The Buddha heard this and told his disciples to let Subadhra in, saying, "It is precisely because he is so old that he should hear these words." Subadhra entered the group and listened, and after hearing only a few phrases he attained arhatship. He was the last man to be ordained a monk in the Buddha's lifetime.

In the Ch'an sect. Master Chao-chou (778-897), who is famous for the kung-an, "Does a dog have Buddha-nature?" was eighty years old when he had an enlightenment experience. Only after that did he venture out to find a master to have his experience certified. He did not become a master himself until his eighties.

Buddhism makes no distinction based on age. Karma can ripen at any time, and if one acquires the urge to practice, no matter what the age, that person should start practicing immediately and diligently. When one is old, it is even more urgent, because there is that much less time to practice.

There are some physical differences. Usually, younger people will have greater endurance, strength and energy. Older people have already expended a great deal of life energy and will be weaker in terms of the physical demands of practice.

However, the younger people have some disadvantages. They are usually attracted by many things in the environment. They are usually much more ambitious, wanting to accomplish things, and so their energy is scattered. Older people, on the other hand, are usually not as ambitious or caught up in the world. They are more stable and may find it easier to approach the practice with greater single-mindedness.