Who is a stream-winner ?

"Sariputta, when you know of a householder clothed in white, that he is restrained in terms of the five training rules(i) and that he obtains at will, without difficulty, without hardship, four pleasant mental abidings(ii) in the here & now, then if he wants he may state about himself: 'Hell is ended; animal wombs are ended; the state of the hungry shades is ended; states of deprivation, destitution, the bad bourns are ended! I am a stream-winner, steadfast, never again destined for states of woe, headed for self-awakening!'

(i)Five training rules
1. Abstains from taking life
2. Abstains from taking what is not given
3. Abstains from illicit sex
4. Abstains from lying
5. Abstains from distilled & fermented drinks that cause heedlessness

(ii) Four pleasant mental abidings
1. 'Endowed with unwavering faith (conviction) in the Awakened One: '
'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy & rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened, blessed.'

2. 'Endowed with unwavering faith (conviction)  in the Dhamma:'
'The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting verification, pertinent, to be realized by the wise for themselves.'

3. 'Endowed with unwavering faith (conviction) in the Sangha:

'The Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples who have practiced well... who have practiced straight-forwardly... who have practiced methodically... who have practiced masterfully — in other words, the four pairs, the eight individuals — they are the Sangha of the Blessed One's disciples: worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, the incomparable field of merit for the world.'

4. 'Endowed with virtues that are appealing to the noble ones: untorn, unbroken, unspotted, unsplattered, liberating, praised by the wise, untarnished, leading to concentration.

Gihi Sutta-The Householder

Showing the Path to Buddha Dhamma...

Buddha saw the entire world with beings of different levels of maturity in the path of Dhamma. He compared this to a lotus pond. He targeted the lotuses of higher degree of maturity. Those are the mature lotuses that are at or close to the surface awaiting for the sun (Dhamma) to shine for them to bloom (enlighten).

Unfortunately like the Buddha, we don't have that special ability of knowing the maturity of the spiritual faculties in others.

Then how can we guide another person to the path...

You may consider:

1. Is it going to be beneficial for the person at this time ?

if yes- consider#2
if no- don't tell

2. Is he going to accept it ?

if yes -you can tell
if no - you have to wait for the right timing

Essentially TIMING is everything.

There are three groups of people

1. Some you can show the benefits of skillful deeds and direct them to the path.

2. Some you can show them the adverse results of unskillful deeds and direct them to the path.

3. The rest you "KILL" them.

"KILL THEM" ?

Please read the sutta below:

Kesi Sutta
To Kesi the Horsetrainer
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.111.than.html

p.s.
I feel ignorance (delusion), conceit and fear may be the main reasons that one may be reluctant to accept this path.

Building a "house of wisdom"

Recently I have been observing a building site close to my home. The builder first cut down the trees and cleared stumps and the rocks off the ground and piled them up in a large mountain of debris (see the photo). Then they leveled the ground laid some large pipes for the sewer and water supply to the site. Today when I was driving by the site I saw new roads being laid out. Now the site is ready to build a new community of brand new homes.

This is similar to what we do in order to progress in this spiritual path. It is important for us to develop a good moral conduct (mind, body, and speech) as the foundation of learning Dhamma. It can be compared to the builder cutting down the trees, clearing the stumps and the rocks before the start of construction of the houses. With the development of morality as solid foundation, we can then build the other five qualities* such as faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom as you progress in this path. This is your "house of wisdom."

*Five Spiritual Faculties