-----Original Message-----
[snip]
Venerable Mahaasi Sayaadaw spent most of his life teaching the
suddhavipassanaa method for the benefit of lay people who have
insufficient time to cultivate jhaana. Since the late Sayaadaw was the
Chief Questioner at the Chattha Sangaayana, and left a legacy of over
300 branch meditation centres, I think we can be reasonably sure that
his method is an effective way to gain insight and realise nibbaana.
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I've never tried out the Mahaasi Sayaadaw school so my intention here is not
to question the merit of his technique, but I just wanted to point out that
"being reasonably sure... reaching nibbaana" based on the number of branch
centers and Mahaasi Sayaadaw's ranking in the religious order is not
sufficient cause to reach that conclusion.
Some examples:
1. Based on the billions of people in the world who profess faith in God and
the hundreds of thousands of churches and his impressive academic
credentials, we can be reasonably sure that the Pope teaches a method that
leads to wisdom, compassion, and union with God.
2. Based on the millions of practicing Buddhists in the world and thousands
of meditation centers, we can be reasonably sure that Gotama the Buddha
taught the path that leads to nibbana.
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The only objective and rational conclusion we can make about the two
examples is that the religions are popular.
They might be popular due to the efficacy of the path, but it might be
popular for other reasons. Just as the popularity of Mahaasi Sayaadaw's
school MAY be indicative of efficacy, but it's not proof of it.