6 reasons why we must stop saying that it is no longer possible to become an Ariya.

"People today, do not have the paramis to attain sainthood." - Why we must stop repeating this fallacy. 

You may have heard this before. It is a common belief and is repeated often by Dhamma speakers. I think we should put a stop to it and these are 6 reasons why. 

1. This belief that people today have insufficient paramis for enlightenment is not found in any suttas. It is not even found in the Commentaries. No one knows how it came about. Most likely it was a belief of some Dhamma teacher which found its way into popular belief. 

2. It contradicts a fundamental description of the Dhamma which is "akaliko". The Dhamma is timeless. It s not constrained by time. It is effective in the past, the present and continues to be effective in the future. 

3. What did the Buddha have to say about it? In the Mahaparinibbana sutta, the Buddha says "Devoid of true ascetics are the systems of other teachers. But if the bhikkhus live righteously, the world will not be empty of arahants." The Buddha says that arahants will arise if monks practise in accordance with the Dhamma. But monks who do not practise, in order to avoid embarrassment, give the excuse that practice is no longer fruitful. 

4. The view that attainment is no longer possible is a view held by worldlings who see no possibility of mental purification. There is little reason for us to adopt their opinion. Instead, the Buddha says that we should seek the counsel of the wise. Who are the wise? They are those who have great faith in the Dhamma and are practising assiduously to purify themselves, They practise in this manner because they understand that it is possible to attain. 

5. Won't the Dhamma be corrupted by time? No, but it can be difficult to find. In the Saddhammapatirupaka sutta, the Buddha says "there is no disappearance of the true Dhamma as long as a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has not arisen in the world, but there is the disappearance of the true Dhamma when a counterfeit of the true Dhamma has arisen in the world." The Dhamma is in danger of disappearing because there is a rash of counterfeit teachings. Money does not disappear simply because there is counterfeit money but it makes it difficult to identify the true currency. The true Dhamma continues to exist today but we need to exercise care to identify it and help it flourish so that it does not submerge under the counterfeit. And as long as we practise according to the true Dhamma, attainment is possible. 

6. Arahants together with the other ariyas continue to exist. So repeating the fallacy is extremely discouraging and harmful as it undermines the Sasana. If the Dhamma no longer has the power to purify minds, then it becomes a mere moral system, no more important than other moral teachings. Then only the first 2 lines of the popular Dhammapada verse 183 is applicable.

Avoid evil, do good, (purify the mind)". 

These are 6 reasons why we must stop saying that it is no longer possible to become an Ariya.