June 2, 2024 at 7:38 am
#50009
Participant
That description, as well as the extent of the emphasis, sounds similar to how a Mahayana Buddhist might describe sunnata and impress that principle upon a person.
If someone had only a couple of minutes to live and their dying wish was to learn about what the Buddha taught, I believe that an ariya would, without hesitation, explain the three characteristics of nature.
If instead they were to explain the principle of separation, I think it’s highly unlikely that the dying person would have a ‘jump out of the bathtub’ eureka moment.
I’m always wary when someone implies that “this is what the Buddha really taught.”