Greetings all.
I’ve long wondered why the classification of stages on the spiritual path goes straight from uninstructed worldling (often described as having no regard for the noble ones) to stream winner. The question stems from the observation that there seem to be worldlings who have received instruction, and who do hold the noble ones in high regard. Yet I’ve never seen any variation in the standard definition of a worldling in the suttas.
From my admittedly uneducated viewpoint, I can envision two possible explanations for this:
-
the classification is meant to highlight the vastness of the difference between an average Joe off the street and a noble one. so differentiating between worldlings doesn’t add new or helpful information to the equation. In other words, the standard description of a worldling is simply a tool for portraying a point
-
the jump from worldling to stream winner is so immensely high that in comparison, there is basically no significant difference between worldlings of any kind. This would also seem to imply that “regard for the noble ones” is something much deeper and more powerful than one might expect, since apparently even the most faithful worldlings wouldn’t have an ounce of it
I’m asking this because the answer obviously has implications for how we should understand the nature of spiritual progress. The first option could allow for a snow ball effect kind of progress, with wisdom growing substantially even before the big breakthrough. The second would seem to imply that practice prior to stream entry is like laying the foundation for a house, in that it makes the house possible but on its own doesn’t get you above ground at all. And of course, there could be other explanations I’m not seeing.
So whats up with worldlings in the suttas? What are we to infer from the standard description of them? Any resources or knowledge would be greatly appreciated 
