How many arahants are there on earth today?

thumbnail
Tom Smith, modified 5 Years ago at 5/13/18 3:49 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/13/18 3:49 PM

How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 140 Join Date: 2/17/10 Recent Posts
No one knows the exact number of course, but what would  you guess?  More than a thousand?  Less than ten?

I am very curious about how you would go about guessing this.
thumbnail
Daniel M Ingram, modified 5 Years ago at 5/13/18 6:23 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/13/18 6:21 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 3268 Join Date: 4/20/09 Recent Posts
I know of at least 10 people I think of as in that category. I would be impressed and overjoyed if there were a thousand, though I don’t think it particularly likely, though I have little data on the subject, really, and so this second point is just a guess that the total number is less than that. If there are a thousand or more, they are a particularly quiet bunch, at least in the media I have access to.
thumbnail
This very moment, modified 5 Years ago at 5/13/18 7:15 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/13/18 7:15 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 71 Join Date: 7/6/17 Recent Posts
How about stream enterers?   a few thousand?
Pyro Arkar, modified 5 Years ago at 5/14/18 8:16 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/14/18 8:09 AM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 56 Join Date: 12/18/17 Recent Posts
Daniel M. Ingram:
I know of at least 10 people I think of as in that category. I would be impressed and overjoyed if there were a thousand, though I don’t think it particularly likely, though I have little data on the subject, really, and so this second point is just a guess that the total number is less than that. If there are a thousand or more, they are a particularly quiet bunch, at least in the media I have access to.


From our Arahant Sayardaw's San Di Mar's Teaching (and in Buddha's Teaching) Who have entered Arahant required to ParateNibanna within 7 days, if he is without monkhood.
Do you mean Non-Monk Arahants? In our meditatation center , who reached 3rds stage and who want to stay as normal human form are no longer given meditation to advance and to avoid Niroda Samapatti . Niroda Samapatti requires MonkHood or it said to have dire consequences when going cessation for 7 days.
thumbnail
Scott, modified 5 Years ago at 5/14/18 8:39 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/14/18 8:39 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 27 Join Date: 10/24/17 Recent Posts
Depending on your criteria, a few or a lot.

There are certainly an enormous number of people around who recognize the cycle of insight and the first two paths of the emotional model from their own experience.

There are a somewhat smaller number of people who are demonstrating a sustained cognitive transformation that looks, at least from the outside, like enlightenment, and can be described from the inside using Daniel's preferred criteria of "In the seeing, just the seen...", and for whom there is no further work to do.

Most of this latter group of people don't describe themselves as arahants. Many come from non-Buddhist traditions; others from Zen traditions who talk about the Arahants of the time of the Buddha, rather than our own time; others like the term "bodhisattva" or have some other term. 

I would guess maybe 1-8 million people worldwide (0.1-1%) are somewhere fairly far along in the enlightenment process, if not more. Of those, perhaps 1% or 10,000 are completely enlightened or "highly realized". Only maybe 100-200 of those would call themselves arahants. Ask me another day and I'll give you another answer.
Billy, modified 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 12:57 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 12:57 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 19 Join Date: 4/30/18 Recent Posts
David Hawkins reckoned enlightenment as 600+ on his scale. He thought one person in 10,000,000 was in the 600+ range. So that would make 762 enlightened people around right now.

At the other extreme, when David Godman was asked how many enlightened teachers there are around nowadays, his answer was zero.
thumbnail
Tom Smith, modified 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 1:06 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 1:06 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 140 Join Date: 2/17/10 Recent Posts
Interesting discussion so far.  Most people say that the answer depends on how you define arahant or enlightened.  What if we use the definition of an enlightened being as someone for whom the third noble truth has come true.  Some one who has achieved and end of suffering.  
Billy, modified 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 3:41 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 3:41 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 19 Join Date: 4/30/18 Recent Posts
Daniel M. Ingram:
I would be impressed and overjoyed if there were a thousand, though I don’t think it particularly likely, though I have little data on the subject, really, and so this second point is just a guess that the total number is less than that.


That’s certainly compatible with the Hawkins estimate of 762 emoticon
seth tapper, modified 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 3:51 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/15/18 3:51 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 477 Join Date: 8/19/17 Recent Posts
I saw an arhat under my bed
Sitting still, at peace and unconcerned
He was delicious. 
Thor, modified 5 Years ago at 5/17/18 2:47 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/17/18 2:47 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 8 Join Date: 5/17/18 Recent Posts
Daniel M. Ingram:
I know of at least 10 people I think of as in that category. I would be impressed and overjoyed if there were a thousand, though I don’t think it particularly likely, though I have little data on the subject, really, and so this second point is just a guess that the total number is less than that. If there are a thousand or more, they are a particularly quiet bunch, at least in the media I have access to.

