Asking Questions About Dhamma

Note: This post is a follow-up from the previous post Doubt and Wrong-View.

Raising questions about the Dhamma regarding matter which is not clear or which one is not certain about, with the purpose of seeking clarification, should not be construed as doubt (vicikicchā) or wrong-view (micchā-diṭṭhi). The Buddha’s teaching is not some unquestionable dogma that must be accepted by it’s devotees without question. There is room for “healthy doubt” in the Buddha’s teaching. This is not the same as the doubt which constitute one of the hindrances to the practice of meditation nor has the questioner fallen into wrong-view. He simply wants to know the truth.

Doubt and Wrong-View

Buddhists tend to get doubt (vicikicchā) and wrong-view (diṭṭhi) mixed-up, or confused one with the other. For many Buddhist when somebody holds wrong-view that person must also have doubt. And vice versa, when a person has doubt he must have also fallen into wrong-view. But actually doubt and wrong view are very different one from the other. They have very different nature.

Attaining Enlightenment While Listening to Dhamma

In the Pāḷi Texts we find many instances of people during the Buddha’s time who attained the various stages of enlightenment even while listening to the Buddha teaching the Dhamma. How is this possible? In the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta the Buddha had said that satipaṭṭhāna or the establishing of firm mindfulness is the only way for the realization of Nibbāna. If so, how is it that these people attained enlightenment and realized Nibbāna by listening to the Dhamma instead of practicing satipaṭṭhāna? Two questions arise: (1) What exactly happened in the minds of these people as they sat there listening to the Dhamma that led to their attainment of enlightenment? And (2) why is it that we no longer hear of people attaining enlightenment in this way anymore nowadays?