Sim Pern Chong shared:

"Sometimes, synchronicity can be funny. 

I am having a fever n sore throat since the last few days... Told myself not to be distracted and getting binded into the sensation and thus suffering. 

Just now was like binded into the sickness sensation.. a guy with a 

Tshirt 'Distraction not allowed'.. appear right in front of me. ..giving me a timely instruction.

😆

…

At times can dislodge from the suffering sensation.. Like severed from binding of the 'human experience'. Dunno how to describe.

But i dun think is at the initial anatta ..

Gives great confidence when tat happens."

I shared:

"Vimalakirti Sutra:

Mañjuśrī asked, “‌Noble sir, how should a sick bodhisattva control his own mind?”

Vimalakīrti replied, “Mañjuśrī, a sick bodhisattva should control his own mind with the following consideration: Sickness arises from total involvement in the process of misunderstanding from beginningless time. It arises from the afflictions that result from unreal mental constructions, and hence ultimately nothing is perceived which can be said to be sick. Why? The body is the issue of the four main elements, and in these elements there is no owner and no agent. There is no self in this body, and, except for arbitrary insistence on self, ultimately no ‘I’ which can be said to be sick can be apprehended. Therefore, thinking, ‘ “I” should not adhere to any self, and “I” should rest in the knowledge of the root of illness,’ he should abandon the conception of himself as a personality and produce the conception of himself as a thing, thinking, ‘This body is an aggregate of many things. When it is born, only things are born; when it ceases, only things cease. These things have no awareness or feeling of each other. When they are born, they do not think, “I am born”; when they cease, they do not think, “I cease.” ’

4.­16

“Furthermore, he should understand thoroughly the conception of himself as a thing by cultivating the following consideration: ‘Just as in the case of the conception of “self,” so the conception of “thing” is also a misunderstanding, and this misunderstanding is also a grave sickness; I should free myself from this sickness and should strive to abandon it.’120

4.­17

“What is the elimination of this sickness? It is the elimination of egoism [F.200.b] and possessiveness. What is the elimination of egoism and possessiveness? It is the freedom from dualism. What is freedom from dualism? It is the absence of involvement with either the external or the internal. What is absence of involvement with either external or internal? It is non-deviation, non-fluctuation, and non-distraction from sameness. What is sameness? It is the sameness of everything from self to liberation. Why? Because both self and liberation are void. How can both be void? As verbal designations, they both are void, and neither is established in reality. Therefore, one who sees such sameness makes no difference between sickness and voidness; his sickness is itself voidness, and that sickness as voidness is itself void.121

4.­18

“The sick bodhisattva should recognize that sensation is ultimately nonsensation, but he should not realize the cessation of sensation. Although both pleasure and pain are abandoned when the buddha-qualities are fully accomplished, there is then no sacrifice of the great compassion for all living beings living in the bad migrations. Thus, recognizing in his own suffering the infinite sufferings of these living beings,122 the bodhisattva correctly contemplates these living beings and resolves to cure all sicknesses.

4.­19

“As for these living beings, there is nothing to be applied, and there is nothing to be removed; one has only to teach them the Dharma for them to realize the basis from which sicknesses arise. What is this basis? It is object-perception.123 To the extent that a basis of object-perception is objectified, it is the basis of sickness. What is it that is objectified? The three realms of existence are objectified. What is the thorough understanding of the basis of that object-perception? It is its nonperception, as one does not objectify a thing that is not perceived. What does one not perceive? One does not perceive the two views, the view of the self and the view of the other. Therefore, it is called nonperception.124

4.­20

“Mañjuśrī, thus should a sick bodhisattva control his own mind in order to overcome old age, [F.201.a] sickness, death, and birth. Such, Mañjuśrī, is the sickness of the bodhisattva. If he takes it otherwise, all his efforts will be in vain. Just as one is called ‘hero’ when one overcomes all enemies, so, too, one is called ‘bodhisattva’ when one conquers the miseries of aging, sickness, and death.125

