Jittananto wrote: “Then, due to this brief Dhamma teaching of the Buddha, Bāhiya’s mind was right away freed from defilements by not grasping.”
- Ven. Bahiya was one of a kind. In fact, he was the only one capable of understanding the meaning of that short verse in all of Buddha Sasana. Probably Minister Santati was the second.
- Even Ven. Sariputta took two weeks to attain Arahantship.
- Despite all efforts, we are not aware of a single living Arahant these days. I wonder how many Sotapannas are there. Probably not that many. It is not easy.
It is not a good idea to compare Buddha’s teachings (and equate) with other religions or philosophies. That is my belief.
- A person with a hundred-year lifespan has a brief time to get to at least the Sotapanna stage.
- Spending time “praising each other” on common moral qualities among religions is a waste of time (of course, we should not condemn other religions either; but we can point out the enormous difference).
- The goal of Buddha Dhamma is not just to live a moral life (of course that is essential), but to at least glimpse the “ultimate truth” in the Four Noble Truths/Paticca Samuppada/Tilakkhana to attain the Sotapanna stage.
- That cannot be done by reading the Bible or Bhagavad Gita.
