
David N. Snyder wrote:Sama-sam-buddha = One who rediscovers the teachings and teaches the masses as the historical Buddha did (Siddhattha Gotama).
Paccekabuddha = A silent buddha. One who attains full enlightenment, but does not teach others. He attains enlightenment during a time when there is no Dhamma dispensation.
Arahant = Fully enlightened person, who might teach others, but not as the one who rediscovered the teachings, just as one who learned it from a current dispensation.
All are fully enlightened, hard to attain. But simply using statistics, the Arahant would be the "easiest" to attain of the three above. Samma-sam-buddhas and Pacceka-buddhas are very rare, but there were several thousand monks and nuns (and a few lay people) who attained full enlightenment during the Buddha's lifetime, as recorded in the Pali Canon.
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