“Don’t worry about whether someone is an Arahant or not. You should be more concerned about whether you yourself are an Arahant or not.”

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

28 December 2023

“Don’t worry about whether someone is an Arahant or not. You should be more concerned about whether you yourself are an Arahant or not.”

- - -

Question: Are there any observable characteristics of someone who is an Ariya or at least one who has reached Stream-entry?

Tan Ajahn: You have to be at that level first before you can gauge other people because you need to have a standard for measurement. If you do not have a standard, you cannot measure the other person. So, you first have to become a Sotāpanna before you can know whether the other person is a Sotāpanna or not.

A Sotāpanna cannot tell whether the other person is a Sakadāgāmī, an Anāgāmī, or an Arahant because the other person is at a higher level than him. It is like a student who has graduated from high school, he cannot tell whether a person has graduated from college because he doesn’t know how to measure that person’s knowledge yet.

You have to also talk to that person to be able to assess how much they have achieved. You have to achieve the level first, because if you don’t, when you talk to them, they can deceive you and you won’t know the difference.

But don’t worry about whether someone is an Arahant or not. It shouldn’t matter to you really. You should be more concerned about whether you yourself are an Arahant or not. If you are not, then you have to make yourself an Arahant. And the way to do it is to follow the teaching of the Buddha.

If you are listening to the teaching of other monks (that is, not the Buddha) and if you are not sure, don’t worry. 

The Buddha teaches you in the Kalama Sutta that you don’t have to believe what other monks tell you, even if you think that they are your teacher.

If you cannot verify it yourself, then don’t listen to them, don’t believe them yet. The Buddha said you have to prove to yourself that the things they teach you can eliminate stress from your mind; then you know that the person knows what he is talking about.

If he teaches you something and you apply it in your practice and achieve no result, maybe he is not telling you the truth, or maybe you are not practicing it correctly. So you have to be patient. You don’t want to jump to conclusions.

“Dhamma for the Asking, Dec 2, 2014”

By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

Latest Dhamma talks on Youtube: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g