[Tien]

Hi all,

I hope if you have time, please consider to honestly share your:
1) estimation on your attainment of Magga Phala,
2) daily routine of practicing the Path,
3) what are your current difficulties,
4) and what is your plan for attaining Nibbana.
For the benefit of me and others.

Let me start first:
1.
– Sakadagami.
2.
– Morning: do Kammattana (Namaskaraya, Suvisi Guna Tiratana), do Tilakkhana bhavana, remind myself about keeping the 4 Anussati and 4 Satipathana (6 Kāyānupassanā; Vedananupassana; Cittanupassana and Dhammanupassana).
– On the bus: Focus on Vimansa (apply Dhamma to see things as they are), mainly do Dhammanupassana and 4 Anupassana. Enjoy the Niramissa Sukha result from the clear vision of the world (Dhamma-eye).
– Whole day: try to keep 4 Anussati and Satipathana as much as I can.
– Night: learn Abhidhamma and Vinaya, re-read posts on PureDhamma, read Suttas, listen to desanas.
– Before sleep: do Kammattana, Metta Bhavana, recite and contemplate on some verses of Dhamma. Recall events happened in the whole day and try to learn from mistakes.
3.
– Kamasava and mild Patiga is currently my most dangerous enemies.
– My parrents do not allow me to eat 1 meal per day.
– Things from my college and my work place greatly distract me from making progress on the Path.
– I just want to be alone and become a Bikkhu but it is impossible at my place. I haven’t self-sustained for my life yet, I still rely on my parrents.
4.
– My plan is to continue this routine and study more Dhamma. I have no doubt that culminate 4 Anussati and Satipathana will result in realizing Nibbana.
– Although I really want to attain Nibbana via Arahant stage but my current progress is really slow. Sometimes it feels like my Panna was capped and cannot grow further. But upon reading the Suttas I realized that strong viriya is a deciding factor in my situation.

May all of you attain Arahant stage,
Tien

[Lal]

Thank you, Tien, for sharing with us your experience.

I or anyone else can neither confirm or deny anyone’s declaration. In the Maha Parinibbana Sutta, the Buddha stated that it is fine to declare one’s attaining of the Sotapanna stage, if one is confident of it. That is mainly for the benefit of others: to illustrate that it can be achieved.

On the other hand, one must be careful too. Declaring an attainment without actually having it can become an obstruction to the progress on the Path. If a bhikkhu does that he will no longer belong to the order of the bhikkhus. It is called a parajika or an offense.

I have talked about my progress from time to time. Even though I believe that I made it to the Sotapanna stage several years ago, I am still working to become free of the kama loka. Responsibilities with the “householder life” makes it harder, and even maintaining the website may be affecting the progress to some extent. I am trying to strike a balance. But each person is different. Some can make rapid progress, simply because they may have made progress in past lives.

I do believe that there are many with magga phala these days and some could be Anagamis or even higher (especially in Sri Lanka due to Waharaka Thero’s and his disciples’ efforts). We just don’t know.

Even if one is not certain about a specific magga phala, one can certainly discuss one’s progress, i.e., whether one has seen a significant change in one’s life. Some may have gotten rid some bad habits for sure. If one is willing to share such experiences, that will be beneficial to others: That Buddha Dhamma is not just a theory. One can truly experience the benefits.

P.S. This topic belongs in the “Personal Experiences” forum. I may move it there sometime, when I get a chance. Please look under that forum if it is no longer here.

[Author]

Posts