The Three Insights and Six Supernormal Powers of a Great Arhat with Dual Liberation

The great arhat of the fourth fruit who is liberated in both ways (ubhayatobhāga-vimukta) possesses the three clear knowledges and the six superknowledges. The three clear knowledges are: the clear knowledge of the exhaustion of defilements, the clear knowledge of the divine eye, and the clear knowledge of recollection of past lives.

The clear knowledge of the exhaustion of defilements means that the afflictive manifestations of greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, doubt, and wrong views have all been completely eradicated, with no more view-delusions or thought-delusions remaining;

The clear knowledge of the divine eye means that the divine eye superknowledge has been developed, enabling one to observe everything in the heavens above, the earth below, and throughout the great trichiliocosm;

The clear knowledge of recollection of past lives means being able to know the events of one's own and others' past and future lives spanning eighty-four thousand great kalpas.

The six superknowledges are: the superknowledge of psychic power, the divine eye superknowledge, the divine ear superknowledge, the superknowledge of knowing others' minds, the recollection of past lives (pūrvanivāsānusmṛti), and the superknowledge of the exhaustion of defilements.

Non-Buddhist practitioners can only attain the first five superknowledges, but cannot attain the superknowledge of the exhaustion of defilements. Liberation in both ways combines liberation through wisdom and liberation through meditative concentration. Liberation through wisdom means that meditative concentration has reached the concentration of the first dhyāna, and one possesses the wisdom to liberate oneself from birth and death, escaping the three realms by means of wisdom; liberation through concentration means possessing the four dhyānas and eight samādhis as well as superknowledges, but lacking the wisdom of liberation—when one's lifespan ends, one can rely on meditative concentration to escape the three realms and attain liberation. Possessing both merits of liberation through wisdom and liberation through concentration constitutes the great arhat of the fourth fruit who is liberated in both ways, endowed with the three clear knowledges and the six superknowledges.