These days, one comes across some meditation teachers who claim to be
Noble Ones, even Arahants. I know of at least three who have made such
claims. I recently received the first chapter of a book by a Sri
Lankan Bhikkhunī who boldly claimed:
"In terms of a lay person I am poor. But in terms of supra-mundane
life, I have the wealth of an Ariya Person. In terms of the mundane
world, I am a solitary person who does not have a big group of
followers. In terms of the media, I am silent. The only persons who
are with me are the Ariya Persons."
Such claims should set alarm bells ringing.
The Buddha openly declared his special status as a Noble One, a Fully
Enlightened Buddha attained to the highest knowledge. Usually,
whenever his disciples gained the final goal of Arahantship they came
to pay respects to the Buddha to gain confirmation from the Buddha
because they knew that it was possible to be deluded about such
attainments. It is called "atimāna" in Pāli -- excessive conceit or
over-estimation. Nowadays, who has those special powers to read
another's mind to confirm their spiritual attainments? How could the
bhikkhunī claim, "The only persons with me are the Ariya Persons"? At
best, she is only going by what they themselves have told her. All of
them could be suffering from Atimāna, herself included.
There is also a Vinaya rule prohibiting the declaration of higher
knowledge to those who are not ordained, so publishing such details in
a book obviously contravenes the Vinaya rule even if the statement is
true. A lay person could make such a statement, but not an ordained
person.
There is considerable controversy regarding the Biography of Acariya
Mun (3.3 Mbyte self-extracting archive) by Ajahn Mahāboowa, in which
Ajahn Mun apparently claims Arahantship. Inspiring though such
accounts might be to some, I find that it leaves me rather flat. It
does more to arouse doubts about the teacher than to confirm
confidence in the method.
Whether or not one's teacher has attained nibbāna, or whether or not
this or that person has attained nibbāna, does it really make any
difference to our own practice? Surely what matters is to follow the
correct method. If our teacher is suffering from atimāna might they
not mislead us to the same conceit? A good meditation teacher would
never make any such declaration. The late Mahāsī Sayādaw did not to my
knowledge, though he was widely regarded as an Arahant by his Burmese
devotees. Through observing his behaviour, and by reading his books, I
am confident that he had some high attainments, but that is only
through logical inference or confidence based on knowledge. There is
no way to be sure. Those who say, "My teacher is definitely an
Arahant" are merely expressing their devotion unless they possess
higher knowledge themselves. Even being an Arahant oneself would not
be sufficient, one would need special psychic powers too.
The following story from the texts beautifully illustrates the
behaviour of the Noble Ones:
A certain monk was living in dependence on an Arahant. Living in
dependence meant that he shared the same room as his teacher, did all
the duties for him, and carried his almsbowl for him while walking
behind for alms. One day, while walking for alms, the pupil asked,
"Venerable sir, how can one know whether another person is an
Arahant?"
The Arahant replied, "It is not easy, friend, to know if another
person is an Arahant. Even if one lived in dependence on an Arahant,
did all the duties for him, and carried his almsbowl while walking
behind him for alms, one might not know that his teacher was an
Arahant."
Even when given such a broad hint as this, the pupil did not realise
that his teacher was an Arahant.