Sir Seng Kiat : This the reason why most people (puthujjana) will take sappurisa as “true person” and assume any “moral person” with the traits or quality of the above “Sappurisa in Various Suttas – Traits & Moral vs Noble Emphasis” chart and will lead one to stages of Enlightenment without the need for the “moral person” to be a “Noble Person.”
- Yes, this is why it is important to clarify this concept. Because many people will think that any highly moral person can enlighten us. This view aligns with “all religions that teach the same, and we need to be a good person”. Of course, morality is good, but the goal is to be free of this Samsāra, not to be a good person. Be good will automatically happens when one progresses in the path of Nibbāna. Sunetta was a highly moral yogi who possessed the jhānas. He led many people in the sugati world with his teachings. However, he was not free from suffering and even fell from the Brahma worlds in the devas world and in the human world. That means noble view needs to come from an Ariya.
His story is told in the Sunetta Sutta and in the Sattasūriyasutta
The Sattasūriyasutta is also linked to this article Buddhism and Evolution – Aggañña Sutta (DN 27). The Aggañña Sutta explains how the world is formed, but the Sattasūriyasutta explains how the worlds are destroyed.