4.­21

“The sick bodhisattva should tell himself: ‘Just as my sickness is unreal and nonexistent, so the sicknesses of all living beings are unreal and nonexistent.’ Through such considerations, he arouses the great compassion toward all living beings without falling into any sentimental compassion,126 but instead, arouses great compassion toward all living beings through striving to eliminate the incidental afflictions. Why? Because great compassion that falls into sentimentally purposive views only exhausts the bodhisattva in his reincarnations. But the great compassion that is free of involvement with sentimentally purposive views does not exhaust the bodhisattva in all his reincarnations.127 He does not reincarnate through involvement with such views but reincarnates with his mind free of involvement. Hence, even his reincarnation is like a liberation. Being reincarnated as if being liberated, he has the power and ability to teach the Dharma that liberates living beings from their bondage. As the Lord declares: ‘It is not possible for one who is himself bound to deliver others from their bondage. But one who is himself liberated is able to liberate others from their bondage.’ Therefore, the bodhisattva should participate in liberation and should not participate in bondage."

Sim Pern Chong replied:

"Nice.. thx.

The phrase 'absence of involvement .. ' is the dynamics i think i was trying to describe."

Also see: A Practitioner's Reflection on the Kōmyōzō Zanmai

YouTube shared by Sim Pern Chong:

For any seeker on a spiritual path, a master's words can act as a signpost to truth. Yet, even with the clearest teachings, the 'noise' of our own mind—the constant analysis and commentary—can prevent the message from truly landing. A thought-provoking idea from Sim Pern Chong suggests a powerful synthesis for modern spirituality: using technology to induce a meditative state, creating a silent space within for the "worded curriculum" of a master's teachings to be deeply understood. He recommends utilizing Hemi-Sync® to awaken the I AM Presence.

Sim Pern Chong shared:

“ https://www.monroeinstituteuk.org/focus-levels/

Just my own understanding and experience.

Mapping the Focus to likely realms and experiences:

Focus 15 : the experience of I AM, timelessness or Eternal Now

Focus 24-26 : this is the realms most human Beings 'goes' to after death. This is the astral realms.. ranging from 'heaven' to' hungry ghost realm'..

Focus 42 (I-there): this is the Unbounded Alaya. It is much harder to access this than Focus 15.  Here it is not just a Presence. It is the direct knowing/ perception of the manifestations across lifetimes. Anatta insight cannot directly see the 'cause and effect' in realtime . The cause and effect is perceived here.. and is more nuanced and complex.. as one seems to be able to also plan what to inhibit or constraint.. That means the 'unpleasant' things in life can be self-imposed for purposes unknown to the human body/mind. Monroe called it the I-there.. i can understand. Because the 'self', 'I' is already assumed as this level. 'Self' is not only formed at the body/mind.. it is much deeper at this level. IMO, very few has ever access this level (even after death) .. Most death destinations are at FOCUS 24-26.. Hence, NDEs are not any reliable source of truth at all.. Anatta can be realised after FOCUS 15.. without any awareness of the levels beyond 15.

My take is that the correction of perceptual error at FOCUS 42, is what is winding down the compulsive rebirthing and the enabling the perception beyond.. that is a mystery.. and i only had a tiny glimpse 

Just my opinion”

Soh replied:

“Yes there are two kinds of arahats. There are those freed from fetters and rebirth without recollecting past lives and seeing the karma of beings, and there are those who obtained the three knowledges.

Tevijjā and Paññāvimutti: The Two Paths to Arahantship in the Pāli Canon

The early Pāli texts provide a clear road-map for understanding the different capacities of fully liberated beings, or arahants. Some are described as “three-knowledge” (tevijjā) saints, possessing remarkable psychic abilities, while others are equally liberated yet lack these powers. The Canon itself makes this distinction explicit, presenting two primary archetypes of the perfected individual, which differ not in their degree of freedom but in their method of attainment.

Key Points in One Paragraph

The Pāli Canon defines the three higher knowledges (tisso vijjā) as (1) the ability to recollect one's own past lives (pubbenivāsānussati-ñāṇa), (2) the "divine eye" for observing the death and rebirth of other beings according to their kamma (cutūpapāta-ñāṇa), and (3) the direct knowledge of the destruction of the mental taints, or āsavas (āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa). Every arahant must realize this third knowledge, as it constitutes enlightenment itself. The first two, however, are by-products of deep meditative absorption (jhāna) cultivated to a high degree. This leads to two recognized types of arahant: the "both-ways-liberated" (ubhatobhāgavimutta), who masters the formless meditative states and thus gains access to psychic powers, and the "wisdom-liberated" (paññāvimutta), who is freed by penetrating insight (vipassanā) alone and may not possess these supernormal abilities. The famous Susīma Sutta (SN 12.70) depicts a group of arahants who openly state they lack the first two knowledges, while suttas like the Anuruddha Sutta (AN 8.30) feature disciples who have mastered all three. The difference, therefore, lies in the specific meditative faculties developed, not in the final, unshakeable liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

1. The Three Higher Knowledges (Tisso Vijjā)

The Sāmaññaphala Sutta (DN 2) provides the classical definition of the three knowledges as fruits of the contemplative life.

