I. What This Concept Is About
“向位” (mārga-pratipannaka, "the stage of one approaching") literally means "the position of one who is journeying toward a certain place." The name is established on the meaning of "approaching the fruit" — “趣” means "to tend toward," and “果” means the fruits of the śrāmaṇya (the four fruits of the contemplative life). It describes not one who has already arrived, but a noble one (ārya) who is in the process of approaching a certain fruit without yet abiding in it. Thus it is naturally paired in contrast with “住果” (phala-pratipannaka, "abiding in the fruit"): one is called "the state of being on the road," the other "the state of having already settled."
This concept comes from the *Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya* (阿毘達磨俱舍論, T1558), and is the Sthavira-school (specifically the Sarvāstivāda tradition) refinement of the stages of the path. The Southern, Chinese, and Tibetan traditions familiar to us today each have their own frameworks of the path, and what the *Kośa* provides is one exceptionally precise "map" among them — it names every stage between the first and fourth fruits, and specifies for each name the number of afflictions to be abandoned, the faculties involved, and the fruit being approached.
One boundary must be stated at the outset: within the *Kośa*'s framework of classification, the term “向位” covers only the first three fruits — the fruit of stream-entry, the fruit of once-returning, and the fruit of non-returning. The treatise explicitly states that "in the path of seeing there is no case of initially attaining the fruit of arhatship," because the path of seeing cannot abandon the afflictions of cultivation (bhāvanā-heya), while the worldly path cannot detach from the defilement of the Peak of Existence (bhavāgra). Therefore the arhat fruit must be obtained from the path of cultivation, and does not fall within the "initially attained in the path of seeing" category of approaching stages. The map we will now walk through begins with the "approaching" stages of the first three fruits, and then extends to the "subsequent approaching" stages that arise anew in the path of cultivation after abiding in the fruit.
II. The Three "Approaching" Stages: A Map of Precision
Three variables are at work in the *Kośa*'s classification of the “向位”: faculty (dull or sharp), the number of grades of affliction-of-cultivation previously abandoned by the worldly path, and the fruit being approached. The intersection of the three determines what name is given to a noble one entering the path of seeing.
1. Faculty: Faith-Follower and Truth-Follower
Before entering the path of seeing, noble ones are first divided into two types by faculty.
Those of dull faculty are called 「随信行」 (śraddhānusārin, "faith-follower") — they follow by trusting others. That is, they have not yet personally read and verified the teachings from the scriptures themselves; they rely chiefly on trusting and following the instruction of others — teachers, spiritual friends.
Those of sharp faculty are called 「随法行」 (dharmānusārin, "truth-follower") — they follow by first personally reading the scriptures and other teachings. That is, they first read and contemplate the texts themselves, proceeding from the Dharma itself, and then enter into cultivation and realization.
In the *Kośa*, this division is a precondition prior to the classification of the three approaching stages: first determine whether dull or sharp, then look at the number of grades of affliction abandoned, and only then determine whether one is approaching the first, second, or third fruit.
2. Number of Grades of Affliction Abandoned: Determining the Distance to the Fruit Being Approached
"Afflictions of cultivation" here specifically refers to the defilements of the desire realm that are abandoned by cultivation (kāmadhātu-bhāvanā-heya) — that is, the afflictions in the desire realm that can only be abandoned through the path of cultivation. They are divided into nine grades (from the coarsest to the subtlest). Before entering the path of seeing, a noble one may already have abandoned some of them in advance through worldly meditative absorption.
The *Kośa* establishes the three approaching stages on this basis, and its verse is the most concise:
「具修惑断一，至五向初果；断次三向二；离八地向三。」
*(The one who has all the afflictions of cultivation intact, or has abandoned one up to five grades, approaches the first fruit; having abandoned the next three grades, approaches the second; having abandoned the eighth grade, approaches the third.)*
To elaborate:
- 具縛 (pṛthagjana, "one with all bonds intact" — one who has not previously abandoned any affliction of cultivation by the worldly path), or one who has abandoned one to five grades → whichever enters the path of seeing is called 初果向 (srota-āpatti-pratipannaka, "approaching the fruit of stream-entry"), tending toward the fruit of stream-entry. - One who has abandoned the sixth, seventh, or eighth grade → called 第二果向, approaching the fruit of once-returning. - One who has already become free of all nine grades of the desire realm, or has even abandoned one grade of the first dhyāna, or has already become free of the defilement of the Sphere of Nothingness → called 第三果向 (anāgāmi-pratipannaka, "approaching the fruit of non-returning"), tending toward the fruit of non-returning.
