The Eradication of Afflictions

As for afflictions and such matters, only after attaining the fruits of realization, when first dhyāna concentration manifests, and after becoming a sage of the third fruit, can one eradicate the subtle afflictions—first eradicating greed and desire, then eradicating hatred and resentment; at the fourth fruit, self-grasping and self-conceit are eradicated. Those of the first and second fruits merely subdue afflictions: coarse afflictions do not arise, but subtle afflictions may occasionally appear. At the stage of ordinary beings, before the eradication of the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi-prahāṇa), one can only suppress afflictions, and sometimes even suppression fails. Those who possess meditative concentration at the level of first dhyāna or above can also suppress and subdue afflictions, but cannot eradicate them. Although the afflictions of an arhat of the fourth fruit have been eradicated, habitual tendencies occasionally still manifest—sometimes beyond control, sometimes without even being noticed, requiring reminders from others.