The āsavas, or "taints," are the fundamental defilements that perpetuate suffering and rebirth. They are typically listed as:

• The taint of sensual craving (kāmāsava)
• The taint of craving for existence/becoming (bhavāsava)
• The taint of ignorance (avijjāsava)

The third knowledge is the direct, experiential understanding that these taints have been utterly destroyed. The Itivuttaka (Iti 112) confirms that a monk who has perfected these three is rightly called a "tevijjo brāhmaṇo," a true "three-knowledge brahmin," having laid down the burden and become fully liberated.

2. Two Canonical Classes of Arahant

The difference in attainment of the higher knowledges maps directly onto two distinct classifications of arahants found throughout the Canon. This distinction hinges on the balance and development of two core meditative faculties: serenity (samatha) and insight (vipassanā).

2.1. Ubhatobhāgavimutta (“Liberated Both Ways”)

This arahant is described as being liberated "in both ways" because they are freed through:

1. Mind-liberation (cetovimutti): The mastery of the eight meditative absorptions—the four fine-material jhānas and the four formless attainments (arūpa-samāpattis). This profound level of samatha purifies the mind and serves as the platform for psychic powers.
2. Wisdom-liberation (paññāvimutti): The uprooting of the defilements through insight into the true nature of reality.

The Kīṭāgiri Sutta (MN 70) describes this individual as one who "contacts with his body and dwells in those peaceful, formless liberations that transcend form, and having seen with wisdom, his taints are destroyed." They have both the profound serenity of the formless states and the penetrating wisdom of liberation.

2.2. Paññāvimutta (“Liberated by Wisdom”)

This arahant attains liberation solely through the faculty of wisdom (paññā). While they must cultivate a sufficient degree of concentration to support insight, they do not necessarily master the four formless attainments. As the Buddha states in the Susīma Sutta, their freedom comes from seeing the nature of reality directly:

"First, there is the knowledge of the principle of causality, and afterwards, there is the knowledge of Nibbāna." (SN 12.70)

Their path is the direct application of vipassanā to understand impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and not-self (anattā), leading to the destruction of the taints. This is the definition of paññāvimutti.

The Yuganaddha Sutta (AN 4.170) clarifies that arahantship can be reached by developing serenity first, insight first, or both in tandem, confirming that the end-goal is the same regardless of the sequence.

3. Suttas Showing Arahants with the First Two Knowledges

• MN 71, Tevijja-Vacchagotta Sutta: The Buddha, speaking to the wanderer Vacchagotta, explicitly claims to be a tevijjā. He defines the three knowledges and affirms that he possesses them, while clarifying this is not a claim to constant, all-at-once omniscience.
• AN 8.30, Anuruddha Sutta: The Venerable Anuruddha, a foremost disciple renowned for his divine eye, declares his attainment in a verse: "The three knowledges have been attained; the Buddha’s teaching has been done."
• AN 5.28, Samādhaṅga Sutta: The Buddha explains that mastery of "five-factored right concentration" is the basis for attaining the higher knowledges, including past-life recollection and the divine eye. This links jhānic skill directly to these psychic feats, which are characteristic of the ubhatobhāgavimutta arahant.

4. Suttas Showing Arahants without the First Two Knowledges

• SN 12.70, Susīma Sutta: This is the locus classicus for the wisdom-liberated arahant. The wanderer Susīma questions a group of monks who have just declared their final knowledge (arahantship).

• Susīma asks: "Have you attained the various kinds of psychic powers... do you recollect your manifold past lives... with the divine eye, do you see beings passing away and reappearing?"
• The monks reply: "No, friend."

