The Quest for Arahants and Free Inquiry

I recently posted something on Facebook about the elusiveness of Arahants (or Arhats). If these individuals are supposed to have reached a state of moral perfection, why don’t we see them? I get a few responses from my Buddhist friends. One said that I have to be enlightened to be able to see Arahants. Another noted that true Arahants don’t identify themselves. In the Pali Canon, there are numerous accounts of individuals declaring themselves Arahants. If so, the question arises as to why the Arahants seem to have disappeared in our world.

Philosopher of Science Karl Popper said, “Insofar as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable; and insofar as it is not falsifiable, it does not speak about reality.” It is essential to apply this falsifiability principle to identify false claims consistently. Unless a statement is falsifiable and verifiable, it has no scientific meaning. This principle applies not only to empirical sciences but also to philosophical and spiritual claims. Within Buddhism, the notion that one must be enlightened to recognize Arahants presents a challenge to this principle, as it veers into the territory of unverifiable assertions.

The Buddha himself championed the importance of questioning and inquiry. In the Kalama Sutta, Buddha encouraged his followers to examine his teachings critically rather than…