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THE FOURTEEN-FOLD PATH TO FREEDOM
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draw him back to a lower stage. But eventually he will have enough energy to eliminate the karmas and pass beyond the eleventh stage and enter the twelfth, the stage of Arhat, avoiding the dangers of the 11" stage.
The last conduct-deluding, knowledge- and perception-obscuring and energy-restricting karmas are now eliminated and the obstructions to endless bliss and energy are no more. The aspirant reaches the thirteenth stage spontaneously: he possesses omniscience®4 during incarnation, either as a Tīrthamkara or as a kevalis (omniscient one).
The fourteenth and final stage is the stage reached by an Arhat just before leaving his physical vehicle. All vibrations of the soul that attract karmas and cause bondage have now ceased. After having left the physical body for the last time, he enters moksha, the disembodied state of eternal bliss and omniscience.
Some, very rarely - in harmony with the law of cycles, and in consequence of their karma - remain as omniscient and liberated teachers for the good of humankind and all living beings. This karma is above all that of universal compassion, and charity towards all who strive upward. They are the Tīrthamkaras.
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