Practicing Meditation to Attain Saintly Fruition: The Little-Known Difference Between 'Realizing Meditation' and 'Realizing Sainthood'

**Summary:** Understand the clear difference between realizing meditative states and realizing sainthood according to the Buddha's teachings. From the three stages of meditative concentration to the ten fetters, to avoid going astray in one's practice.

Have you ever heard someone say, "I have entered deep meditation through sitting meditation," and thought they had attained liberation? Or have you wondered why someone who is very good at meditation is still not a sage? This is one of the most important questions that any Buddhist practitioner needs to understand clearly. During a dharma talk at the Jade Buddha Temple, Venerable Thích Chân Quang revealed a sutra of the Buddha that few people pay attention to, yet it is the "standard formula" for each person's path of practice.

**The Sole Path: Right Effort – Right Mindfulness – Right Concentration**

According to the Venerable, within the Noble Eightfold Path, the last three factors—right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration—belong to meditative concentration. This is the path the Buddha has laid out, and it is a formula that cannot be wrong.

"Only in the teachings of the Tathagata are the four holy fruitions found; in other teachings, one can only realize meditation, but not realize the fruitions."

The Venerable describes the stage of right effort as a stage where the practitioner must endure a great deal: aching legs, numb limbs, a distracted mind, yet must remain sitting still. This is when we must use willpower to overcome. When we step into right mindfulness, the mind is automatically drawn into peace and bliss; we begin to break through the Five Hindrances. And only after breaking through these Five Hindrances do we enter right concentration, attaining the first jhana, second jhana, third jhana, and fourth jhana.

**The Five Hindrances – Obstacles of Meditation**

The Venerable recalls the Five Hindrances that must be broken: sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, doubt, and restlessness. One who has overcome torpor can remain awake without sleep. One who overcomes doubt gains intense self-confidence, even to the point of extremes. One who overcomes restlessness achieves a firm and stable body and mind. But this is only realizing meditation; it is not yet realizing sainthood.

"Realizing meditation does not necessarily mean realizing sainthood. Remember this. Not everyone who can sit in meditation and enter concentration has realized sainthood."

**The Ten Fetters – The Path to Realizing Sainthood**

To realize sainthood, one must break the ten fetters. A stream-enterer (Sotapanna), the first stage of sainthood, must break the first three fetters: identity view (selfishness), doubt, and attachment to rites and rituals. This means one who attains the first fruition no longer lives for themselves; they are utterly selfless and possess the wisdom to know right and wrong in every small detail.

The Venerable gives the example of a meditation master who had broken through the hindrance of sensual desire and poured gold and silver into a river. But this is only breaking a hindrance, not a fetter. A sage would not discard it; they would give that gold in alms to living beings. That is the difference: although the hindrances and fetters share some names, they are vastly different.

"One who breaks the hindrance of sensual desire no longer needs things for themselves. They also do not need to give to others or think of others. Whereas a sage lives for the Buddha's teachings and for all sentient beings."

**The Difference Between the 'Doubt' of Meditation and the 'Doubt' of a Sage**

The Venerable emphasizes further: the doubt of the hindrance is confidence in one's meditative practice. One who breaks the hindrance of doubt believes that even if scriptures were thrown into a fire, they would not lose mindfulness. But the doubt of the fetter is the wisdom to know right and wrong, and to have absolute reverence for the Buddha. Thus, the Buddha used the same word but with different meanings—this shows His greatness.

**Do Not Let Your Goal Go Astray**

In the world today, meditation has become a trend. People practice meditation for health, for relaxation, or for supernatural powers. But the Venerable warns: investigate what the purpose of a meditation center is. If they only help you become healthy, relaxed, or practice divination, then that is not the goal of a Buddhist.

"Saying meditation gives health, we can just smile and say goodbye to that. Our goal is to realize the holy fruition of liberation."

**Practicing to Have the Qualities of a Saint**

We may not realize sainthood right now, but we can at least strive to have the qualities of a saint: living selflessly, caring for the destiny of the Buddha's teachings and the benefit of sentient beings. If there is a lack of such sages, the Buddha's teachings will decline.

Persevere in practicing meditative concentration, but never forget the ultimate goal is liberation from the cycle of birth and death. And always remember: realizing meditation is not the final destination; realizing sainthood is the true goal of a child of the Buddha.