The Three Stages of Letting Go of the Body

Ajahn Dtun

Published 4 Oct 202403:19Question & Answer

About This Answer

What are the three portions of attachment to the body? Ajahn Dtun explains that through moral virtue, concentration and wisdom, one reflects on the true nature of the body and lets go of attachment and identification in three portions: gross, moderate and subtle. Letting go of the grossest portion is stream entry, when the mind changes from an ordinary worldly person to the first level of the Dhamma.

Letting go of the moderate portion marks once-returning, and letting go of the subtlest attachment to the body as self is the path of non-returning, the anāgāmī. He adds that in an earlier talk he spoke only of the first level, because the audience's practice was not yet at a stage beyond it.