Friends:
What did Buddha said about Faith (Saddha)?
The Blessed Buddha once said:
And even though a disciple of the Noble Ones lives off lumps of
alms food and wears rag-robes, still, because he is endowed with
four qualities, then he is freed from hell, freed from the animal
womb, freed from the realm of hungry ghosts, freed from all the
planes of pain & deprivation, the bad destinations, the lower realms.
And what are the four? There is the case where the disciple of the
Noble Ones is endowed with verified faith, confidence & conviction
in the Awakened Buddha like this: Worthy, honourable and perfectly
self-Enlightened is the Buddha! Fully consummated in knowledge and
behaviour, totally transcended, expert in all dimensions, knower of
all worlds, unsurpassable trainer of those who can be tamed, both
teacher and guide of gods as well as of humans, blessed, exalted,
awakened and enlightened is the Buddha !!!
He/she is endowed with verified faith, confidence & conviction in
the Dhamma like this: Perfectly formulated is this Buddha-Dhamma,
visible right here and now, immediately effective, timeless, inviting
each and everyone to come and see for themselves, inspect, examine
and verify. Leading each and everyone through progress towards
perfection. Directly observable, experiencable and realizable by
each intelligence...
He/she is endowed with verified faith, confidence & conviction in
the Noble Sangha like this: Perfectly training is this Noble Sangha
community of the Buddha's Noble disciples: Training the right way,
the true way, the good way, the direct way! Therefore do these 8
kinds of individuals, the four Noble pairs, deserve both gifts, grants
sacrifice, offerings, hospitality and reverential salutation even with
joined palms, since this Noble Sangha community of the Buddha's
Noble disciples, is an unsurpassable and forever unsurpassed field
of merit, in this world, for this world, to honour, respect, support,
give to and protect.
He/she is endowed with long-term morality, which are dear to the
Noble Ones: Moral purity that is untorn, unbroken, unspotted, and
impeccable, liberating, praised by the wise, immaculate, leading to
concentration. SN 55.1
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn55/sn55.001.than.html
For a lay person, there are these five rewards of faith, confidence
& conviction Which five?
1: When truly good people in the world show compassion, they will
first show compassion to people of faith, confidence & conviction,
and not to people lacking in faith, confidence & conviction...
2: When visiting, they visit people of faith, confidence & conviction,
and not people without faith, confidence & conviction...
3: When accepting gifts, they first accept gifts from people with
faith, confidence & conviction, & not from people lacking faith,
confidence & conviction.
4: When teaching the Dhamma, they first teach those with faith,
confidence & conviction, & not those without faith, confidence &
conviction .
5: A person of faith, confidence & conviction , on the break-up of
the body, after death, will arise in a good destination, the heavenly
world. For a lay person, these are the five certain rewards of faith,
confidence & conviction. AN 5:38
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.038.than.html
And what is the individual released through faith, confidence &
conviction ? There is the case where a certain individual does not
dwell immersed in those peaceful states that transcend all form,
but having understood, some of his mental fermentations are ended,
and his faith, confidence & conviction in the Tathagata is settled,
rooted, and established. This is called an individual who is released
through faith, confidence & conviction. Regarding this monk, I say
that he has still a task to do. Why is that? Perhaps this Venerable,
when staying at suitable places, associating with admirable friends,
while balancing his mental abilities, will reach & dwell in the supreme
goal of Noble life for which good men rightly go forth from home
into homelessness, directly realizing it for himself right here & now.
Envisioning this fruit of further effort for this monk, I say that he
has a task to do. MN 70
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.070.than.html
Any female disciple of the Noble Ones who grows by these 5 types
of growth grows a Noble growth, and thereby get a handle on what
is essential, and what is excellent. Which five?
She grows in terms of Faith...
She grows in terms of Morality...
She grows in terms of Learning...
She grows in terms of Generosity...
She grows in terms of Understanding....
Growing by these five types of growth, any female disciple of the
Noble Ones grows a Noble growth, and thereby gets hold on what
is really essential, and what indeed is excellent. Growing in faith,
morality, learning, generosity, & understanding, a virtuous female
lay disciple such as this takes hold of the essence within herself.
SN 37.34
http://What-Buddha-Said.net/drops/The_Three_Jewels.htm
