Saddha (faith) has confidence as its characteristic;
purifying as its function, like the water-purifying
gem; or aspiring faith as function,like the crossing
of the floods - freedom from pollution or decision as
its
manifestation; an object worthy of faith or factors of
stream-winning as its proximate cause, such as good
dhamma. It also means
trusting,clarifying,non-fogginess and resolution.
Saddha is of four kinds:
- serene faith
- trusting faith
- attainment faith
- oncoming / ongoing faith
Serene faith is faith which arises at mere seeing or
hearing a pleasant object. For example, seeing a
venerable image of the Buddha, hearing the dhamma
(though not properly understood) or seeing a monk with
remarkable composure. However, this kind of faith is
not accompanied with knowledge because the object of
faith has not been understood.
Such faith can lead to injudicious or unreasonable
trust, not quite blind faith because the former still
belongs to the group of beautiful mental states and
thus is moral consiousness.
Trusting faith is faith accompanied with or based on
knowledge. When people learn about the meditation
practice,they try out. After some practice,
they begin to taste the flavour of the dhamma by
purifying the mind and realising its benefits. Such a
faith with knowledge is trusting faith. This is also
the type of faith which arises with the stage of
insight knowledge prior to the attainment of ariya
magga (noble path).
On the maturation of trusting faith, leading to the
establishment of insight knowledge and the seeing of
nibbana, unshakable faith accompanies ariya magga and
this we call sanctified faith, the faith of the ariyan
folk, also called rational faith. This kind of faith
is so sound and enduring that he will not give it up
even if he is offered a lifetime's wealth in exchange
or under the threat of death. Such a state is also
called rich in faith.
Ongoing faith is the faith of one who will become a
supreme Buddha, which accompanies him throughout his
existences. Due to the potential of this faith,
bodhisattas never profess any doctrine which does not
accept cause and conditions, nor have blind faith even
if they are born in such families.
excerpts from On the Path to Freedom by Sayadaw U
Pandita