[Bejemoelemymn]

MN 149 is describing the culmination of development:

also, Dave

MN 149 describes the experience of the stream-enterer

MN 149 describes the experiencing of the diminishing of suffering via the abandoning of wrong view, craving & attachment

For him — uninfatuated, unattached, unconfused, remaining focused on their drawbacks — the five clinging-aggregates head toward future diminution. The craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now this & now that — is abandoned by him. His bodily disturbances & mental disturbances are abandoned. His bodily torments & mental torments are abandoned. His bodily distresses & mental distresses are abandoned. He is sensitive to both ease of body & ease of awareness.

MN 149 for the stream-enterer, step 3 is the experience of:

(1) due to the establishing (mindfulness) of right view, craving & attachment are abandoned
(2) due to the abandoning of attachment, the breathing calms
(3) due to the calming of the breathing, the body calms
(4) due to the calming of the body, the mind calms
(5) due to the calming of the mind, the breathing calms
(6) due to the calming of the breathing, the body calms
(7) due to the direct insight into the cause & effect relationship above, craving & attachment continue to be abandoned
(8) due to the abandoning of attachment, the breathing further calms
(9) due to the further calming of the breathing, the body further calms
(10) due to the further calming of the body, the mind further calms
(11) etc, etc, etc, until jhana

the stream-enterer here has their beginning realisation of the Four Noble Truths

MN 149 describes this clearly

thus, the path comes to fulfilment for the stream-enterer

to hold, as you seemed to have done, that the path only comes to fulfilment for the arahant, is not how it is

all practitioners experience relative 'ease of body & ease of mind' and not just the arahant

jhana is developed in this way, as described in (1) to (10) above



also, it is not correct to rigidly hold to the view that right concentration is only jhana. the Pali states:

Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, & right mindfulness — is called noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions

MN 117 the reaching of jhana requires the prior development of right concentration

the development of the right concentration of jhana cannot occur due to the prior development of wrong concentration

steps 3 and 4 are the development of right concentration that occurs prior to jhana

steps 3 and 4 are right concentration as the words "he trains himself" are used

thus the Buddha described right concentration, prior to jhana, as follows:

And what is the faculty of concentration? There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, making it his object to let go (vossaga), attains concentration, attains singleness of mind. [Thanissaro]

Here, the noble disciple gains concentration, gains one-pointedness of mind, having made release (vossaga) the object. [Bodhi]

SN 48.10 please note, as SN 49.10 describes, this 'making relinquishment (vossaga) the object' occurs prior to jhana

the Four Noble Truths are realised and applied prior to jhana

as MN 117 describes about the development of the Noble Right Concentration:

One tries to abandon wrong view & to enter into right view: This is one's right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one's right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities — right view, right effort, & right mindfulness — run & circle around right view. for example, when Kondañña, Sariputta & Maha Mogallana experienced stream-entry, this occurred prior to jhana

Bhikkhu Bodhi has written an essay (here), demonstrating jhāna is not needed to attain stream-entry

regards