From a Theravadin standpoint this is not an issue. From a Mahayana standpoint - generally - it is really a meaningless thing to do, given that according to some Mahayanists the arhats end up in a sort of "fake" nibbana, thinking they have attained what needs to be attained. Somewhere down the line they sort of wake up to the fact that they need to recognize that their supposed awakening really is not what they thought and that they need to get on with being bodhisattvas.Guy wrote:
To clarify - What I mean is a hypothetical situation where someone vows to be a Bodhisatta with the intention of perfecting the Ten Paramis to become a SammaSamBuddha sometime in the future but then (at a later time, perhaps many lifetimes later) they decide that they would rather not endure so much suffering and instead decide to pursue the path of Arahantship in this very life to end suffering ASAP in a time when the Teachings of a SammaSamBuddha are already alive and well in the world.
With Metta,
Guy
Accoring to the lengthy discussions of this question I have seen elsewhere, forsaking the Mahayana bodhisattva vow is likely to be seen as big bad news with big bad consequences, which are even worse if you are a Vajrayana practitioner.