Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
Thai_Theravada
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Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Thai_Theravada »

Do you think you ever met Arahant?, and if you think you do.
Let's share your experience.

:smile:
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retrofuturist
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

No.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
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ground
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by ground »

I don't know, but I think I met several Buddhas :D

Or, maybe I met one and the same at different times and in different locations and with different states of mind :)

Seems it is up to me to decide ;)
Mawkish1983
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Mawkish1983 »

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,

No.

Metta,
Retro. :)
Seconded :)
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Ben
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Ben »

Hi TG
I don't know, but I think its highly unlikely that I've met an arahant.
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

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PeterB
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by PeterB »

I think I may have.
But as the person in question wont be drawn on the nature of his status it would not be wise for me to speculate on his behalf.
I will say that he is fairly widely seen as such.
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BlackBird
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by BlackBird »

Maybe not Arahant, but I suspect I may have met an Ariyan.
"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this:
'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

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Thai_Theravada
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Thai_Theravada »

Anumodana with every comment :anjali: ,
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Wind
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Wind »

If I do meet one, I would instantly ask for the going forth. But it is rather discouraging that none of us have met one with full confidence, giving me the impression we might be left with just the blind leading the blind. :cry:
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BlackBird
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by BlackBird »

Wind wrote:But it is rather discouraging that none of us have met one with full confidence
It might be helpful to remember that monastics are bound by the Vinaya not to speak of their attainments with lay people. Furthermore what would you think if a person did tell you they were enlightened? How long before doubt rears it's head? Maybe there's good reason to doubt, there's no shortage of people out there claiming have got it. But a true teacher does not have a neon sign pointing out "Arahant over here!" No, one has to search and those with right effort, I dare say shall be rewarded.

metta
Jack
"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this:
'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

Path Press - Ñāṇavīra Thera Dhamma Page - Ajahn Nyanamoli's Dhamma talks
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Ben
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Ben »

BlackBird wrote:
Wind wrote:But it is rather discouraging that none of us have met one with full confidence
It might be helpful to remember that monastics are bound by the Vinaya not to speak of their attainments with lay people. Furthermore what would you think if a person did tell you they were enlightened? How long before doubt rears it's head? Maybe there's good reason to doubt, there's no shortage of people out there claiming have got it. But a true teacher does not have a neon sign pointing out "Arahant over here!" No, one has to search and those with effort, I dare say shall be rewarded.

metta
Jack
Exactly!
It wasn't long ago that anyone, monastic or lay, claiming ariya status in Burma had their right hand removed. The law was aimed at protecting the guileless from charletans or those seeking easy fame or wealth.
kind regards

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global ReliefUNHCR

e: [email protected]..
meindzai
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by meindzai »

I've met some rather extraordinary Bhikkhus and non-theravada teachers and monks. They've all been a great inspiration, but I am not even remotely qualified to pin down what their attainments might be.

-M
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

I have met several well known meditation masters: Venerable Mahāsī Sayādaw was my preceptor, I stayed with Taung Pulu Sayādaw for a week or two, I met Ajahn Chah and Sayādaw U Pandita a few times, among other well regarded teachers.

It is not unusual to hear claims by disciples that such and such a teacher is definitely an Arahant, but how do they know this? Do they themselves have the power of reading minds? At best, it is an intelligent guess based on a long and intimate association with a teacher, but even then it would be hard to know for sure.

A certain monk was living in dependence on an Arahant. Living in dependence meant that he shared the same room as his teacher, did all the duties for him, and carried his almsbowl for him while walking behind for alms. One day, while walking for alms, the pupil asked, “Venerable sir, how can one know whether another person is an Arahant?”

The Arahant replied, “It is not easy, friend, to know if another person is an Arahant. Even if one lived in dependence on an Arahant, did all the duties for him, and carried his almsbowl while walking behind him for alms, one might not know that his teacher was an Arahant.”

Even when given such a broad hint as this, the pupil did not realise that his teacher was an Arahant. The Arahants have stainless minds free from all pride and conceit. They do not boast of their attainments, unless there is no other way to help people.

Then, supposing that one was convinced that one's teacher was an Arahant, there are two possibilities: it is true, or it is false. In the latter case there are two possibilities: the teacher is deluded, or a shameless liar. Either way, if one's confidence is misplaced it might well lead to one's own harm.

In the former case, supposing that one's confidence is well placed and one's teacher really is an Arahant, does it help to remove one's own defilements? Or does it lead to an increase in defilements such as pride, thinking “My teacher is an Arahant?”

The bottom line is that there is no way for us to know whether someone else is an Arahant, and it doesn't really matter. As long as we have confidence that the Buddha was an Arahant, and strive to practice his teaching, we can remove at least some of our defilements.
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meindzai
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by meindzai »

:goodpost:
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Nibbida
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Re: Do you think you ever met Arahant?

Post by Nibbida »

Like Bhikku Pesala said, I would have no idea if I ever have. Wouldn't it be interesting to live as if every person you met was potentially an arahant?

If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. But be nice to arahants. :anjali:
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