Note a counterintuitive detail: it is not the case that "the more afflictions one has abandoned beforehand, the more impressive one's entry into the path of seeing is." The basis for classifying the approaching stage is that the number of grades of affliction abandoned determines how near or far the fruit being approached is — one who has already abandoned more, upon entering the path of seeing, is already closer to the next fruit up, and is therefore directly named the "approaching" stage of that higher fruit. A person with all bonds intact who enters the path of seeing is still at the starting point, so he is approaching the first fruit; one who has already become free of all nine grades of the desire realm, or even of the Sphere of Nothingness, who enters the path of seeing is almost ready to obtain the fruit of non-returning, and is therefore directly the third-fruit approacher.
3. Three Modes of Expression: Prose, Verse, and Full Names
The *Kośa* uses three formulations for the same set of classifications: in prose it explains the names by "because it tends toward the first fruit" (趣初果故), "because it tends toward the second fruit" (趣第二果故), "because it tends toward the third fruit" (趣第三果故) — emphasizing the action of "tending toward"; in verse it abbreviates them as "初果向" (approaching the first fruit), "向二" (approaching the second), "向三" (approaching the third); in full narrative it uses the complete names "預流向" (stream-entry approacher), "第二果向" (second-fruit approacher), "第三果向" (third-fruit approacher). The three formulations refer to the same set of stages.
III. Abiding in the Fruit and Change of Name: The Stages in Motion
"Approaching" is not a static label. When a noble one completes the fifteen moments of the path of seeing and reaches the sixteenth moment, the mind of the class-acquaintance of the path (mārga-jñāna), the original "approaching" turns into "abiding."
1. At the Sixteenth Moment: Approaching Turns to Abiding, Names Change
The original faith-follower and truth-follower, upon the sixteenth moment, are renamed 「住果」 ("abiding in the fruit"):
- The original stream-entry approacher abides in the fruit of stream-entry, - The original once-returning approacher abides in the fruit of once-returning, - The original non-returning approacher abides in the fruit of non-returning.
At the same time, the original names "faith-follower" and "truth-follower" are discarded. In their place come:
- Those of dull faculty are renamed 「信解」 (śraddhādhimukta, "liberated by faith"), - Those of sharp faculty are renamed 「見至」 (dṛṣṭi-prāpta, "attained by insight").
That is, once the noble one emerges from "the path of seeing" and enters the stage of "abiding in the fruit," his name no longer carries the character "向" (approaching), and the dull/sharp distinction likewise receives new names. This renaming itself is the marker of the transition between stages.
2. One Abiding in the Fruit Is Not Called a Subsequent Approacher — Unless the Superior Path Arises
Here is a criterion the *Kośa* particularly emphasizes: one abiding in the fruit, though he may already have abandoned some afflictions of cultivation in the past, is called only "one abiding in the fruit" and not "an approacher of the next fruit" — so long as he has not yet obtained and has not yet initiated the path tending toward a superior fruit. The criterion lies in "not yet having obtained the superior fruit-path" (未得勝果道) and "not yet having initiated the superior path" (未起勝道).
In other words: a noble one already abiding in the fruit of stream-entry — even if he abandoned many grades of affliction of cultivation in past lives — as long as he has not yet generated the superior fruit-path of "I want to go higher," he is still called "one abiding in the fruit of stream-entry," not "an approacher of the second fruit." The mere pre-existing number of abandoned grades cannot automatically make him a subsequent approacher; only when the superior fruit-path arises does the corresponding approaching stage come to be established.
This point is especially meaningful for contemporary people — we will return to it later.
3. Re-Establishing the Approaching Stage After Abiding, Within the Path of Cultivation
When one abiding in the fruit genuinely initiates the superior fruit-path and enters the path of cultivation, the *Kośa* re-establishes the approaching stage according to the number of grades of desire-realm affliction of cultivation abandoned:
- One who has abandoned three or four grades of the desire realm has the distinction of 「家家」 (kulaṅkula, "family-to-family") — meaning one must still be reborn in a family several times before attaining liberation. - One who has abandoned up to five grades is called the second approacher (第二向). - Abandoning six grades constitutes the fruit of once-returning (一來果). - One who has abandoned seven or eight grades is called 「一間」 (ekavīcika, "one interval") — this is the third approacher (第三向), meaning only one interval of birth-and-death remains before liberation. - Abandoning nine grades constitutes the fruit of non-returning (不還果).
