➥ saddhā:

• for saddhā:
  • faith
  • faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment]
• for saddha:
  • faithful
  • in faith
  • credulous
  • faith in [the significance of abandoning spiritually unwholesome factors and undertaking] spiritually wholesome factors (the Iṇa Sutta, see Introduction)

Saddhā: faith

Saddhā can sometimes be rendered simply as faith:

• They would have to go by faith in others about this.

te tattha paresaṁ saddhāya gaccheyyuṁ. (SN v 221)

• Have faith in those arahants of noble discernment.

Saddahāno arahataṁ ariyapaññāya. (Iti 112)

• He has faith in [the significance of] these teachings

ime dhamme evaṁ saddahati. (SN iii 225)

• Those who have a degree of faith in me, a degree of affection for me, are all destined for heaven.

yesaṁ mayi saddhāmattaṁ pemamattaṁ sabbe te saggaparāyaṇāti. (MN i 141-2)

Saddhā: technical sense

In relation to the Buddha saddhā has a technical sense, meaning faith in the perfection of his enlightenment. This is also the case where he is not the stated object of saddhā because the definition for saddhindriyaṁ shows that in such cases he is still the object:

• And what is the faculty of faith? In this regard, the noble disciple has faith. He has faith in the [perfection of the] Perfect One’s enlightenment: ‘He is indeed the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, perfect in insightfulness into reality and in conduct, the Sublime One, one who knows the world [of phenomena] [according to reality], the unexcelled trainer of men to be tamed, the teacher of devas and men, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.’

Katamañca bhikkhave saddhindriyaṁ idha bhikkhave ariyasāvako saddho hoti saddahati tathāgatassa bodhiṁ iti pi so bhagavā arahaṁ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno sugato lokavidū anuttaro purisadammasārathī satthā devamanussānaṁ buddho bhagavā ti. Idaṁ vuccati bhikkhave saddhindriyaṁ. (SN v 196)

Saddha: adjective or adverb

Saddha can be used as an adjective or adverb, ‘faithful’ or ‘in faith’:

• Faithful bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, laymen and laywomen

saddhā bhikkhū bhikkhuniyo upāsakā upāsikāyo. (DN ii 141)

• Food given in faith

saddhādeyyāni bhojanāni. (DN i 5)

Saddha: credulous

Saddha sometimes means credulous:

• Not infatuated with objects of pleasure, not given to arrogance, gentle, intuitively insightful, not credulous, not filled with disgust;

Sātiyesu anassāvī atimāne ca no yuto
Saṇho ca paṭibhānavā na saddho na virajjati. (Snp 853)

• The man who is not credulous… is the highest human.

Assaddho… yo naro… sa ve uttamaporiso. (Dhp 97)

The Iṇa Sutta: faith in [the significance of abandoning spiritually unwholesome factors and undertaking] spiritually wholesome factors

In the Iṇa Sutta saddhā has a different meaning, which we will research here:

1) A noble disciple who has unshakeable faith in the teaching (dhamme aveccappasādena samannāgato hoti) has come to the conclusion that:

• The teaching is well explained by the Blessed One, fathomable in this lifetime, realisable in the here and now, intriguing, personally applicable, to be realised by the wise for themselves.

svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo sandiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko opanayiko paccattaṁ veditabbo viññūhī ti. (SN v 390)

In the light of these qualities, the teaching’s excellence and effectiveness, ‘unshakeable faith in the Dhamma’ means ‘unshakeable faith in the [excellence of the] teaching.’

2) But in the Iṇa Sutta the object of saddhā natthi is kusalesu dhammesu. For reasons to be explained, we apply the same parenthesis: ‘significance of’:

• Anyone who has no faith in [the significance of abandoning spiritually unwholesome factors and undertaking] spiritually wholesome factors.

yassa kassaci saddhā natthi kusalesu dhammesu. (AN iii 352)

3) Applying the same parentheses, i.e. ‘[significance of],’ would only be justified if ‘the teaching’ in Quote 1 concerns ‘the abandoning of spiritually unwholesome factors and undertaking of spiritually wholesome factors’ in Quote 2. Which it does:

• The refraining from everything unvirtuous; the undertaking of what is spiritually wholesome; the purification of one’s mind: this is the training system of the Buddhas.

