Question about Pāramitã

Pāramitā – How a Puthujjana Becomes a Buddha

2 ) Attaining magga phala — including Arahantship — does not have such specific requirements (at least, I have not seen them). Yet, those also require cleansing one’s mind over multiple lives. No goals can be achieved without effort. Even when one wins a lottery, there is a reason (a good kamma vipāka from previous lives).

• Thank you, Sir Lal, for this article. It will help clarify many misunderstandings about achieving magga phala. Many people don’t yet understand these concepts very well. Some believe that one must be very special to achieve magga phala, and they have the concept of chosen ones in mind – beings who are perfect from the beginning to the end. However, there are examples where bodhisattas have accomplished many unwholesome actions. It’s important to remember that there are even beings in the nirayas who have accumulated many wholesome actions despite their unfortunate rebirths. Devadatta and King Ajatasattu are perfect examples. They will become Paccekabuddhas in the future Kappas. People don’t know that everyone has to start somewhere and that beings like Arahant Bāhiya and Santati have done the majority of the work in their past lives.
• I have a question regarding a statement I read. It mentioned that bodhisattvas who lie cannot become Lord Buddhas. They can commit other wrongful actions, but lying is not one of them. I asked a monk for an explanation, and he told me that it’s because a bodhisattva seeks the truth of this world, and when they become a Lord Buddha, they will spread it among countless beings. Lying goes against this aspiration. What are your thoughts on this? Harita Jātaka: “They who forsake the truth, though they sit in the sacred enclosure of the Bo tree, cannot attain Buddhahood. I must need just speak the truth.”