May I add that after I wrote that Sariputta and Moggallana attained Arahanthood after listening to one or more stanzas from The Buddha, I tried to further find out if what I had written was indeed the truth. I do not normally pay attention to The Buddha’s disciples’ attainment, preferring instead to learn the content of The Buddha’s teachings. Hence I was very concerned that I had been mistaken in this regard.
It turns out that both Sariputta and Moggallana needed to contemplate further after initially hearing from the Arahant Assaji (in Sariputta’s case) and later from The Buddha. In Moggallana’s case, he even cultivated the Ariya jhanas before attaining Arahanthood. However, the 250 or so followers that Sariputta and Moggallana brought with them became Arahants after listening to The Buddha, and there was no mention of them cultivating jhanas. Hence jhanas are not a prerequisite to the attainment of Nibbana, and those who find it hard to abide in the jhanas should not be overly concerned. These are my thoughts.