Sabbapāpassa akaraṇaṁ kusalassa upasampadā
Sacittapariyodapanaṁ etaṁ buddhānaṁ sāsanaṁ. (Dhp 183)

4) According to our parenthesis, spiritually unwholesome factors are ‘abandoned’ and spiritually wholesome factors are ‘undertaken’. The parentheses come from these two quotes:

• The Blessed One praises the abandonment of spiritually unwholesome factors.

bhagavā akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānaṁ vaṇṇeti. (SN iii 8)

• The Blessed One praises the undertaking of spiritually wholesome factors.

bhagavā kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ upasampadaṁ vaṇṇetī ti. (SN iii 9)

Illustration: saddhā, faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment]

And what is the proximate cause for gladness? Faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment], one should reply.

Kā ca bhikkhave pāmujjassa upanisā? Saddhātissa vacanīyaṁ.

And what is the proximate cause for faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment]? Suffering, one should reply.

Kā ca bhikkhave saddhāya upanisā? Dukkhan tissa vacanīyaṁ. (SN ii 30)

Illustration: saddhā, faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment]

It is indeed to be expected, bhante, that a noble disciple who has faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment] will dwell energetically applied to the abandoning of spiritually unwholesome factors and the undertaking of spiritually wholesome factors.

saddhassa hi bhante ariyasāvakassa etaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ yaṁ āraddhaviriyo viharissati akusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ upasampadāya. (SN v 225)

Illustration: saddhā, faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment]

Then I saw the Perfectly Enlightened One and faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment] arose within me.

Athaddasāma sambuddhaṁ saddhā no udapajjatha. (SN i 196)

➥ saddho: (main article see: saddhā)

Illustration: saddho, faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment]

A bhikkhu with no faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment] falls away. He is not established in this true teaching.

Assaddho bhikkhave bhikkhu cavati nappatiṭṭhāti saddhamme. (AN iii 7)

A bhikkhu with faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment] does not fall away. He is established in this true teaching.

Saddho bhikkhave bhikkhu na cavati patiṭṭhāti saddhamme. (AN iii 7)

Illustration: saddhā, faith [in the perfection of the Perfect One’s enlightenment]

As the Blessed One explained the teaching to me with its increasingly higher and more sublime levels, concerning what is inwardly dark and bright with their correlative combinations, thus through transcendent insight into a certain one of those teachings, I came to a conclusion about the teachings. I gained faith in the Teacher thus “The Blessed One is perfectly enlightened. The teaching is well explained by the Blessed One. The community of disciples is applied to the excellent practice.’

Yathā yathā me āvuso bhagavā dhammaṁ deseti uttaruttariṁ paṇītapaṇītaṁ kaṇhasukkasappaṭibhāgaṁ tathā tathāhaṁ tasmiṁ dhamme abhiññāya idhekaccaṁ dhammaṁ dhammesu niṭṭhamagamaṁ satthari pasīdiṁ sammā sambuddho bhagavā svākkhāto bhagavatā dhammo supaṭipanno saṅgho ti.

When one’s faith in the [perfection of the] Perfect One’s [enlightenment] is settled, rooted, and established, and described in these terms, words, and phrases, then one’s faith is said to be supported by reasons, rooted in vision [of things according to reality], and firm. It is not shakeable by any ascetic, Brahmanist, deva, māra, or brahmā, or by anyone in the world.

Yassa kassa ci bhikkhave imehi ākārehi imehi padehi imehi vyañjanehi tathāgate saddhā niviṭṭhā hoti mūlajātā patiṭṭhitā ayaṁ vuccatī bhikkhave ākāravatī saddhā dassanamūlikā daḷhā asaṁhāriyā samaṇena vā brāhmaṇena vā devena vā mārena vā brahmunā vā kenaci vā lokasmiṁ. (MN i 320)