Thus the complete picture of "approaching" emerges: it includes both the three approaching stages established in the path of seeing on the basis of previously abandoned afflictions (first-fruit approacher, second-fruit approacher, third-fruit approacher), and also the subsequent approaching stages established after abiding in the fruit, when the superior fruit-path is initiated and the process of abandoning afflictions in the path of cultivation proceeds.
IV. A Walk-Through in Everyday Life
“向位” is a highly specialized concept of stages on the path; it cannot be directly equated with psychological or self-development concepts. But its inner logical structure — the distinction between "being on the way" and "having arrived," the difference between direction and position, gradualism, differences in faculty, the difference between "being satisfied with the present state" and "setting out anew" — can help us reflect on some scenarios familiar to contemporary people. I will walk through this mapping strictly according to the classical definitions, and note where it is a direct correspondence and where it is only a structural inspiration.
Scenario One: Learning a New Skill (Instrument, Programming, Meditation, Running)
Classical definition: 「向位」 is the stage of "approaching, not yet abiding"; 「住果」 is the stage of "already abiding."
Direct correspondence: In the early period of learning something new, we are all "approaching" — we have not yet stably mastered it, and we often have to go back and shore up the basics. One day we suddenly grasp the core movement, can play stably, can write code that runs, can sit for forty minutes continuously — from that moment we are "abiding in the fruit": abiding in the ability already obtained, able to call on it stably.
Where the mapping is easily mistaken: Many people think "abiding in the fruit" is the finish line, after which one need not practice anymore. But the *Kośa*'s criterion is — as long as you do not initiate the superior fruit-path, you are still an abider in the fruit; the name sounds nice ("abiding in the first fruit"), but you are not moving toward anything higher. Abiding in the fruit is not the end; it is a stable state. As long as you no longer initiate the upward path, you remain where you are. This corresponds to learning: a person who can stably play beginner-level pieces, if he no longer generates the aspiration "I want to play harder pieces," remains an abider in the first fruit and will not naturally become an intermediate player.
Scenario Two: Breaking a Habit (Procrastination, Phone-Scrolling, Emotional Eating)
Classical definition: abandoning afflictions is grade by grade and gradual; both the person with all bonds intact and the one who has abandoned one to five grades, upon entering the path of seeing, are called first-fruit approachers — that is, the starting points differ, but the act of "beginning to be on the road" itself is not graded as higher or lower.
Direct correspondence: In breaking a habit that has entangled one for years, almost no one can jump directly from "not abandoning at all" to "completely abandoning." Most people first abandon one grade at the coarsest trigger point — say, quitting late-night phone scrolling; then abandon another grade — say, quitting phone scrolling during the commute; then another — say, quitting phone scrolling right after waking up. Each abandoned grade is a concrete victory, but the number of grades abandoned determines which fruit you are approaching — the more and the finer the grades you abandon, the closer you are to the complete fruit of non-returning (no more backsliding).
Where the mapping is easily mistaken: The most common illusion for contemporary people is "incomplete abandonment = no abandonment = wasted effort." But the *Kośa* clearly states that abandoning one to five grades and entering the path of seeing is still being a first-fruit approacher. You are already on the road; you are no longer called one with all bonds intact; you are already "approaching." Incomplete abandonment is not failure; it is that you are currently at the stage of first-fruit approacher, and simply have not yet abided in the first fruit.
Scenario Three: Self-Growth — Should I Be "Sharp" or "Dull" Faculty?
Classical definition: dull faculty is "following by trusting others" (faith-follower); sharp faculty is "following by personally reading the scriptures and other teachings" (truth-follower).
Structural inspiration: It is not the case that sharp faculty is necessarily "better" than dull. In the *Kośa*, dull vs. sharp is only a difference of path, not of superiority. The dull-faculty person relies on trusting a good spiritual friend — this is the stable path; the sharp-faculty person relies on his own reading — this is the faster path, but less stable. Both can enter the path of seeing, and both can accomplish the fruits of the contemplative life.