Susīma is bewildered, unable to understand how they can be arahants without these powers. The Buddha intervenes and explains to him that they are paññāvimutta, wisdom-liberated. Their liberation was secured not through psychic feats, but through a direct insight into dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) and the impermanence of all phenomena. The Buddha confirms their status, stating that the knowledge of the Dhamma precedes the knowledge of Nibbāna.

5. Conclusion: Why the Difference?

The existence of these two types of arahant is not a contradiction but a reflection of the flexibility of the Buddhist path. The difference arises from three factors:

1. Meditative Foundation: The first two knowledges require the profound mental stillness and power generated by mastery of the jhānas. Insight alone, focused on the three marks of existence, is sufficient to cut the fetters and achieve the third knowledge, but it does not automatically produce psychic abilities.
2. Canonical Requirement: The Buddha’s core formula for liberation, repeated countless times throughout the suttas, culminates in the statement: "Birth is ended, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more for this state of being." This declaration is contingent only on the third knowledge (āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa). The first two are never presented as mandatory for release from saṃsāra.
3. Individual Inclination: Disciples have different temperaments and aptitudes (carita). Some, like Ven. Anuruddha or Ven. Moggallāna, were naturally inclined toward developing concentration and psychic mastery. Others were more analytically bent and focused exclusively on the insight practices that lead directly to liberation. Both paths are valid and lead to the same unshakeable freedom.

Ultimately, the Pāli Canon presents a spectrum of saintly attainment. By distinguishing between wisdom-liberated and both-ways-liberated arahants, the teachings steer practitioners away from the error of conflating psychic displays with the true essence of enlightenment. The ultimate measure of an arahant is not the range of their special powers, but the complete and irreversible eradication of greed, hatred, and delusion.”

(Sim “liked” my message)

—-

Update, something relevant:

I agree with ChatGPT explanation:

The early texts give a clear reply to your friend’s worry: an arahant’s certainty that rebirth has ended comes from the “knowledge of the destruction of the taints” (āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa), not from archaeological tours through their own past lives.

Once craving and ignorance—the “fuel” of becoming—are extinguished, the mind directly knows that no new birth can arise.  The Buddha repeatedly confirms that this third knowledge is both necessary and sufficient for awakening, whereas the first two super-knowledges (past-life memory and the “divine eye”) are optional extras attained only by those who master the higher jhānas.  

⸻

1  What the third knowledge actually sees

The stock canon formula runs:

“When it is liberated there arises the knowledge: ‘It is liberated.’ He understands: ‘Destroyed is birth … there is no more of this state of being.’” (SN 22.59) 

This insight is present-time, reflexive, and causal: the mind simultaneously experiences Nibbāna (the cessation of all passion, aversion, and delusion) and sees why the cycle cannot resume—because its causes have been cut.  No retrospective life-history survey is required.

⸻

2  Texts that showcase arahants without the first two knowledges

• Susīma Sutta (SN 12.70). A group of newly-liberated monks tell the inquisitor Susīma that they cannot recall past lives, cannot see beings passing on, and possess no psychic powers—yet they are arahants.  The Buddha backs them up and labels their attainment paññāvimutti, “wisdom-liberation.”  

• (Navaka) Paññāvimutta Sutta (AN 9.44). Defines the wisdom-liberated arahant as one who ends the taints through insight without necessarily mastering the formless meditations that enable psychic feats. 

These discourses prove that direct past-life vision is not a prerequisite for certitude about the end of rebirth.

⸻

3  Why certainty does not hinge on seeing the past

3.1  Dependent origination works both forward and backward

By penetrating dependent origination in real time—seeing how ignorance → craving → becoming → birth—an arahant also sees the reverse sequence in cessation (ignorance ended ⇒ craving ended ⇒ no new becoming).  The causal principle itself is enough; personal autobiographies add nothing decisive.

3.2  The fire simile

Asked where a Tathāgata goes after death, the Buddha says it is like a fire that has gone out once its fuel is exhausted; there is simply nothing left to trace .  An arahant knows the fuel is gone, so the future blaze of rebirth is impossible.

⸻

4  Answering your friend’s two points, step by step

Friend’s doubt Canonical reply

1. “If one can’t see past lives, how know the future is finished?” The arahant knows the causal mechanism and has verified that its conditions are absent, just as a doctor knows a disease won’t return when its pathogen is eradicated.  SN 22.59 and every standard liberation verse rely solely on this present-time certainty, not on retro-cognition. 

