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are mentioned as two persons among the trainees only. Those who have attained arahantship It should not be seen that both of these are wisdom-freed. Here it might be said: "Firm conviction in the momentary nature of conditioned phenomena is called unwavering faith." But does one attain the stream-entry path by such mere faith? Here we have nothing to say. It was said by the Blessed One Himself. As it is said in the Great Chapter, in the Okkanta Saṃyutta: "The eye, monks, is impermanent, subject to change, subject to alteration. Whoever thus believes, thus resolves, this one is called a faith-follower. He has entered the noble stage. He has transcended the ordinary person's stage. Whatever action might lead him to a lower realm, a bad destination, a state of woe, he does not perform that action." "The ear, monks, is impermanent, subject to change, subject to alteration" and so on, the twelve sense bases should be elaborated. Therein, "subject to change" means "that which has change." And "change" is called perishing moment by moment, breaking up. "Subject to alteration" is a synonym for that very thing. By "thus resolves" is indicated faith conjoined with knowledge. That very faith is described among the factors of stream-entry as "endowed with unwavering faith in the Buddha, in the Dhamma, in the Saṅgha." Therein, faith conjoined with knowledge is resolute faith conjoined with the knowledge of seeing the sign of impermanence in the eye and so on. And the sign of impermanence is called the continuous alteration of the great elements that are the basis of the eye and so on, in the manner stated in the phrase "form is impermanent in the sense of decay." Seeing that, one believes in the impermanent nature of the eye and so on, and resolves upon it. The meaning is that one obtains a faith-resolution, a faith-decision, that "these too are utterly breaking up moment by moment." Here, "unwavering faith in the Buddha" means a clear confidence conjoined with the knowledge of seeing the Buddha's qualities, such as his being an Arahant, a Perfectly Self-Enlightened One. The noble stage is called a state or level purified from the latent tendencies of wrong view and doubt. A state or level accompanied by these is the ordinary person's... the state of ordinary people. How then is it understood that such a person has transcended the state of ordinary people and entered the noble state? It is said: "He who..." and so on. He who, even for the sake of his own life, does not commit any deed that leads to a lower realm, which is a path of action. He is entirely one who has transcended the state of ordinary people, and entered the noble state. This is what is meant. This is the Sutta on the Faith-follower. It is also said elsewhere: "Monks, the eye is impermanent, subject to change. He for whom such a degree of reflection is agreeable. He is called a Dhamma-follower," and so on. Here, "such a degree of reflection is agreeable" means that, like a faith-follower, not stopping at mere belief, but contemplating such impermanence of the eye and so on, he gradually gains insight. Thus, the eye and so on are agreeable to that person for a degree of reflection, for observation. This is the Sutta on the Dhamma-follower. It is also said elsewhere: "Monks, the eye is impermanent, subject to change, subject to alteration. He who thus understands and sees. He is called a Stream-enterer," and so on. Here, "understands and sees" means that, unlike a Dhamma-follower, not stopping at mere agreeableness to reflection, he understands with wisdom, and sees directly with the eye of knowledge. This is the meaning. This is the Sutta on the Attainer of Views and so on. In "as his own fruit," "his own" here refers to that which belongs to oneself. It explains the meaning of "whatever is his own, as his own" by "of a stream-enterer," and so on. However, in the path of fruit attainment, the anukoma javanas (adaptive impulsion moments) are the proximate causes of the fruits, not the magga javanas (path impulsion moments). Therefore, it says: "not by way of the path's coming." "So" means the path. "Santo" means existing, present, a real state. "Assa" means of the path. Contemplation of impermanence, in terms of function, is signless. In terms of its nature, it is indeed with signs. It is indeed accompanied by the sign of permanence. Because it attains the grasp of "this is I." This insight knowledge itself is impermanent in the sense of decay, and should be contemplated as such. And there, when it comes to Abhidhamma, the nature is primary, not the function. Therefore, Abhi By the method of Dhamma, insight cannot give its own sign or name to the path. This is the meaning of the commentary. Defilement-states, indeed, in whom they arise, they bind that person. They cause obstruction. Therefore, they are called obstruction-makers. They make that person grasp the sign of permanence, the sign of beauty, the