Where the mapping is easily mistaken: Contemporary culture especially celebrates "independent thinking" and "self-taught success" (sharp faculty), and regards "relying on a mentor/teacher/community/scripture" as second-class (dull faculty). But the *Kośa*'s classification carries no such praise or blame — dull vs. sharp is only a difference in the mode of cognition, not a hierarchy of ability. Trusting others is not incompetence, and reading on one's own is not more advanced. Both paths deserve respect.
Scenario Four: Having Achieved Something but Stagnating — A Real-Life Portrait of "One Abiding in the Fruit Is Not Called a Subsequent Approacher"
Classical definition: one abiding in the fruit, though he may have already abandoned some afflictions in the past, is called only "one abiding in the fruit" — not "an approacher of the next fruit" — so long as he has not yet obtained and initiated the path tending toward a superior fruit. The criterion is "not having obtained the superior fruit-path" and "not having initiated the superior path."
Direct correspondence: Many people achieve a decent result at some stage (getting a job, publishing a first book, children starting school), and then settle stably into that state — with no new ambition, new challenge, new aspiration. From a worldly perspective this is "stability"; from the *Kośa*'s perspective this is the abider in the fruit not being called a subsequent approacher — he has neither moved toward something higher nor initiated the superior fruit-path. It is not that he has lost what he previously obtained, but that his current stage is only "abiding," not "approaching."
Where the mapping is easily mistaken: Contemporary discourse often conflates "stability" with "stagnation," and "contentment" with "completion." A genuinely "upward" state is "abiding in the fruit" while simultaneously "initiating the superior fruit-path" — both settling in what has been obtained and walking toward the next fruit. The two are not opposed; the *Kośa* explicitly establishes them as two conditions: one must both abide and initiate for a new approaching stage to be constituted.
V. Why Contemporary People Need It
In the context of popular Buddhism, we often hear expressions like "sudden enlightenment," "attaining Buddhahood on the spot," "the present moment is it." In Chinese Buddhism there is the Chan-style "directly pointing to the mind," and in Tibetan Buddhism the sudden-enlightenment traditions of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen. None of these is what the term “向位” describes — it is the gradualist path-classification peculiar to the Sthavira schools. But understanding it still matters for contemporary people, not because we should replicate it, but because it counters several illusions peculiar to contemporary people.
1. Countering the Illusion of "One-Step Arrival"
Contemporary culture tends to view progress as an event — promotion, graduation, marriage, buying a house, seeing fitness results. But the *Kośa* classifies progress as stages: you are either in the state of "already obtained" or in the state of "approaching," and within the state of approaching there are further divisions into first-fruit approacher, second-fruit approacher, third-fruit approacher. Real progress is a continuous transition of position, not an event-like leap. This in fact structurally echoes what many modern disciplines call "deliberate practice" — but we must be wary: the Buddhist concept of "stage" is not a skill ladder, but the precision of abandoning afflictions, and cannot be directly mapped onto "passing level so-and-so."
2. Countering "Growth Anxiety" — But Avoiding the Reverse "I've Had Enough"
The *Kośa* provides a sober criterion: where you currently are is determined by two objective conditions — "the number of grades of affliction abandoned" and "whether the superior fruit-path has been initiated" — not by your emotions. This means:
- No need to be anxious over temporary non-achievement — you are already on the first-fruit approacher stage, already on the road. - No need to be complacent over temporary achievement — as long as the superior fruit-path has not been initiated, you are still an abider in the fruit, and have not entered the next approaching stage.
Contemporary people need this sober system of classification: neither cheaply comforting "you're already on the road," nor crudely denying "you haven't arrived" — but rather giving concrete criteria, so that you know where you are, what is still lacking, and where to go.
3. Countering the "Standardized" View of Education
The dull/sharp distinction tells us that the same fruit can be attained by people of different faculties through different paths. This means — there is no single practice method suitable for everyone. A common error in the contemporary self-growth field is treating one method (meditation, journaling, cognitive behavioral therapy) as the one correct path, as if everyone should walk that single road. But the *Kośa*'s classification reminds us: differences in path are permitted; differences in result (which fruit one approaches) are the basis of classification.