Why do you still use that picture that looks nothing like you now?
thumbnail
terry, modified 5 Years ago at 5/18/18 7:47 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/18/18 7:47 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 2426 Join Date: 8/7/17 Recent Posts
Tom Smith:
Interesting discussion so far.  Most people say that the answer depends on how you define arahant or enlightened.  What if we use the definition of an enlightened being as someone for whom the third noble truth has come true.  Some one who has achieved and end of suffering.  


aloha tom and all,

   If "arahant" is defined as "enlightened being," there is only one of us.

terry
Andrew, modified 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 3:00 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 2:59 AM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 8 Join Date: 6/13/17 Recent Posts
there is only one of us.:
 


emoticon
thumbnail
Babs _, modified 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 11:28 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 11:28 AM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 709 Join Date: 2/5/13 Recent Posts
Howdy folks.

I think Dan stated in our discussion that he knew about 20 such people worldwide.

I haven't been active writing forums for a while but the last time (maybe 1-2 years ago) I've written here, if I recall right, I said I knew less than 10 people who would be called arhats. Now the number is up to 26 in OH sangha alone. Two of these people worked with pragmatic dharma teachers such as Kenneth Folk and one of his students until they hit 4th Path and took up other practices, namely tantric and dzogchen. We have shared notes and descriptions of experiences quite extensively within our group. Everybody who opens up the 6th bhumi of the Open Heart Bhumi Model, or the 4th Path as defined in pragmatic dharma, say same things about their inner world.
thumbnail
Tom Smith, modified 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 2:14 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 2:14 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 140 Join Date: 2/17/10 Recent Posts
We have shared notes and descriptions of experiences quite extensively within our group. Everybody who opens up the 6th bhumi of the Open Heart Bhumi Model, or the 4th Path as defined in pragmatic dharma, say same things about their inner world.

Could you give some links to these discussions..  I would like to read more about this.

Also - What I am even more curious about than their inner worlds is any changes in behavior that are common to people who get to this point.  Any links to discussions about that would be greatly appreciated.
thumbnail
Babs _, modified 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 3:23 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 5/20/18 3:23 PM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 709 Join Date: 2/5/13 Recent Posts
Tom Smith:
We have shared notes and descriptions of experiences quite extensively within our group. Everybody who opens up the 6th bhumi of the Open Heart Bhumi Model, or the 4th Path as defined in pragmatic dharma, say same things about their inner world.

Could you give some links to these discussions..  I would like to read more about this.

Also - What I am even more curious about than their inner worlds is any changes in behavior that are common to people who get to this point.  Any links to discussions about that would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Tom.

By "within our group" I'm referring to our online sangha at Facebook that is only for OH practitioners. We also have Open Heart.fi at Facebook but not much discussion there as people use it mostly for informing.

There is this for starters, have linked it in my previous posts here many times:
http://openheartopenheart.blogspot.fi/2016/02/stages-of-spiritual-attainment.html

Few of our practitioners from Russia are working on a detailed presentation of what we have uncovered while researching OHBM. Specifically about first 6 bhumis. This will be some text material and also a live event sometime in July-August in Moscow. Three of them started practicing with Folk and since have matured noticeably.

You can go to FB and join Open Heart.fi to get the research mentioned when it comes out. If I remember I'll post it here too.
Keshin lu, modified 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 6:22 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 6:22 AM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 34 Join Date: 7/31/18 Recent Posts
Hi Phyo
I disagree and agreed with you.  I have been through many cessations, almost every single time I meditated for 2 years. I don’t agree that we have to be monks. But I do agreed that it have a tremendous consequences, making living the normal life very very hard.

How many arahant?  In my little town I known of atleast 3.
Mettafore, modified 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 6:32 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 6:32 AM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 171 Join Date: 3/24/14 Recent Posts
van lu:
Hi Phyo
I disagree and agreed with you.  I have been through many cessations, almost every single time I meditated for 2 years. I don’t agree that we have to be monks. But I do agreed that it have a tremendous consequences, making living the normal life very very hard.

How many arahant?  In my little town I known of atleast 3.


Wow! That is incredible. Where do you live, van lu? I always thought it would be great to live in the midst of great practitioners and masters.
Keshin lu, modified 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 6:46 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 6:46 AM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 34 Join Date: 7/31/18 Recent Posts
I live in Perth, Australia 
living dhamma is my fb group where I share my experiences 
i feel there need to be more transparency and less secretcies in buddhists Sangha 
Robin Woods, modified 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 8:06 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 8/1/18 8:06 AM

RE: How many arahants are there on earth today?

Posts: 189 Join Date: 5/28/12 Recent Posts
Daniel M. Ingram:
I know of at least 10 people I think of as in that category. I would be impressed and overjoyed if there were a thousand, though I don’t think it particularly likely, though I have little data on the subject, really, and so this second point is just a guess that the total number is less than that. If there are a thousand or more, they are a particularly quiet bunch, at least in the media I have access to.
Does this mean all of the Tony Parsons/Advita/'You Cannot Become What You Already Are' etc crowd are just lying or something then? 

Breadcrumb