Thank you, Tien, for sharing with us your experience.
I or anyone else can neither confirm or deny anyone’s declaration. In the Maha Parinibbana Sutta, the Buddha stated that it is fine to declare one’s attaining of the Sotapanna stage, if one is confident of it. That is mainly for the benefit of others: to illustrate that it can be achieved.
On the other hand, one must be careful too. Declaring an attainment without actually having it can become an obstruction to the progress on the Path. If a bhikkhu does that he will no longer belong to the order of the bhikkhus. It is called a parajika or an offense.
I have talked about my progress from time to time. Even though I believe that I made it to the Sotapanna stage several years ago, I am still working to become free of the kama loka. Responsibilities with the “householder life” makes it harder, and even maintaining the website may be affecting the progress to some extent. I am trying to strike a balance. But each person is different. Some can make rapid progress, simply because they may have made progress in past lives.
I do believe that there are many with magga phala these days and some could be Anagamis or even higher (especially in Sri Lanka due to Waharaka Thero’s and his disciples’ efforts). We just don’t know.
Even if one is not certain about a specific magga phala, one can certainly discuss one’s progress, i.e., whether one has seen a significant change in one’s life. Some may have gotten rid some bad habits for sure. If one is willing to share such experiences, that will be beneficial to others: That Buddha Dhamma is not just a theory. One can truly experience the benefits.
P.S. This topic belongs in the “Personal Experiences” forum. I may move it there sometime, when I get a chance. Please look under that forum if it is no longer here.