Question 87: WHY ARE THERE FEWER PEOPLE ATTAINING ENLIGHTENMENT IN LATER TIMES COMPARED TO WHEN THE BUDDHA WAS ALIVE?

Answer: Enlightenment is an exceedingly profound and lofty state, far beyond the reach of the ordinary human mind. The gap between the ordinary and the Enlightened is vast.

In the time of the Buddha, when someone achieved a certain spiritual result in meditation, the Buddha would confirm the exact stage of their attainment. Practitioners themselves could not accurately know the extent of their achievement because the experiences and states they encountered in meditation were entirely new and unfamiliar. With the Buddha’s validation, monks were not misled and could continue their practice until they attained the highest level of Sainthood.

After the Buddha’s passing, and as Arahants became fewer, many practitioners, when reaching a certain state of mindfulness in meditation, mistakenly believed they had attained a profound stage of enlightenment. They then declared and praised their own experiences, leading others to believe that these states were the pinnacle of spiritual achievement. This misunderstanding undervalued the enlightenment of the Arahants and the Buddha, diminishing the merit of successive generations and making it more difficult for later generations to attain sainthood than in the Buddha’s time.

Merit (good karma) remains a critical factor in attaining Sainthood. The loss of merit due to misunderstanding and arrogance has made it progressively harder for subsequent generations to achieve enlightenment.

Occasionally, there are still individuals achieving significant spiritual results in meditation, but such cases have become rarer over time. This trend is concerning because without enlightened individuals, Buddhism itself would struggle to survive, and false views may arise, leading the world into greater ignorance and darkness.

This is why we must try to retrieve the true Dharma from the Buddha’s time to recover the right understanding of profound enlightenment, helping increase the number of practitioners who achieve true enlightenment. Only by doing so can we preserve the invaluable teachings that the Buddha brought to this world.

The Author

JANNA is the pen name of a certain monk who does not wish to use his real name. He is likely mature enough to understand that fame, wealth, and glory are as fleeting as morning mist.

In Pali, “JANNA” means purity, so it’s unclear which country he’s from. However, he seems to have studied the Nikaya scriptures.

Although he writes about Buddhism, he appears to desire unity with other religions to contribute to the cause of world peace. He attempts to demonstrate how differences can complement one another…