Stages of liberation

What Are the Four Noble Fruits? Stream-Entry to Arahant

Pāli: cattāri sāmaññaphalāni · Sanskrit: catvāri śrāmaṇyaphalāni · Vietnamese: Tứ thánh quả

The four noble fruits (tứ thánh quả) are the four stages of liberation on the path the Buddha taught: stream-entry (sotāpanna, Tu-đà-hoàn in Vietnamese, also called entering the stream), once-return (sakadāgāmī), non-return (anāgāmī) and arahantship (arahant). SN 45.35 puts it briefly: the ascetic life is the Noble Eightfold Path, and the fruits of the ascetic life are these four. The discourses do not define the fruits by feelings or special experiences, but by the fetters (saṃyojana), the ties that bind, that have been abandoned: the stream-enterer has abandoned three fetters; the once-returner has abandoned three fetters and thinned greed, hatred and delusion; the non-returner has abandoned the five lower fetters; the arahant has destroyed every fetter and the taints. Learning the four fruits shows where the path leads and gives practice a direction; it is not for claiming attainment or guessing who has reached what.

A guide by Inti Foundation · updated 1 October 2026

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From the discourse: three noble stages in the assembly (MN 118)

Quoted verbatim from the Vietnamese translation by Ven. Thích Minh Châu in the Inti Dharma library (MN 118).

Này các Tỷ-kheo, trong chúng Tỷ-kheo này, có những Tỷ-kheo đã đoạn trừ năm hạ phần kiết sử, được hóa sanh, từ ở đấy được nhập Niết-bàn, không còn phải trở lại đời này nữa. Các bậc Tỷ-kheo như vậy, này các Tỷ-kheo, có mặt trong chúng Tỷ-kheo này. Này các Tỷ-kheo, trong chúng Tỷ-kheo này, này có những Tỷ-kheo đã đoạn trừ ba kiết sử, đã làm cho muội lược tham, sân, si, là bậc Nhất lai, sau khi sanh vào đời này một lần nữa, sẽ đoạn tận khổ đau. Các bậc Tỷ-kheo như vậy, này các Tỷ-kheo, có mặt trong chúng Tỷ-kheo này. Này các Tỷ-kheo, trong chúng Tỷ-kheo, có những Tỷ-kheo đã đoạn trừ ba kiết sử, là bậc Dự lưu, không còn đọa vào ác đạo, chắc chắn sẽ được giác ngộ. Các bậc Tỷ-kheo như vậy, này các Tỷ-kheo, có mặt trong chúng Tỷ-kheo này.

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Each fruit is recognised by the fetters abandoned

The Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing (MN 118) opens with the Buddha looking over the assembly of monks on a full-moon night and naming them by kind: some are arahants, their taints destroyed; some have abandoned the five lower fetters, will be reborn spontaneously and attain Nibbāna there, never returning to this world; some are once-returners; some are stream-enterers. According to the Discourse on Fetters (AN 10.13), the five lower fetters are identity view, doubt, clinging to rules and rituals, sensual desire and ill will; the five higher ones are desire for form, desire for the formless, conceit, restlessness and ignorance. The discourses measure a stage by what has been let go: peaceful feelings come and go, while an abandoned fetter is a change at the root of the mind.

Stream-entry (Tu-đà-hoàn): one who has entered the stream

In SN 55.5, Venerable Sāriputta says that the «stream» is the Noble Eightfold Path, and whoever possesses that path is called a stream-enterer, one who has entered the stream. The stream-enterer has abandoned three fetters: identity view (taking the five aggregates as self), doubt (about the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha and the path) and clinging to rules and rituals (holding to precepts and rites as if they alone could purify). Such a person no longer falls into the lower realms, and according to AN 3.87 is reborn at most seven times among gods and humans before ending suffering. The Great Discourse on the Final Nibbāna (DN 16) calls the four qualities of this stage the «mirror of the Dhamma»: confirmed confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha, and the virtue dear to the noble ones.

