Expert: Anandapanyo Bhikkhu - 11/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: if ananda and other arahants are enligtened in one lifetime why cant we? is many lives needed? a popular belief is that a lot of lives needed to cultivate enligtenment!

if buddha;s presence the disciples are done in a lifetime then is it possible just believe what the buddha sermoned will gain arahantship?


so buddhism is not concerned if their scriptures are true or false, if the buddha's lives are accurate or not, if their science beliefs are matched the modern world or not, if devas exist or not? as long you follow the teachings and cultivate to attain nirvana thats all. whats impt is cultivation not examning scriptures and buddha issues trivial?


in buddhism what is the source of good and evil are there absolute good and evil? because some monks say there is no inherent good and evil

why people today are more depraved? can the buddha give you instant arahantship BY ONLY heariong his sermons? why people today cant reach enligtenment in one lifetime if the time of buddha just provide you see people sick and dying you gain the true nature of life




ANSWER: Dear Jaya,

"   if ananda and other arahants are enligtened in one lifetime why cant we? is many lives needed? a popular belief is that a lot of lives needed to cultivate enligtenment!"

It takes many lives to cultivate enough merit to become enlightened. However, once we have cultivated enough, it will only take one life to become enlightened. Since we only know what we have done this life, we should try our best to become enlightened.

"if buddha;s presence the disciples are done in a lifetime then is it possible just believe what the buddha sermoned will gain arahantship?"

Believing is only part of the equation. The most important part is thinking and discerning it for yourself.

"so buddhism is not concerned if their scriptures are true or false, if the buddha's lives are accurate or not, if their science beliefs are matched the modern world or not, if devas exist or not? as long you follow the teachings and cultivate to attain nirvana thats all. whats impt is cultivation not examning scriptures and buddha issues trivial?"

It is not that we are not concerned, it is more that we can't prove it. Why waste time debating semantics when we could be practicing.  Examining scriptures and Buddha issues are not trivial, but they should not be our sole focus. This is equivalent to studying basketball, but never actually getting on the court.

"in buddhism what is the source of good and evil are there absolute good and evil? because some monks say there is no inherent good and evil"

The source of good and evil is our own consciousness. We inherently know what is good and bad.

"why people today are more depraved? can the buddha give you instant arahantship BY ONLY heariong his sermons? why people today cant reach enligtenment in one lifetime if the time of buddha just provide you see people sick and dying you gain the true nature of life"

People are more depraved because it is the state of the world we live in. The longer and further we get from a Buddha's life (2550 years), the worse the world will become.  Buddha cannot give anyone enlightenment, he can only guide us to the right path so that we can walk it ourselves. People are not reaching enlightenment in one lifetime for many reasons such as:
1. Not following the correct teachings
2. Following the wrong teacher
3. Not having enough merit cultivated

I hope I have answered your questions.

Sincerely,

Phra Anandapanyo




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: so enligtenment is not a one life accomplishment you gotta accumulate it by erasing bad karmas and good karmas dominating? so realization of true nature is not sufficient but still immersed in bad deeds?


what type of meditation can a meditator gain superb other worldly knowledge? isit vipasana or samantha?


in what meditation a meditator will lose thinking if they are so deep like mental activities are suspended when they are in higher jhanas?

awareness and discernment of what in meditation? in calming and stilling of mind?

Answer
Dear Jaya,

"so enligtenment is not a one life accomplishment you gotta accumulate it by erasing bad karmas and good karmas dominating? so realization of true nature is not sufficient but still immersed in bad deeds?"

Enlightenment is not the erasing of bad karma and good karma dominating. You cannot be fully rid of all bad and good karma. Good and bad karma is inherent to two places, your body and mind. You can never fully rid the karma of the body - once it is born, if will get old, deteriorate and die. However, you can get rid of the karma of the mind - that is, perceptions.

"what type of meditation can a meditator gain superb other worldly knowledge? isit vipasana or samantha? In what meditation a meditator will lose thinking if they are so deep like mental activities are suspended when they are in higher jhanas?

The type of meditator that focuses on this. However, in many cases, it comes from deep tranquil meditation.

"awareness and discernment of what in meditation? in calming and stilling of mind?"

Awareness and discernment of truths in meditation. Calming and stilling the mind is just like closing your eyes, you stop allowing distractions to come up, but you still need to discern and cultivate truths.

I hope I have answered your questions. I have a question for you Jaya, you have asked many good questions (50+). I wonder what benefit my answers have brought for your practice?

Sincerely,

Phra Anandapanyo