The Threefold Knowledge and Six Supernatural Powers of the Great Arhat Liberated in Both Ways

The great arhat who is liberated in both ways (ubhayatobhāgavimukta), endowed with the three knowledges and six superknowledges. The three knowledges: the knowledge of the exhaustion of defilements, the divine eye knowledge, and the knowledge of past lives.

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

The divine eye knowledge means that the divine eye superknowledge has been developed, enabling one to observe the heavens, the earth, and the great thousand worlds;

The knowledge of past lives means being able to know one's own and others' affairs across the previous and following eighty thousand great kalpas.

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

Non-Buddhists can only attain the first five superknowledges, but cannot attain the superknowledge of the exhaustion of defilements. Liberation in both ways combines liberation by wisdom and liberation by meditative concentration. Liberation by wisdom means that meditative concentration has reached the concentration of the first dhyāna, possessing the wisdom to liberate from birth and death, escaping the three realms by means of wisdom; liberation by concentration means possessing the four dhyānas and eight concentrations along with superknowledges, but lacking the wisdom of liberation, so that at the end of one's lifespan one can escape the three realms and attain liberation by relying on meditative concentration. Possessing both merits of liberation by wisdom and liberation by concentration constitutes the great arhat liberated in both ways, endowed with the three knowledges and six superknowledges.