Once-return, non-return, arahantship: what changes

The once-returner (Tư-đà-hàm) has also abandoned three fetters, and greed, hatred and delusion have been made «thin»; such a person returns to this world only once more and then ends suffering. The non-returner (A-na-hàm) also abandons sensual desire and ill will, completing the five lower fetters, and so does not return to this world. The arahant abandons the five higher fetters as well. AN 3.87 puts it in terms of the three trainings: stream-enterers and once-returners have fulfilled virtue, with concentration and wisdom developed in part; non-returners have fulfilled virtue and concentration; arahants have fulfilled virtue, concentration and wisdom. AN 8.59 lists eight kinds of persons: the four who have realised the four fruits and the four practising for each fruit, the «four pairs, eight persons» praised in the recollection of the Sangha in DN 16.

How do the four noble fruits differ from the four jhānas?

The four jhānas are four levels of concentration: the Discourse of Analysis (SN 45.8) defines right concentration in the Noble Eightfold Path as the first to the fourth jhāna, from the joy and happiness born of seclusion to the purity of mindfulness and equanimity. That is one factor of the path. The four noble fruits are stages of liberation, defined by fetters abandoned rather than by levels of concentration reached. So deep concentration is not yet a fruit, and a striking meditative experience is not in itself a sign of any stage. Concentration settles the mind so it can see clearly; it is the whole path of virtue, concentration and wisdom that leads to the abandoning of fetters.

Four things that lead into the stream, and a caution against labels

SN 55.55 names four things that lead to realising the fruit of stream-entry: associating with superior persons, hearing the true Dhamma, wise attention, and practising in accordance with the Dhamma; the discourses that follow say the same four lead to the higher fruits, up to arahantship (SN 55.58). That is where a learner can begin right away. The Diamond Sūtra of the Northern tradition uses these same four fruits to point out that a stream-enterer does not think «I have attained the fruit of stream-entry». In DN 16 the «mirror of the Dhamma» lets a noble disciple know their own state; for those still learning, its safe use is to see which qualities are weak and need strengthening, not to give titles to oneself or others.

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Practice today

1.Read the MN 118 passage on this page slowly, then write down in your own words which fetters each stage has let go of.
2.Choose one of the four things that lead into the stream and do one concrete thing for it today, such as hearing a Dhamma talk or reading a discourse.
3.When the thought «I have attained something» arises after meditation, simply note it as a state that comes and goes, without giving anyone the name of a stage.

Frequently asked questions

Which fruits make up the four noble fruits?

They are stream-entry (Tu-đà-hoàn), once-return (Tư-đà-hàm), non-return (A-na-hàm) and arahantship. SN 45.35 calls them the fruits of the ascetic life, the results of developing the Noble Eightfold Path. Each fruit is a deeper letting go than the one before.

What is the fruit of stream-entry, and why is it called the first fruit?

A stream-enterer (Tu-đà-hoàn) is one who has entered the stream, and according to SN 55.5 that stream is the Noble Eightfold Path. It comes first, hence «the first fruit». Such a person has abandoned identity view, doubt and clinging to rules and rituals, and no longer falls into the lower realms.

What does realising stream-entry mean?

It means the first three fetters have actually been abandoned, not merely understood in theory. This stage is not reserved for monastics: DN 16 tells of many lay followers at the village of Nādika who died as stream-enterers or at higher stages. SN 55.55 sets no timetable; it names four things to develop.

Are the four noble fruits the same as the four jhānas?

No. The four jhānas are four levels of concentration that SN 45.8 classes as right concentration; the four noble fruits are four stages of liberation, defined by fetters abandoned. Concentration is one part of the path, while a fruit is the transformation that virtue, concentration and wisdom together bring.

How can one tell that someone has realised a fruit?

The discourses describe each stage by what has been abandoned in the mind, which outsiders can hardly see in someone's manner or stories. So do not label others as attained, and do not rush to claim a stage after a meditative experience; look instead at whether your own confidence, virtue and understanding of the Dhamma are growing.

Sources for deeper reading

MN 118 — Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing

The discourse opens by describing the assembly of monks stage by stage (arahants, those who have abandoned the five lower fetters, once-returners, stream-enterers) before teaching mindfulness of breathing.

What Is an Arahant?What Are the Fetters?What Is Nirvana?The 37 Factors of Awakening What Is Right Concentration?Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels What Is a Spiritual Friend?