What would you prefer? Stream-entry or being a Bodhisatta?

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Hello everyone,

What would you prefer, attaining stream entry in this very life or seeing your past/future lives and discovering that you are a bodhisatta that has already received a prophecy in the past or will receive one soon from a Buddha in the future?

As for me, I would rather be a bodhisatta. I like the idea of perfecting the qualities of generosity, virtue, renunciation, loving-kindness, etc. I also like the idea of becoming a Buddha. I think any amount of pain and suffering is worth becoming a Buddha because that’s the highest goal anyone could aim for.

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My ultimate aspiration is to reach Nibbana. But as a layperson, becoming a sotapanna is my immediate goal. I’m eager to escape the cycle of rebirth. So, if I had the chance to learn from either a sotapanna or a bodhisatta, I’d choose the sotapanna. Even though they’re not fully enlightened, they’ve experienced a glimpse of Nibbana and can guide me on the path. A bodhisatta does not yet know how to do this.

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Yes we should strive to attain Nibbana to be free from all suffering. It’s just that I want to also help countless living beings to attain Nibbana or at the very least to be reborn in good realms. Throughout my life, I’ve been to non-Buddhist countries and went to school there and had friends. They are not Buddhists and I don’t even know if they will attain Nibanna in the next sasana. So, if I could become a Buddha in a future life, I could help them attain Nibbana one day.

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A noble ambition, yet one that borders on the improbable. Only a rare and exceptional few can attain such a station, like Exalted Metteyya. One would have to await his advent, with the uncertain prospect [if any at all] of receiving his prophecy and confirmation. Thereafter, you would be facing an immeasurable span of time — countless aeons and a hundred thousand of lifetimes — before reaching Buddhahood. This is to say nothing of the problematic notion of deferring awakening, which I have already raised in this forum. Given current birth rates, you would likely have to endure a very long time before you could help all those beings.

I do hope you don’t take me for a pessimist (though I concede that what I’ve written may give that impression), but that’s simply how things are — the distinction between realism and unbridled optimism.

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Hello, your input is much appreciated.

Something I realized on my journey of aspiring for Buddhahood is that anyone who seriously aspire for it or a true Bodhisatta won’t care about how long it takes to become a Buddha even if they have to go through countless aeons. As long as there is as much as a possibility— a 1% chance — that is enough.

In truth, there is no other goal worth striving than that of Buddhahood. There is no other goal worth going through countless aeons than becoming a Buddha.

From my experience, I’ve realized that faith is the quality I have to focus on cultivating the most — having faith in the qualities of the Buddha and being inspired by them and having faith in myself. Faith is what keeps one going even when it’s hard.

I also realized that it’s important to constantly practice compassion before fulfilling each parami. It makes you go the extra mile instead of stopping short.

Another profound realization is the power of determination.
To anchor the mind in firm resolutions such as:
• “I will become a Buddha, no matter how long it takes.”
• “I will become a Buddha, no matter how painful the path may be.”

Reciting these mentally, reflecting on them daily, helps strengthen the heart against doubt and weariness.

Every Bodhisatta, past, present, and future, have to go through the beginning stages where they don’t know how long it will take but nonetheless they never give up their true goal and strive to attain Buddhahood.

I also love the idea of perfecting qualities like generosity, virtue, renunciation, wisdom, etc to the upmost instead of stopping short at like 50% or 80% in order to attain the knowledge of all things — not out of curiosity but to liberate countless beings.

Since I’ve decided, even if I have to experience a lot of pain in the process, I can be happy, knowing that there is no other goal worth all the pain more than this one.

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I appreciate your open-heartedness — it’s admirable that you possess such strong ambition and determination. Despite the rarity of opportunities, you should be mindful that ambition tends to fade over successive lifetimes. One may stray from the path and deviate. Ven. Ledi Sayadaw once discussed the difficulty of maintaining the right conduct and views — and how the risk of straying increases with each successive lifetime. Still, through this commitment, you are indeed exposing yourself to the very real danger of remaining trapped in the cycle of samsāric existence.

You spoke with great conviction about faith. Therefore, it appears that you incline toward being a Saddhādhika-Bodhisatta — one who is “preponderant in faith.” Compared to Bodhisattas [preeminent in paññā] (i.e., Gautama Buddha), they take twice as long to attain Buddhahood.

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There are great benefits in attaining awakening under special circumstances. Being a Bodhisatta confirmed by a Buddha, a future Chief Disciple, a Great Disciple, or someone destined to attain enlightenment during the time of a particular Buddha (such as Metteya) is certainly more prestigious than being a stream-enterer now. However, in these cases, it is quite common not to know one’s actual situation and to feel concerned about not attaining path and fruition in this very life — and that’s the difficult part. One of the main advantages of being a stream-enterer is the certainty of being on the irreversible path to realizing Nibbāna.

I imagine it must be very challenging to follow the Bodhisatta path during the middle phase of the journey, when they might have an idea that they are on the path to becoming Buddhas, but still cannot be certain about it. In the early phase, they don’t even know they are Bodhisattas. (These phases, of course, aren’t rigidly fixed.)

I suppose it’s quite common for Bodhisattas, in various lifetimes, to sincerely aspire to attain enlightenment as disciples—which is no longer possible due to the binding power of their previous confirmation before a Buddha. A similar dynamic might also apply to those destined to attain enlightenment in special roles—such as Chief Disciples, Great Disciples, Paccekabuddhas, or simply those who are meant to awaken during the time of a future Buddha. So, someone who might be in such a situation needs to find a way to stay motivated in their practice, even with the possibility of not realizing Nibbāna in this lifetime.