There is an excellent sermon where Venerable Bhante Amadassana Thero talks about exactly the same thing as Sir Lal: mind-made world. He explains to the audience that the world is entirely mental. He also explains that an arahant is not a robot and that he or she can perceive rotten food but he or she will not generate aversion to that food. If an average human was offered to eat food he or she would be disgusted and will generate aversion.
Start Listen at 8:30 min until 30 min.
There is one thing I noticed. The majority of the explanations of the articles that Sir Lal publishes on the site can be found in the sermons of the Jethavaranama monastery (in a less precise way). The only difference is accuracy and audience type. Bhante speaks to an audience composed of non-Buddhists (Christians, Muslims, Hindus, atheists) and beginner Buddhists. He will try to simplify the explanations and even change the names of terms so that the audience understands better. He tries not to go too far. For example, sometimes he will call Kamma Vipāka God. In many of his sermons, he said God. This is to make Christians and Muslims more comfortable and more attentive to the sermons. People understand teachings better when they are spoken about concepts they understand. A good teacher must take into account the level of his audience. What is certain is that with each sermon, he goes deeper and deeper. A month ago he started talking about Hadaya vatthu. He simply called it the base of the spirit and explained that this is where we must purify, not outside. Sir Lal goes further in his articles with examples of the suttas and uses the names of the terms. It is more suitable for Buddhists who have a good basic understanding and want to understand further.
This is why a SammāsamBuddha is the ultimate teacher because he knows perfectly how to teach a person according to his mental disposition. Even a Venerable Arahant is not capable of doing this always. Think about the story of Venerable Arahant Culapanthaka. His elder brother, who is the Venerable Arahant Mahapanthaka, told him to leave the monastic life because he did not understand the Dhamma. Venerable Mahapanthaka is an arahant so he always acts for the good of a being. He thought it was for his little brother’s sake that he told him to leave the Sangha. However, Venerable Culapanthaka became an arahant with Iddhi powers after following very simple instructions from Lord Buddha.
- Some of us have difficulty teaching the Dhamma to our loved ones because they reject or do not understand. We must be careful not to conclude that they are stupid for not striving for the Dhamma. Maybe if they have the right person to message them, they can become ariyas on the spot. Often paramis will mature at another time in their lives. An example is the mother of Venerable Sariputta who became a sotāpanna at the age of 100. All her life she rejected the Buddha Dhamma and cried for having understood the Dhamma at the time of her son’s death.