That which is the destruction of greed, hatred and delusion is asankhata, free from the conditioned." SN IV 359 and SN IV 362
That which is the destruction of greed, hatred and delusion is nibbana. SN IV 251 and IV 321
The destruction of greed, hatred, and delusion is arahantship. SN IV 252.
"Whoever frees himself from the passions of greed, hatred, and ignorance, they call him, one who is self developed, made divine, thus-gone (tathagata)
, awake (buddha)
, one who has left fear and hatred, and one who has let go of all." Itivuttaka 57
Since a tathagata, even when actually present, is incomprehensible, it is inept to say of him – of the Uttermost Person, the Supernal Person, the Attainer of the Supernal – that after death the tathagata is, or is not, or both is and is not, or neither is nor is not SN III 118 (For the full text of this passage, see:
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(SN III 116: a tathagata is describing a tathagata.}
Of this Bhikkhu Bodhi states: “This should establish that “the Tathagata” here is not just “a being” [as the commentary states], but a Buddha or an arahant…” pg 1080 n163.
There is the case where a monk's conceit 'I am' is abandoned, its root destroyed, like an uprooted palm tree, deprived of the conditions of existence, not destined for future arising. This is how a monk is a noble one with banner lowered, burden placed down, unfettered.
"And when the devas, together with Indra, the Brahmas, & Pajapati, search for the monk whose mind is thus released, they cannot find that 'The consciousness of the one truly gone (tathagata) [ftns: 11/226] is dependent on this.' Why is that? The one truly gone (tathagata) is untraceable even in the here & now. – MN I 139
Ven Thanissaro’s FN: 11. The term "tathagata" is often, but not always, reserved for the Buddha. Sometimes, as in the case here, it is used to refer to the arahant.
Bhikkhu Bodhi’s fn 226, p 1210: “Thus Gone” is, in Pali,
Tathagata, the usual epithet of the Buddha, but here applied more broadly to the arahant [following the commentary].”
Thich Nhat Hanh translates the Chinese version of the above as: “the Buddha says:
Indra, Prajapati, Brahma, and the other gods in their entourage, however hard they look, cannot find any trace or basis for the consciousness of a Tathagata.”
As for untraceable see:
Dhp 179-180
Whose conquest can't be undone,
whose conquest no one in the world
can reach;
awakened [buddha], his pasture endless,
pathless:
by what path will you lead him astray?
In whom there's no craving
— the sticky ensnarer —
to lead him anywherever at all;
awakened [buddha], his pasture endless,
pathless:
by what path will you lead him astray?
Another text where
Tathagata and
buddha can be understood to include the arahants:
Dhp 254-5: There's no trail in space,
no outside contemplative.
People are smitten
with complications,
but devoid of complication are
the Tathagatas.
There's no trail in space,
no outside contemplative,
no eternal fabrications,
no wavering in the Awakened [buddha].
In the Sutta-Nipata take a look at the sutta that starts with v 455. Take note of the use of tathagata starting in v 467.
I.B. Horner states in her introduction to her translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, THE MIDDLE LENGTH SAYINGS, Vol 1 p xvii:
- ‘Five reason why a Tathagata is called are given at D. iii 135 (cf A. ii. 24; It. P. 121) and the Commentaries provide another eight reasons (…). Each is somewhat complex, so it would appear that the word Tathagata had no simple, narrow or rigid meaning but was, on the contrary, one with a wide sweep. In sense probably “Accomplished One” or “Perfect One” comes nearest although having no etymological justification and being, moreover, equally applicable to any arahant, the perfect one who has done all there is to be done.’
It is not only
tahagata that gets used for the arahant but, as we can see, also
buddha.
Dhammapada 181: They, the enlightened, intent on jhana,
delighting in stilling
& renunciation,
self-awakened [sambuddha] & mindful:
even the devas
view them with envy.
Dhammapada 398: Having cut the strap & thong,
cord & bridle,
having thrown off the bar,
awakened [buddha]:
he's what I [the Buddha] call
a brahman.
Dhammapada 419: "Who knows in every way the passing away and rebirth of beings, unattached, well-gone [sugata], awake [buddha], That one I [the Buddha] call brahmana."
Dhammapada 422: A splendid bull, conqueror,
hero, great seer —
free from want,
awakened [buddha], washed:
he's what I call
a brahman.