ManZ A:
2.) Do you think that all religions share the same goal?
3.) When I read the suttas, often times it says that many people attained arahantship from simply hearing the Buddha speak. How did this happen? Does this happen in this day as well?
4.) To Arahants: In what way is life different than before arahantship, if at all?
Of course you are aware that the answers you receive to these questions depends upon the depth of insight and perception of the person providing the answer.
2. In general, I agree with what Daniel has stated on this. He's pretty much captured the larger picture in his first sentence. Yet, if you add an historical perspective to this, you begin to realize that all the religions extant in the world were "created"
by men
for other men. And I'm not necessarily referring to the intentions of the so-called founders of these religions, either. Others, in some cases not connected with the founder, have used what the founder started and added on their own agenda, that usually being some sort of control mechanism over the minds of the masses of other people. This is especially visible in the three main Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Hinduism, of course, grew out of the ancient brahmanical tradition and its concern with the Vedas which was extant during the time of the Buddha. And Taoism, though similar to Buddhism in some ways, is actually closer to Hinduism than it is to Buddhism. And of course there is the view that the Dhamma which the Buddha taught did not formerly belong to any rigid definition of being classified as a religion at all, that it was only after his death that others used what he taught and forged a religion from it. So, there is the Dhamma which Gotama, the Buddha, taught, and then there is the religion that grew out of this that we call Buddhism. Personally, I don't consider what Gotama taught to be a formal religion in the sense that the other worldly faiths regard themselves as being a religion.
3. As to the question regarding people making attainments or having realizations simply from hearing a discourse, it usually occurred because those persons had already developed some insight (or intuition) into the specific discourse being spoken. It occurs because the mind of the listener (for whatever reason) generally has an insight (or intuition) about the truth being spoken of in the discourse. And yes, it
can occur in the present day; I've had it occur myself. Although, because there are so many more distractions today than there were then combined, in general, with the difference in the way people are being raised today, it probably occurs much less often nowadays.
4. Not making any claims here. Just sharing my individual experience after having made some profound realizations about the Dhamma which Gotama taught. To paraphrase the followers of Zen, before enlightenment there is chopping wood and carrying water, and after enlightenment there is still chopping wood and carrying water. The mundane goings-on of life change very little. What
does change is one's perspective of life and one's reaction to the realities that life holds. As a result of increased mindfulness and powers of observation honed by the principles of the Dhamma, one is less likely to become emotionally upset when things don't go one's way. Also, there is an increase in one's ability to confront difficult situations such that they no longer hold the dread (
dukkha or dissatisfaction) that they may have formerly held. This latter is a result of a change in attitude toward what must be done as well as a profound acceptance of "what is." This necessarily results in a more grounded approach toward solving the problems of life as well as a more pleasant approach toward life in general wherein very little ever upsets one. There is a contentedness with life that is developed which surpasses even the worst situations that can occur and is acquainted with what the Christians call "the peace which passes all understanding."