The Path to Enlightenment: Insights from Bahiya Dārucīriya : หน้า 189/263

people cite examples of enlightenment such as that of Bahiya Dārucīriya who, in his final lifetime didn’t appear to mediate, but could become enlightened just by hearing a few words from the Buddha at the roadside. Therefore, they come to the conclusion that meditation is unnecessary for enlightenment and that there is no necessity for themselves to practice meditation. What they fail to take into account is the influence of his previous lifetimes. It turns out that in a previous lifetime: Bahiyya was one amongst a group of monks who climbed up onto a mountain plateau and vowed to themselves not to leave the mountain until they could attain enlightenment or at least fly down in the air by their own mental powers. After three days of meditation, one of the group became an arahat—he promised to bring food back from his almsround for the others, but they refused to eat it. On the fifth day, another monk became enlightened at the level of "non-returner" and he went for almsround too, but again, the others refused to eat his almsfood. After the passing of seven days, the remainder of the group died of starvation. They had effectively meditated to death, but the habit of earnest, to sacrifice even one's own life in meditation, carried over into subsequent lifetimes allowing them to attain enlightenment in their meditation with uncommon ease. Tappa-mallaputta was able to attain Arahantship from the age of seven. Bahiya had also been one of the group. The Buddha gave Bahiya only a very short sermon: "Seeing only, hearing only, smelling only, tasting only, coming in physical contact only—for all things just sensing."