It seems like most people gained at least stream entry (some even arhatship) knowing very little amount of sutta material. A person comes to the Buddha, asks Him to teach the Dhamma and then within that session that person becomes stream-enterer or even an Arhat. The amount of teaching could range from a single line to a whole sutta. While we don’t have ad verbatim transcription of what was said, it is clear that due to time constraints/etc it couldn’t be that long. One of the longer (longest?) lists of contents that the Buddha taught for stream entry was: “a step-by-step talk, i.e., he proclaimed a talk on generosity, on virtue, on heaven; he declared the drawbacks, degradation, & corruption of sensuality, and the rewards of renunciation. Then when the Blessed One knew that Suppabuddha the leper’s mind was ready, malleable, free from hindrances, elevated, & clear, he then gave the Dhamma-talk peculiar to Awakened Ones, i.e., stress, origination, cessation, & path.” [then stream entry has occurred] – Ud 5.3
No overt hints at very advance technical teachings like Anatta which are being taught almost immediately to us by the Dhamma teachers. If it was hidden there, then I am sure that this favourite Teaching would be emphasized in the above formula that happened on multiple occasions in the suttas.
An expected response might be that: “such and such person trained really well in the past, so he was already super spiritually mature”. Personally, I find it unlikely, or with a big exception that one could regress to less than ideal behaviour in which case we couldn’t judge one’s own level to blame for lack of progress. Why would a really spiritual person be a mass murderer, an assassin, follow other teacher (apparently not the brightest kind) or have really heavy kamma baggage? It is also unlikely that a non-Buddhist assassin would practice Dhamma before meeting the Buddha, changing of the heart and becoming stream-enterer on the spot.
An interesting thing is that some of the sutta Teachings that have led to Stream Entry do NOT always teach about Anatta. At least not like today. Yet today, it seems like this teaching is being used almost everywhere by almost everyone to non-Ariyans and yet many people (apparently) aren’t reaching stream entry even after a long while. Let alone Arhatship on the spot. Even on a meditation retreat. Hmmm….
Some possible ideas about the solution:
1) Seeing the Buddha in person was an Event in itself that greatly helped. I am sure that it played a role. If one would have seen the Buddha it would probably be much easier, at least confidence wise.
2) Unrecognized stream-entry. According to the suttas, a stream enterer has verified confidence in the Buddha/Dhamma/Sangha, got perfect sila from then on, and has right view. Meditation attainments (which many devout Buddhists might already have) are not explicitly required, at least not for stream.
Maybe it is wrong view to assume that stream entry has to be confirmed by some super strong mystical or paranormal event and to seek for that. No deva comes to announce this to you, and no Buddha nimitta either. So externally one person may not positively know that such-and-such is a sotapanna.
"… if these great sal trees could distinguish what is well spoken from what is ill spoken, I would proclaim these great sal trees to be Stream-Winners... bound for enlightenment,…” – SN55.24
Check out Okkanta-Samyutta. Having lots of faith, or sufficient understanding of anicca of all categories of phenomena will lead one to stream-entry in this lifetime. I assume that meditative insight would result in stream entry right here and now if the other conditions (confidence in triple gem, sila) were met.
Any comments, thoughts, ideas?
Some source, I can give more:
First teaching led to stream entry. No anatta teaching here.
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN56_11.html
Later the Buddha taught the anatta teaching to these ascetics who became Arhats on the spot.
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN22_59.html
4 qualities of stream enterer, and who can declare oneself thus.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html
Anāthapiṇḍika’s right view.
“Whatever has been brought into being, is fabricated, willed, dependently originated: That is inconstant. Whatever is inconstant is stress. Whatever is stress is not me, is not what I am, is not my self. This is the sort of view I have.”
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN10_93.html
Sutta where the leper looking for food heard the Buddha teach graduated Teaching which led him to stream-entry on the spot.
“a step-by-step talk, i.e., he proclaimed a talk on generosity, on virtue, on heaven; he declared the drawbacks, degradation, & corruption of sensuality, and the rewards of renunciation. Then when the Blessed One knew that Suppabuddha the leper’s mind was ready, malleable, free from hindrances, elevated, & clear, he then gave the Dhamma-talk peculiar to Awakened Ones, i.e., stress, origination, cessation, & path. And just as a clean cloth, free of stains, would properly absorb a dye, in the same way, as Suppabuddha the leper was sitting in that very seat, the dustless, stainless Dhamma eye arose within him, “Whatever is subject to origination is all subject to cessation.”
Having seen the Dhamma, reached the Dhamma, known the Dhamma, gained a foothold in the Dhamma, having crossed over & beyond doubt, having had no more perplexity, having gained fearlessness & independence from others with regard to the Teacher’s message,”
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/KN/Ud/ud5_3.html
Great Sal Trees & Sarakani.
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... html#fnt-8
On the path to Stream:
Okkanta Samyutta (SN25.x)
Monks, the eye is inconstant, changeable, alterable. The ear… The nose… The tongue… The body… The mind is inconstant, changeable, alterable. [alex: other suttas replace the 6 sense faculties with 6 sense objects, elements, aggregates, etc. The rest of the sutta is identical]
“One who has conviction & belief that these phenomena are this way is called a faith-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.
“One who, after pondering with a modicum of discernment, has accepted that these phenomena are this way is called a Dhamma-follower: one who has entered the orderliness of rightness, entered the plane of people of integrity, transcended the plane of the run-of-the-mill. He is incapable of doing any deed by which he might be reborn in hell, in the animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. He is incapable of passing away until he has realized the fruit of stream-entry.
“One who knows and sees that these phenomena are this way is called a stream-enterer, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening.”
https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN25_1.html
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .html#sn25