ill will, is unshaken by sickness and death, and has at most seven more births. He closes by asking whether listeners think they can do it.