With [14]the utter destruction of the five lower fetters,he becomes an attainer of nibbāna in the interval.Antaraparinibbayi.Lit.,"one who attains nibbāna in between(or along the way)."Pp 16(Be S36)defines this person as one who eliminates the five lower fetters,takes spontaneous birth,and then,either immediately after being reborn or(at the latest)before reaching the middle of the life span,generates the path for abandoning the five higher fetters.Similarly,Mp defines this type as a person who is reborn somewhere among the pure abodes(suddhavasesu)and then attains arahantship either at the time of rebirth,slightly afterward,or before reaching the middle of the life span.In spite of these authorized definitions,I believe there is textual evidence that the name of this type should be understood to mean literally that he attains the destruction of the taints in between or along the way(antara),that is,between two lives,and then attains final nibbāna without taking rebirth at all. See 4:131 and p.1701,note 829.I give further arguments for this interpretation below in note 1536 on p.1782. This is the third kind of person worthy of gifts....

(4)"...With the utter destruction of the five lower fetters, he becomes an attainer of nibbāna upon landing. Upahaccaparinibbayi.Both Pp17(Be S37)and Mp define this type as one who eliminates the five lower fetters,takes spontaneous rebirth (in the pure abodes),and then reaches arahantship after passing the middle of the life span or,at the latest,at the time of death.Again,as I will maintain in relation to 7:55,there are suggestions in the Nikāyas that this type is one who attains the destruction of the taints almost immediately after taking rebirth in the pure abodes.See p.1782,note 1537.This is the fourth kind of person worthy of gifts....

(5)“...With the utter destruction of the five lower fetters,he becomes an attainer of nibbāna without exertion. The difference between (5)and (6)is probably determined primarily on the basis of the amount of effort they must put forth to win the goal.Pp17(Be SS38-39)says merely that one generates the path without effort and the other as the result of effort. In any case,on the commentarial interpretation these two become,not separate types of non-returners,but two modes in which the first two types(the antaraparinibbayī and the upahaccaparinibbayī)attain nibbāna.Such an explanation would reduce the distinct types of non-returners to three.This would override the sequential and mutually exclusive nature of the five types,which is implied by the fivefold classification and strongly suggested by the similes of 7:55. This is the fifth kind of person worthy of gifts....

(6)"...With the utter destruction of the five lower fetters,hebecomes an attainer of nibbāna through exertion.This is thesixth kind of person worthy of gifts....

(7)"Again,bhikkhus,some person dwehls contemplatingimpermanence in all conditioned phenomena,perceivingimpermanence,experiencing impermanence,constantly,continuously,and uninterruptedly focusing on it with the mind,fathoming it with wisdom:With the utter destruction of thefive lower fetters,he becomes one bound upstream,headingtoward the Akanittha realm. See p.1701,note 828.