Reply To: How do I practice dhamma for stream-entry in this life itself?

#52801
Jittananto
Participant
  • Sir, you know better than anyone the importance of learning from an ariya. Reading alone is not enough because we can be wrong. If a puthujunas reads alone in his corner, he can never become sotāpanna. I say you know better because your site is based on the explanations of an ariyas. You are aware of what happens when the puthujunas read and interpret the suttas.
  • Look at the false meanings of Tilakkhana for example, and Anapanasati. It was Puthujunas who spread these erroneous beliefs(breath meditation, impermanence) which persist until today. Through ariyas like Venerable Waharaka Thero, we can see the danger of word-for-word translation. It was your site that convinced me of the importance of noble association. Before I came across your site, I thought that Nibbāna could be achieved alone at home. It was enough to read a book on Buddhism and meditate on breathing to achieve Nibbāna. See how ignorant I was. I didn’t even understand what it meant to take refuge in the Sangha. Even your site can be subject to misinterpretation if a wise person does not explain it to a person reading it. For example, the concept of Gandhabba can be interpreted as a soul by a person who has strong micchādiṭṭhi. I have sent articles from the site to people and believe me it has reinforced some of their erroneous beliefs. A Mahayanist told me that bhavas remind him of the states of Buddhahood.
  • I clearly explained to him that the article on the site has nothing to do with it, but he persisted in his micchādiṭṭhi. This is yet another proof of the danger of reading without asking an ariya for explanations.
  • The suttas were preserved and written down by arahants. How is it that verses written by arahants can be misinterpreted?? These are people who think that reading is enough but they forget that the Dhamma is not a common subject of knowledge. These are knowledge of the law of nature. Why will the Sasana disappear when the last Jati sotāpanna dies? The scriptures will be there, the Vinaya will be there but, no one will reach a stage of magga phala. This happens because no ariyas will be there to explain their meaning.

 

Reading is only an introduction to the Dhamma. Venerable Waharaka Thero said that reading gives us Anumolak Santiya (to be oriented towards imperturbable peace). However, this is not enough to become an ariya. See this video where he explains why. I suggest listening around 10:10.

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