Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

Some scholars are of opinion that the laity cannot attain awakening in this very life and that his or her religious goal is to be reborn in the world of gods or that of mankind by observing precepts and supporting the monastics. This is misleading. Awakening is open to four assemblies and depends for its achievement neither on devotion nor on divine grace, but only on understanding the way things really are. Bodhi consists of seven factors of awakening (satta-bojjhaṅga) and it is considered to be attainable through the accomplishment of the 32 requisites of awakening (sattatiṃsa bodhipakkhiyā-dhammā). This strongly suggests that these are components of awakening in the sense of an extended process or path rather than in the sense of a single, unitary culmination of a path. This underscores the fact that awakening can be attained only as the final phase of a gradual training (anupubba- sikkhā) and not in a sudden act of intuition. It is for this reason that the Buddha preaches the gradual discourse (anupubbī-kathā) specially for the laity. That is to say, the Buddha’s gradual discourse was designed for the sole purpose of directing the laity to the path of awakening rather than showing him or her the way to heaven. Therefore we can safely say that the social division of the Buddhist community of monks and laymen is not a spiritual division, and that the Protestant assumption, all men share the same religious goal, is wholly applicable to Early Buddhism.