Re: Dutiya Anuruddha Sutta AN 3.131

Dear Ven.,

My interpretation is that Anuruddha has too much attention on his mind and his self which is why he is having trouble achieving liberation. So Sāriputta tells him that his statement about the divine eye is conceit, his statement about the state of his mind is uddhacca, i. e. a distraction, and his statement about not being released is kukkacca, worry. In other words he is fooling himself, if he thinks his mind is ekaggatā, etc., as he has too much attention on himself. So Sāriputta tells him to get rid of these thoughts and his attention on himself, and that will lead to liberation and that's what happens.

So the doctrinal issue isn't what you suggest, but Anuruddha having too much self-consciousness. Whether he has one-pointedness or not, to put his attention on it is distraction, which suggests that indeed he doesn't have ekaggatā, which is a unified mind, if he is looking back at himself.

That's my interpretation of the sutta. As a meditator, I have experienced this many times. The moment I start looking at "myself" or "my mind", it in fact creates the nīvaraṇa that I am trying to dispel.

Hope that helps,

Best wishes,

Bryan