--- In Pali@yahoogroups.com, Frank Kuan <fcckuan@...> wrote:

> I just finished reading an awesome biography of ajahn
> mun. I'd like to point out that Ajahns mun, Chah, and
> many thai monks in the 20th century attained ariya
> status (arahant, nonreturner, once returner, stream
> enterer), 2000+ years after the buddha's death,
> supposedly in this dhamma ending age.
>
> They seem to have done it without the aid of
> commentaries, abidhamma, or even a very comprehensive
> study of the pali canon!

==========
Dear Frank,
here is a passage from a transaltion of one of Ajahn Muns talks.
http://www.purifymind.com/HeartReleased.htm
" The root cause of everything in the universe.
The seven books of the Abhidhamma, except for the Patthana (The Book
on Origination), are finite in scope. As for the Patthana, it is
anantanaya, infinite in scope. Only a Buddha is capable of
comprehending it in its entirety. When we consider the Pali text,
which begins hetu-paccayo, we find that the cause (hetu) that acts
as the ..""

It seems he didn't ignore Abhidhamma.

A question that occurs is how you would know that someone is an
arahant or sotapanna. Would anyones words be more valuable than
those that have been carefully recorded over the millenia and are
recited at the councils (such as the one last century in Burma)? Why
did the monks keep the commentaries for so long if they are are
without merit?
RobertK