4. Countering the Illusion That "Sudden Enlightenment Is the Destination"
Chan-style "sudden enlightenment," within the *Kośa*'s framework, might correspond to a one-time attainment of the path of seeing — but after the attainment of the path of seeing, there remains the long process of the path of cultivation. After abiding in the fruit one must again initiate the superior fruit-path, abandon afflictions of cultivation grade by grade, and pass through intermediate stages such as family-to-family and one-interval. This is the Sthavira reminder to contemporary people: even if a single sudden enlightenment lets you clearly see some truth, it does not mean your cultivation is thereby complete. Sudden enlightenment is a change of direction, not the disappearance of all problems.
VI. Common Misreadings and Clarifications
Misreading One: Thinking "Approaching" Is Bad and "Abiding in the Fruit" Is Good
In the *Kośa*, "approaching" and "abiding in the fruit" are neutral stage classifications, with no praise or blame. "Approaching" is the dynamic state of walking; "abiding in the fruit" is the stable state of settling. Both are normal stages in the process of cultivation. Reading "approaching" as "not yet cultivated well" or "still inadequate," and "abiding in the fruit" as "cultivated well" or "up to standard," is misreading a dynamic/stable distinction as a superiority/inferiority distinction.
Misreading Two: Thinking Dull Faculty Is Inferior to Sharp
As stated earlier. Dull vs. sharp is only a difference of path (trusting others vs. personal reading), not a hierarchy of ability. A dull-faculty faith-follower and a sharp-faculty truth-follower, after entering the path of seeing, are classified equally regarding the fruit they approach — both are determined by the number of grades of affliction abandoned, whether approaching the first, second, or third fruit.
Misreading Three: Thinking the "Four Fruits" Are Climbed One Step at a Time Like a Ladder
The *Kośa*'s classification is: from the initial attainment in the path of seeing to obtaining fruits in the path of cultivation, the approaching stage can leap. A person with all bonds intact who enters the path of seeing is a first-fruit approacher, but a person who has already become free of the defilement of the Sphere of Nothingness, upon entering the path of seeing, is directly a third-fruit approacher. In other words, the "prior history" at the moment of entering the path of seeing determines the starting point on which fruit's "approaching" stage you stand. Thus not everyone starts from the first-fruit approacher — one who has already abandoned many afflictions in advance through the worldly path can directly enter the third-fruit approacher stage.
Misreading Four: Thinking This Is "Psychological Progress"
This is the point most in need of clarification. **The "abandoning afflictions" of the *Kośa* is the eradication of defilements (klesa) — the extinction of specific categories of greed, hatred, and delusion — not vague "psychological improvement" or "emotional stability."** The afflictions of cultivation in the desire realm are divided into nine grades, each with its specific content (such as the subdivisions of hatred, craving, wrong views, etc.), and abandoning them is a precise event based on meditative absorption, not the everyday sense of "I'm in a better mood today" or "my relationships have improved."
Misreading this framework as a "map of psychological progress" is the most common error contemporary readers make. It can inspire our reflection on "process," but it cannot be directly appropriated as a model of psychological growth.
Misreading Five: Thinking the Arhat Fruit Also Has an "Approaching Stage"
As stated earlier, the *Kośa* explicitly says "in the path of seeing there is no case of initially attaining the arhat fruit." Therefore as a term for "initially approaching in the path of seeing," it extends only to the first three fruits. The arhat approacher (arhat-pratipannaka) is established in the path of cultivation, and does not belong to the "initially attained in the path of seeing" group of classifications. If you see "arhat approacher" in the scriptures, that is an expression of the cultivation stage, outside the core scope of “向位” as a classification of the path of seeing.
Conclusion
「向位」 is a term so obscure that most Buddhists never use it. It comes from the *Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya*, that highly precise work of doctrinal taxonomy from fourth- and fifth-century Indian Buddhism, and describes the specific stage at which a noble one stands in the Sarvāstivāda tradition's path of seeing and path of cultivation. The logical structure behind it — the precise distinction between "being on the way" and "having arrived," the difference between direction and position, gradual abandonment, difference in faculties, the essential difference between being content with the present state and re-initiating the superior fruit-path — is worth our taking out and looking at again today.
Not to replicate it, but to counter those unnamed illusions of contemporary culture: the illusion of one-step arrival, growth anxiety, the standardized path, sudden enlightenment as the destination, and the idea that process can be skipped. **The *Kośa*, with its extremely precise classification, tells us: progress is not an event but a continuous transition of stages; direction matters more than position; and being on the way is itself a state worthy of being accurately named.**
This, perhaps, is the humblest gift the term 「向位」 has to offer contemporary people.