sign of pleasure, the sign of self. Therefore, they are called sign-makers. They make that person strongly fixed and settled on objects. Therefore, they are called attachment-makers. And they do not make the paths and fruits their object. And they do not go into association with the paths and fruits. Thus, by way of making objects, their absence in the paths and fruits. And because of their absence, those paths and fruits receive three names by their own nature, to show this, "by way of making objects," etc., was said. "By its own nature" means by its own characteristic. "When wrong view of self arises, they arise" this shows the inseparability of those doubts about views from the wrong view of self. But it should not be understood that the wrong view of self is inseparable from them. "They ripen" means they ripen in the lower realms. They generate rebirth in the lower realms. And for noble persons who have seen the truth. Unwholesome states associated with doubt about views are taken by the term "doubt about views," therefore it says, "disassociated from doubt about views." "Or unwholesome states" means the ten unwholesome courses of action that are present. "In seven existences" is an instrumental case for the completion of an action. Just as one completes a monastery in seven months. And "completion of an action" is said to be the quicker completion of an action. "Seven times" means seven occasions. The three fetters are wrong view of self, doubt, and clinging to rites and rituals. "One not subject to falling" means falling, becoming disfigured, is "vinipāta." It means falling into the lower realms. "Dhamma" means nature. The analysis is: "There is no nature of falling for whom." "Determined" means one whose destination is determined in the happy realms. "Rightly understands" means right... Enlightenment. The knowledge of the path. "Parāyanaṃ" means the destination to be reached in the future. One whose destination is called perfect enlightenment is "sambodhiparāyano". "Aniyamattho" means it is said to be in the sense of 'or'. And in the senses of 'or', it is an indeterminate meaning. It is not an alternative meaning. If it were an alternative meaning, only two, the seven-times-at-most, would be obtained. The mixed existence would not be obtained. In the indeterminate meaning, all three are obtained. However, in the Commentary, since the conjunctive meaning is taken, only one mixed existence is obtained. Now, the word 'ca' (and) is well-known in the conjunctive sense, not in the indeterminate sense. Therefore, if it is said that the conjunctive sense is appropriate here. It is not appropriate. Why? Because it does not include the two. However, in the Commentary, taking the conjunctive sense, it is said that those two individuals are not included in this passage. If they are not included in this passage, where would they be included? It is not appropriate to say that no seven-times-at-most is not included here. "Assā" refers to the text of that Pāli passage. "And here, since... the seven-times-at-most is mentioned" - this should be connected with 'ye kāmabhave yevā' (who are only in the sensual realms) and 'yediṭṭha dhamme vā' (or in this very life) above. And that person should be seen as a dry-insight meditator or one whose jhāna has declined - this is the connection. "In the Pāli" refers to the Puggala-paññatti Pāli. "Idha niṭṭhā" means the completion here, in this sensual realm, by attaining the destruction of defilements and the attainment of the parinibbāna of the aggregates. Completion means the end. One who goes from family to family is a "kolaṃkolo". It means one who goes from existence to existence. One who has only one seed of existence, which is rebirth, is an "ekabījī". And one who is an Arahant in this very life. And for him, there is completion here - this is the connection. By what, then, is the distinction made among the three Stream-Enterers? The seven-times-at-most is made purely by the faculties associated with the first path. The other two are made by the insight faculties developed for the higher paths. Among them, the seven-times-at-most is entirely gentle. Then the family-to-family is keen. But that one is six-fold. The non-returner, the five-becoming, the four-becoming, the three-becoming, the two-becoming— thus five kinds. Among these, the five-becoming is sharp. The others are to be understood as increasingly sharper in order. But the one-seeded, the one-becoming, is the sharpest of all. Among these, the seven-times-at-most is entirely gentle, having been perfected by the power of the first path alone. The other two, by their nature, having reached the state of seven-times-at-most, begin the work of insight for the higher paths. Then their faculties become specially attained again, they become sharp. Therefore, they are called sharper than the seven-times-at-most. "Less than seven times" refers to the kolaṃkola and the one-seeded. "He regulates insight for the three higher paths"