Section outline
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Lesson 2.1.13 Arakasuttaṃ – Make the Best Use of this Short Life
Araka was a spiritual teacher of old. He felt that even the seemingly long lifespan of those ancient times – 60,000 years – was far too short to come into the vicinity of Brahma, so he emphatically taught his followers the four brahmavihārā which would lead one forward. The Buddha referred to this incident and advised his disciples to make even greater efforts in this much shorter life to realize the Ariyo Aṭṭhaṅgiko Maggo. The Introduction concludes the historical account with a short reference to the late teachers who laid the base for the spread of Vipassana in the world: the Venerable Ledi Sayadaw, Saya Thetgyi, and Sayagyi U Ba Khin.