2. “One must realise the ignorance that propels birth.” Exactly so—and that realisation is the third knowledge.  Āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa is defined as knowing both the extinguishing of the taints and the exhaustion of ignorance and craving, which is why it guarantees no future becoming. 

⸻

5  How you might phrase a friendly reply

“The Buddha distinguishes two kinds of arahant.  Both-ways-liberated saints gain deep jhāna and often the ‘three knowledges’; wisdom-liberated saints cut the fetters through insight alone.  What makes either of them sure rebirth is over is not a replay of past lives, but the third knowledge—the felt, causal certainty that craving and ignorance are finished.  Think of a fire that’s run out of fuel: you don’t need to track every spark in its history to know it can’t flare up again once the fuel is gone.”

You could then cite Susīma Sutta for arahants without psychic powers, SN 22.59 for the liberation formula, and the Fire Simile (SN 44.9) to illustrate why seeing the past is unnecessary.  That should address his concerns while staying faithful to the Pali Canon.

⸻

Quick source list

1. SN 22.59 Anattalakkhaṇa 

2. Itiv 102 Āsavakkhaya 

3. SN 12.70 Susīma (dhammatalks.org) 

4. SN 12.70 (Access to Insight) 

5. AN 9.44 Paññāvimutta (dharmafarer.org) 

6. AN 2.30 Vijjā-bhāgiya 

7. AN 5.28 Samādhanga 

8. SN 44.9 Kutūhalasālāsutta 

9. AN 8.30 Anuruddha (ATI) 

10. MN 71 Tevijja-Vacchagotta (SuttaCentral) 

——

Of relevance are some excerpts from John Tan’s new book, which includes a chapter discussing rainbow body.

“This is a liberation that is both

psychological and physical. It is the freedom that comes from seeing all

phenomena—thoughts, feelings, and even the physical body—as a "radiant and

dynamic presence" without a solid, independent core. For the Taoist adept,

it is the potential to transmute the physical form into an immortal

"energy body," harmonizing the self with the cosmic flow of the Tao.

For the Dzogchen practitioner, it is the ultimate fruition of the rainbow

body—a "deathless state" where the physical elements dissolve back

into the primordial, five-colored lights from which they arose, the final

testament to the indivisibility of mind and matter.”

“* How is seamlessness realized from a non-substantialist perspective? Not by trying to merge separate things, but by deconstructing the imaginary boundary that was never truly there. No attempt is made to connect anything, for no separate "things" or "substrates" exist at all beyond valid, empty conventionalities.

* How is the experiential taste of anatta (no-self) realized? Not by annihilating a self, but by clearly recognizing the imaginary nature of the self that was never present. Hearing is always only sound; sensing is always only sensation. There is no self or agency to be found from the very start.

* How are phenomena understood as empty? Not by destroying them, but by recognizing that "things" are designations only. When there is no substrate, there are no inherent things, only conventions mistakenly reified through names.

In the same light, consider a practitioner seeking knowledge of past lives. A misunderstanding of the path leads them to search for a specific location or repository holding the records of infinite lifetimes—a cosmic archive. But this is a mistake, which is precisely why a master like Tsongkhapa rejects the notion of a storehouse-consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna). True access comes not from locating a store, but via the removal of reified obscurations, especially the deep attachments to body and mind. Just as regression therapy brings release by clearing emotional scars, spiritual realization unveils what is already present by clearing the hypnotic fog of reification. Why? Because the nature of all appearances is perfect. There is no need to look elsewhere; one must only remove what obscures the view.

This brings us to the ultimate supramundane power, the one that surpasses all others. It is not the ability to read minds or recall past lives—for these can still be objects of grasping. It is 漏尽通 (lòu jìn tōng): the supramundane power of the exhaustion of outflows. The "outflows" or "leaks" (āsava) are the fundamental taints of craving, aversion, and ignorance that create the illusion of a separate self and a solid world.

This power is not an ability to do anything new. It is the power that arises from the complete cessation of doing, the final sealing of every leak. It is the fruition of a deconstruction executed without remainder. When the outflows are exhausted, what remains is the already-perfect, zero-action radiance of being itself. This is not just another power among many; it is liberation itself, the very state that gives birth to the light and rainbow bodies as its natural, effortless, and final expression.””