The right path to Buddhahood

Discussion
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Hi friends,

As I understand from MN 81 (With Ghaṭikāra) and its agama parallel MA 63, our Buddha Gotama was a disciple (the brahmin student Jotipāla) of the previous Buddha Kassapa:

"… Ghaṭīkāra then said to the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened: ‘Venerable sir, this is the brahmin student Jotipāla, my friend, my close friend. Let the Blessed One teach him the Dhamma.’

“Then the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, instructed, urged, roused, and gladdened Ghaṭīkāra the potter and Jotipāla the brahmin student with an exposition of the Dhamma. At the conclusion of the exposition, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One Kassapa’s words, they rose from their seats, and after paying homage to the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, keeping him on their right, they departed.

“Then Jotipāla asked Ghaṭīkāra: ‘Now that you have heard this Dhamma, my dear Ghaṭīkāra, why don’t you go forth from the home life into homelessness?’—‘My dear Jotipāla, don’t you know that I support my blind and aged parents?’—‘Then, my dear Ghaṭīkāra, I shall go forth from the home life into homelessness.’

“So Ghaṭīkāra the potter and Jotipāla the brahmin student went to the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened. After paying homage to him, they sat down at one side and Ghaṭīkāra the potter said to the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened: ‘Venerable sir, this is the brahmin student Jotipāla, my friend, my close friend. Let the Blessed One give him the going forth.’ **And the brahmin student Jotipāla received the going forth from the Blessed One Kassapa, accomplished and fully enlightened, and he received the full admission. … ** (Ven. Bodhi’s translation)

“This Dhamma” apparently refers to the four noble truths. It’s reasonable to assume that Jotipāla, with such good kamma and wisdom, went forth due to his understanding of “this Dhamma” and his faith in the Blessed One Kassapa, and then he was at least a faith follower at the time of going forth. Since faith followers are destined for awakening to at least the stream entry during that life, Jotipāla would be at least a stream winner when leaving human world, and later reborn in the Tusita heaven.

It’s also reasonable to assume that he was a once returner when departing the Tusita heaven and coming to the human world, destined for the final awakening.

Therefore, the right path to Buddhahood is precisely this noble eight-fold path, not the way taught in Mahayana school.

Metta,

Starter

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Objection!

The language to describe stream-enterer is quite specific.
It was “entering the stream”, or “Truth Eye, Dhamma Eye arise within him,” or “The twenty peaks of false view is destroyed.”
The new Stream Enterer would utter things such as “Not even my father or mother is this good to me!” or “I understand Bhagava! I understand!”

Just merely hearing Dhamma and gaining faith does not imply that he is stream enterer.

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It’s interesting to compare with Ghaṭīkāra, who was a non-returner and never became a Buddha. The noble eightfold path leads to the end of suffering. Becoming a Buddha is a bit different since not all arahants are Buddhas, but all Buddhas are arahants.

MN81:18.16: And since he has ended the five lower fetters, Ghaṭīkāra will be reborn spontaneously and will become extinguished there, not liable to return from that world.

Having studied Rinzai Zen and found it effective, I find this broad statement about Mahayana quite divisive and certainly not true for me. Perhaps I have misunderstood your meaning?

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Is there enough evidence to be sure of this? AFAIK, this is only found in SN 25.1-SN 25.10. Unlike the idea that a stream winner is destined to fully awaken, it isn’t found in a range of unlinked passages. I’m not saying it should be discarded. But I would suggest caution. Unless I’m wrong and there actually is solid evidence.

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Hi friends,

Thanks for your input to the discussion. I just found a sutta mentioning that disciples of the Buddha who are reborn in Brahmā world (and above) will attain final nibbana there in that very life. This suggest that only those disciples of the Buddha who are reborn in the sensual realm (such as the Tusita heaven) could have the opportunity to become a Buddha.

"Firstly, a person meditates spreading (metta) with a heart full of lovingkindness to one direction, and to the second, and to the third, and to the fourth. In the same way above, below, across, everywhere, all around, they spread (metta) with a heart full of love to the whole world—abundant, expansive, limitless, free of enmity and ill will.

They enjoy this and like it and find it satisfying.

If they abide in that, are committed to it, and meditate on it often without losing it, when they die they’re reborn in the company of the gods of Brahmā’s Host.

The lifespan of the gods of Brahma’s Host is one eon.

An ordinary person stays there until the lifespan of those gods is spent, then they go to hell or the animal realm or the ghost realm.

But a disciple of the Buddha stays there until the lifespan of those gods is spent, then they attain final nibbana in that very life."

Do you know other similar suttas?

Thanks and metta,

Starter

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