There was no Phd’s in Buddha’s time. So, I am guessing there is something else that supercedes higher education to understand the Dhamma. And, higher education might not be necessary at all.
There was a monk who couldn’t memorize one paragraph of the teaching, by the end of the paragraph, he forgot the first.
His arahant brother gave up on him. The Buddha gave him a white cloth and just wipe to clean and say clean or impermanent or something.
He attained to enlightenment seeing that the white cloth becomes dirty and thus is impermanent.
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Higher education has always been an uncommon thing throughout human history, including during the Buddha’s time and in societies where Buddhism flourished.
A person who applies their mind unwisely (ayoniso manasikāra) will reject right views and cling to wrong views, even if they receive a high-quality education. Conversely, by applying the mind wisely (yoniso manasikāra), a person can reject wrong views and understand the Dhamma, even with a smaller amount of information.
Some foundations for yoniso manasikāra include attempting to see phenomena as they truly are (right Satī) and striving to understand the causal relationships present:
- What is the condition for this to be present/absent?
- When this is present/absent, what conditions does it form for the arising/cessation of what?
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A few decades back I was living in Thailand at a center called Kurunoi (little Kuru) in Ratchaburi.
At this place there were several elderly women living in the huts who were illiterate. The center’s owner, khun Thanit, was a follower of the AbhidhammaVipassana teacher, Sujin Boriharnwanaket, and played her talks on loud speaker for several hours a day. Plus there were weekly discussions of Abhidhamma which these women were well equipped to join in.
Abhidhamma describes what is real and occurring every moment in life, and those elements that may arise in the future. So the lists of cittas, cetasikas and rupas are simply details of those elements that should be understood- it is not some academic exercise, and although deep is readily available to any sincere seeker.
As long as one can hear the Dhamma, or read it and comprehend at some level what is said then little by little insight can grow.
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