Metaphor and Literalism in Buddhism: The ... - misterdanger.net

THE DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT OF NIRVANA
In the BrahmAyusutta, in the MajjhimanikAya, for example, the fate of a
120-year-old Brahman called Brahmayu was described as follows:
Clever, monks, was the Brahman Brahmayu; he followed after
dhamma according to various parts of dhamma, and he did not
annoy me with questionings about dhamma. Monks, Brahmayu the
Brahman, by the complete destruction of the five lower fetters
binding to this lower, is of spontaneous uprising, one who attains
nirvana there, of a nature not to return from that world. 163
In the canon, the same passage is applied to two other lay disciples. They
are Pukkusati, a young man of family, who was killed in an accident with a
cow when he had been searching for a bowl and robe in order to receive
ordination, 164 and Dcghavu, a layman suffering from disease, who passed
away soon after meeting the Blessed one. 165 Brahmayu in the above case was
too old to become a monk. One thing in common in all three occasions is
that the idea of non-return is applied to a lay disciple who is as knowledgeable
as a monk 166 yet for some reason cannot go forth from home to homelessness.
In the early canon, we can see the soteriological limitation for the laity. In
the small suttas in the IndriyasaNyutta, 167 while the term ‘noble disciple’
(ariyasAvako) is used to describe a stream-enterer, it is a monk (bhikkhu)
who is said to be a saint (arahant). Although F. L. Woodward discounted this
by commenting ‘a monkish point of view’, 168 it is a common phenomenon in
the early canon. In fact, the highest stage that can be reached by a lay
follower is the state of non-return. Although we can see an effort to apply
the hierarchy of the four noble persons to the obvious Buddhist social hierarchy
– monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen – in MahAparinibbAnasuttanta in
the DCghanikAya 169 the early canon tends to make a clear distinction between
‘monks and nuns’ and ‘laymen and laywomen’. 170 In the NiTakapAnasutta, 171
while all the four noble persons could be monks or nuns, only the first three
stages could be reached by laymen or laywomen. In other words, the state
of non-return is the maximum achievement for lay people, and only monks
or nuns can achieve sainthood.
Although the term arahant was applied in the Rg-Veda to the god Agni
and then used as a term for an honorific title bestowed upon some high
official in the Vatapatha BrAhmaOa, 172 it was used differently among the recluse
groups during the time of the Buddha. In Jainism it was used synonymously
with Bhagavat, Jina and TCrthaWkara, 173 while in the early Buddhist canon it
appeared as the term for a person with magic powers (iddhi), such as the six
heretical leaders and Kassapa before ordination, or a person who performed
physical austerities in the forest. 174 That is to say, this term seems to have
been widespread among the recluses at the time of the Buddha to designate
a person who deserved praise for some reason, such as religious leadership,
magic powers or asceticism.
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