ความมหัศจรรย์ของวันมาฆบูชา: 9 เดือนแรกของพระพุทธศาสนากับเรื่องเหลือเชื่อที่คุณอาจไม่เคยรู้
Summary
Māgha Pūjā is more than a gathering of 1,250 arahants. What is remarkable is how fast the teaching spread in the first nine months.
Ordination then was by ehi-bhikkhu, a form that existed only in his lifetime, and that accounts for part of the speed.
The other factors named are the six abhiññā of the arahants, the readiness of the listeners of that period, and their already-matured faculties.
Key points
Nine months is extremely short
1,250 arahants in that window is a figure that needs explaining rather than passing over.
Ehi-bhikkhu existed only in his lifetime
Ordination by his direct word ended with him, which is why that rate never recurred.
The readiness of the listeners is the overlooked variable
A society already full of practice traditions meant many arrived with the groundwork done.
Māgha Pūjā counts the result of those nine months
It was not a scheduled ceremony but an unarranged gathering, and that is what makes the day significant.