4👑☸ Cattāri Ariya-saccaṃ 四聖諦

Saddha: earned-trust

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Saddha: earned-trust, verified confidence, provisional trust, justifiable trust. Don’t ‘have faith’. Give ‘earned-trust’ judiciously and revoke if broken. opposite of saddha: blind faith, blind belief 'faith' is a valid translation, but highly inadvisable to use in EBT, since a majority of the world follow religions that understand ‘faith’ as a blind belief in an unverifiable creator God who behaves randomly and irrationally. Though the Buddha is a man and not a ‘god’, since he is the figurehead of Buddhism, people naturally will think of ‘faith’ in the same context as someone who has blind belief in an unverifiable God. Even under the umbrella of Buddhism, "pure land Buddhism" has a type of 'faith' and practice that is far different than the 'saddha' of EBT suttas. See for example MN 95. If you must translate it as ‘faith’, at least qualify it as provisional-faith, or something of that nature. Perhaps the pre-Buddhist use of 5 indriya and saddha had a meaning closer to blind-faith, but once words get appropriated by the Buddha, such as ‘arahant’, ‘brahman’, etc., they take on a more precise and exacting redefinition. The Buddha earned trust. As MN 95 shows, 'earned-trust' is judiciously awarded, based on careful scrutiny of the Buddha's character, and absence of defilements in his actions and teaching.

Why I didn't use Thanissaro’ translation of 'conviction'

Definition of conviction 1 : the act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law 2a : a strong persuasion or belief b : the state of being convinced 3a : the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth b : the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth Because 'conviction' usually has a connotation of being persuaded on an intellectual level. Also, people who have unverified, unjustified blind faith, often also have unshakeable 'conviction.'

B. Bodhi: provisional trust

general meaning Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi wrote: As a factor of the Buddhist path, (saddhā) does not mean blind belief but a willingness to accept on trust certain propositions that we cannot, at our present stage of development, personally verify for ourselves. These propositions concern both the nature of reality and the higher reaches of the path. In the traditional map of the Buddhist training, (saddhā) is placed at the beginning, as the prerequisite for the later stages comprised in the triad of virtue, concentration, and wisdom. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... say_45.pdf example in Siha sutta From his translation of Siha sutta: When this was said, Sīha the general said to the Blessed One: “Bhante, I do not go by (saddhā) in the Blessed One concerning those four directly visible fruits of giving declared by him. I know them, too. For I am a donor, a munificent giver, and I am dear and agreeable to many people. I am a donor, a munificent giver, and many good persons resort to me. I am a donor, a munificent giver, and I have acquired a good reputation as a donor, sponsor, and supporter of the Saṅgha. I am a donor, a munificent giver, and whatever assembly I approach—whether of khattiyas, brahmins, householders, or ascetics—I approach it confidently and composed. I do not go by (saddhā) in the Blessed One concerning these four directly visible fruits of giving declared by him. I know them, too. But when the Blessed One tells me: ‘Sīha, with the breakup of the body, after death, a donor, a munificent giver, is reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world,’ I do not know this, and here I go by (saddhā) in the Blessed One.” “So it is, Sīha, so it is! With the breakup of the body, after death, a donor, a munificent giver, is reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.”

Compare saddha with faith and wisdom from the Bible, book of ‘Job’

Abridged version of Book of Job (derived from wikipedia, Hebrew Bible) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_(biblical_figure) The characters in the Book of Job consist of Job, his wife, his three friends (Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar), a man named Elihu, God, and angels (one of whom is named Satan). It begins with an introduction to Job's character—he is described as a blessed man who lives righteously in the Land of Uz. The Lord's praise of Job prompts an angel with the title of "satan" ("accuser") to suggest that Job served God simply because God protected him. God removes Job's protection and gives permission to the angel to take his wealth, his children, and his physical health (but not his life). Despite his difficult circumstances, he does not curse God, but rather curses the day of his birth. And although he anguishes over his plight, he stops short of accusing God of injustice. Job's miserable earthly condition is simply God's will. In the following, Job debates with three friends concerning his condition. They argue whether it was justified, and they debate solutions to his problems. Job ultimately condemns all their counsel, beliefs, and critiques of him as false. God then appears to Job and his friends out of a whirlwind, not answering Job's central questions. Job, by staying silent before God, stresses the point that he understands that his affliction is God's will even though he despairs at not knowing why. Job appears faithful without direct knowledge of God and without demands for special attention from God, even for a cause that all others would declare to be just. And the text gives an allusion to Job 28:28: "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding". God rebukes the three friends and gives them instruction for the remission of sin, followed by Job being restored to an even better condition than his former wealthy state (Job 42:10–17). Job is blessed to have seven sons, and three daughters. His daughters were said to be the most beautiful women in the land.

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