[Jittananto]

Pāramitā – How a Puthujjana Becomes a Buddha

2 ) Attaining magga phala — including Arahantship — does not have such specific requirements (at least, I have not seen them). Yet, those also require cleansing one’s mind over multiple lives. No goals can be achieved without effort. Even when one wins a lottery, there is a reason (a good kamma vipāka from previous lives).

• Thank you, Sir Lal, for this article. It will help clarify many misunderstandings about achieving magga phala. Many people don’t yet understand these concepts very well. Some believe that one must be very special to achieve magga phala, and they have the concept of chosen ones in mind – beings who are perfect from the beginning to the end. However, there are examples where bodhisattas have accomplished many unwholesome actions. It’s important to remember that there are even beings in the nirayas who have accumulated many wholesome actions despite their unfortunate rebirths. Devadatta and King Ajatasattu are perfect examples. They will become Paccekabuddhas in the future Kappas. People don’t know that everyone has to start somewhere and that beings like Arahant Bāhiya and Santati have done the majority of the work in their past lives.
• I have a question regarding a statement I read. It mentioned that bodhisattvas who lie cannot become Lord Buddhas. They can commit other wrongful actions, but lying is not one of them. I asked a monk for an explanation, and he told me that it’s because a bodhisattva seeks the truth of this world, and when they become a Lord Buddha, they will spread it among countless beings. Lying goes against this aspiration. What are your thoughts on this? Harita Jātaka: “They who forsake the truth, though they sit in the sacred enclosure of the Bo tree, cannot attain Buddhahood. I must need just speak the truth.” 

[Tobias G]

Please see #11:
11. In the Tipiṭaka, it says the usual progression of one’s character (gati) buildup is dāna (giving), sila (moral conduct), bhāvanā (mostly loving kindness towards others), and culminating in paññā (wisdom).

I thought bhāvanā is meditation/vipassana. Can someone explain?

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Jittananto

[Lal]

Jittananto asked: “I have a question regarding a statement I read. It mentioned that bodhisattvas who lie cannot become Lord Buddhas.”

• A Bodhisatta is not a Buddha. He is on the way to become a Buddha. 
• Our Bodhisatta was born (as Jotipāla) during the previous Buddha Sasana of Buddha Kassapa (there were three Buddhas in this Maha Kappa before Buddha Gotama; see “Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN 14)“). His friend Ghaṭīkāra tried to take Jotipāla to meet Buddha Kassapa, but Jotipāla refused and insulted Buddha Kassapa. That was one reason why our Bodhisatta had to endure six years of hardships before attaining the Buddhahood.
• That account is in the “Ghaṭikāra Sutta (MN 81).”

@Tobias G: A Bodhisatta does not know about Vipassana until the night of attaining Buddhahood.

• It is impossible for us to figure out how a Bodhisatta works his way to Buddhahood. It is a natural and lengthy process.

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Jittananto

[Christian]

Attaining magga phala — including Arahantship — does not have such specific requirements (at least, I have not seen them).

Being Tihetuka would qualify as specific requirement

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Jittananto

[JayeshP]

Dear Sir lal, 🙏🏻

I have a question regarding the Bodhisatta path based on discussions in PureDhamma.

It is mentioned that a Bodhisatta does not know Vipassana until the night of attaining Buddhahood.

So In previous lives, when a Bodhisatta encounters a living Buddha, does he ever come to know or practice Vipassana in any form?

Or is it that he may hear the Dhamma and practice sīla and samādhi, but never truly understand Tilakkhana and the Four Noble Truths until his final life? Or that he cannot comprehend the Four Noble Truths from another Buddha after receiving niyata vivaraṇa

With respect 🙏

[Lal]

1. To cultivate Vipassanā (‘insight meditation’), one must first comprehend those ‘insights.’ That means understanding the ‘true nature of the world.’ 

• Our sensory experiences do not reveal the ‘true nature of the world.’ 
• As I have discussed in many recent posts, our sensory experiences do not reveal the ‘true nature of the world.’ They are masked by ‘kāma saññā‘ for us living in the ‘kāma loka.’
• For example, we think strawberries are red and tasty. But the ‘red color’ or the ‘taste’ is not in strawberries. 

2. Generating yathābhuta ñāna (‘comprehension of the true nature of the world’) is the key to attaining a magga phala, let alone Buddhahood.

• Average humans like us attain that yathābhuta ñāna by learning from a Buddha or a true disciple of the Buddha. 
• But a Bodhisatta (especially after receiving niyata vivaraṇa from a Buddha) cannot learn from another, even from a Buddha.
• The reason is the following. A Bodhisatta’s task is to discover and teach the ‘true nature of the world’ in a time when Buddhist teachings are not available in the world. If a Bodhisatta learns and comprehends yathābhuta ñāna from another Buddha, there will be no one to discover those teachings in a maha kappa where no other Buddha is born. As we know, once one attains a magga phala, one will attain Arahanthood within ‘seven bhava‘ (which means during the same Buddha Sāsana) and thus will not be reborn in this world again; i.e., the Bodhisatta will not be reborn in a time where the teachings of a Buddha are not present. That defeats the purpose of becoming a Bodhisatta!
• That is why, especially after receiving niyata vivaraṇa from a Buddha, a Bodhisatta is destined to discover the ‘true nature of the world’ only when there is no other Buddha present. Only one Buddha can appear in a given time. Even though there have been five Buddhās in the current maha kappa, and Buddha Gotama was the fourth one, their times did not overlap. The fifth Buddha (Buddha Maithreya) will be born only after the teachings of Buddha Gotama disappear from the world.

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JayeshP

[JayeshP]

Dear Dr. Lal,

Thank you very much for your detailed and insightful response Sir.
Your explanation has helped me better understand the rarity of a Buddha’s appearance, and how these events occur within a world system. It has deepened my appreciation for how fortunate we are to be born during a time when the teachings of a Buddha are available.

I would be grateful if you could kindly clarify a few related points:

1. During long periods such as the 91 mahā kappa where no Buddha appears in our world system, is it possible that a Sammā Sambuddha arises in another world system within the 10,000 cakkavāla (i.e., nearby planetary systems), or is there always only one Buddha anywhere at a given time?

2. If only one Buddha arises at a time, does that mean it is always this particular world system (our “Earth system”) that becomes the birthplace of Buddhas during those rare mahā kappā?

3. I also came across the explanation that the Bodhisatta who became Gautama Buddha encountered many previous Buddhas over extremely long timescales. I would be grateful if you could shed some light on whether those Buddhas all arose within the same world system or across different world systems.

Thank you once again for your invaluable guidance and for maintaining the PureDhamma website for the benefit of many practitioners.

With metta and gratitude,
Jayesh

[Lal]

1. There can be only one Buddha in a ‘loka dhātu‘ (a thousand cakkavāla) at any given time: “Bahudhātuka Sutta (MN 115).” This sutta explains many other ‘facts’.

• But there can be Buddhas in other such ‘loka dhātu.‘ Scientists say there are billions of galaxies with billions of cakkavāla in each galaxy! So, there can be numerous Buddhas in other cakkavāla.

2. Yes. In our cakkavāla, a Buddha appears in our specific Solar system. We are so fortunate.

3. I believe our Bodhisatta was born in our Solar system, and met previous Buddhas born here. 

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JayeshP

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