What to make of the Eastern/New Age experience of "Stream Entry"

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There is something called ‘stream entry’ that people in Eastern religions strive for. It is basically the ‘first realization’ that eventually leads one to enlightenment (nirvana)

It is said, that one who achieves stream entry has absolute assurance that everything is impermanent (even God), duality doesn’t exist, and there is no such thing as a ‘self’.

Now I emphasize, they claim they have absolute assurance that what they are experiencing is true and is not some deception, miscalculation, demonic trick, etc. The person has absolute clarity. They are so sure of what they experienced as real, that is a teaching in Eastern religions that they can no longer go back to believing in the self, duality, etc. They can never doubt these teachings ever again.

What makes it unmistakable is the fact that in order to attain it, you have to run out of other options. You have to exhaust all theories, all hypotheses, all alternative routes to enlightenment. That’s why you don’t hesitate, because you clearly see that there is no way it could be something else.

Now my question is, what would Christians make of this experience? How can one have absolute assurance and absolute clarity of the truth for dogmas that high contradict our faith? Could this be demonic deception?, but would one be able to have so much clarity during demonic deception?
 
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Who has absolute assurance? (I’m not so daft, I’m making a point).
Perhaps in the next moment they will not have their absolute assurance.
 
It’s the same as any other non Christian religious practice.

It’s simply one of mans flawed attempts to understand himself and/or the world. Nothing more, nothing less.

Nothing divine or supernatural about it - purely 100% natural. There is a slight chance it could be an idea stemming from demonic influence, but from what I see it seems to be 100% natural. There may be certain aspects of it which are righteous or touch on truth, but overall it’s simply men groping in the dark.
 
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It is similar in that it is a step to sainthood, but it is more of the opposite, the becoming of nothing.
The moment it happens is indescribable, a picture of nirvana. It is its own way of dying to the self.
Mainly it is coming to understand all the Buddha’s teachings.

However, one can regress. I do not believe it is a state, but a moment/experience. Indeed, they don’t believe in permanent states so to speak.
 
Does Catholicism have anything like this?

Where people obtain an absolute assurance of the truth though an ‘enlightened’ state?
 
New Age is just repackaged literature formerly labeled as Occult or Eastern Philosophy. New terminology to describe an ancient belief - even terms like New Age - does not make it new. In the 1970s, there was a bookstore right across the street from the Wayne State University campus filled floor to ceiling with books about Eastern mysticism. Christianity was bad and wrong, read this stuff instead and start practicing yoga. The ‘wisdom from the East is good.’ Yeah, right. It was a distraction then and it’s a distraction today.

There have many attempts over the last 40 years to get the same demonic deceptions sold to the public, all going under different names. The Church respects other religions but recognizes that only God is the source of hope and assurance.

Hebrews 11:1:

New International Version
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

New Living Translation
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

English Standard Version
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
 
Catholics should be reading and getting help to read the Doctors of the Church on prayer.

St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila use images such as a mountain and interior castle to describe the spiritual pilgrimage to be one with God.

Unless one is solid in their faith, it is not advisable to have “itching ears”.
 
I’m not sure we have a name for it per se, but there is a point where one is without doubt. Many mystics actually experience some Catholic truths firsthand.

It’s not a point, though that is the word I used earlier. It’s more like a gradual state. When one lives the Faith, it becomes more clearly certain, I do believe.
 
Such absolute clarity is not achievable, absent the beautic vision in heaven.
 
As far as I am aware, Stream Entry (sotāpanna) was originally specific to Theravada Buddhism. Though it is certainly possible that some New Age people have borrowed or modified the concept.

For the Buddhist original see Into the Stream, which does not make for very exciting reading I’m afraid.

rossum
 
Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint John of the Cross attained to this level, but only through intense suffering and denial of self. It is reserved for the few, just as Peter James and John alone saw many visions in Christ’s company.

But, with all such eastern claims, notice that the thrust is the emptying of self to the point that even depair is gone. Absolute emptiness, solitude without consolation. Only clarity that nothing is or ever will be. It is a negation of and denial of existence. Yet, it is nonsensical, as we possess both suffering and joy - the proof of self.

This emptiness comes from the deceiver. Rather, God dwells in us interiorly. We are Tabernacles of the Holy Spirit. God fills to the degree that we empty ourselves, whereas the deceiver seeks to empty us even of God.
 
There are two kinds of emptiness: one is a dull, lethargic passive stupor where the ego just seems alone. The other is a clear and alert awareness of what is beyond our small ego. Let us beg for grace and keep our hearts and minds in God.
 
I mean that some saints have experienced the beatific Vision prior to death, particularly mystics.
 
Hi po18guy,

People who are said to have experience this are claimed to have experienced inner peace. I don’t know if that changes anything, but I think I forgot to mention that in the OP.
 
BenSinner said:
It is said, that one who achieves stream entry has absolute assurance that everything is impermanent (even God), duality doesn’t exist, and there is no such thing as a ‘self’.
Click to expand...
BenSinner said:
Does Catholicism have anything like this?

Where people obtain an absolute assurance of the truth though an ‘enlightened’ state?
Click to expand...
I think that this should not be the first question that someone looking for “absolute certainty” should ask. A previous question should be: is what they say true?
 
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