Christian: Mahanama was not certain whether he had attained the Sotapanna stage.
There are many suttas that say a Sotapanna DOES NOT need further guidance. However, further guidance may help accelerate the progress.
– There were many people during the time of the Buddha who simply did not have the desire to make further progress. A good example is Vishaka, who attained the Sotapanna stage at age 7. Even though she visited the Buddha almost daily, she never progressed any further until death.
I think we had enough discussion on that issue.
P.S. A “neyya” is an average person who has not yet heard or understood Dhamma to become even a Sotapanna Anugami. Of course, such a person does need guidance.
Lang: Yes. There are many ways to say the same thing.