But I would be interested in hearing more about the perfection of sila, and whether in fact that is what occurs with stream entry, according to the Buddha's teaching. This essay appears to suggest otherwise, stating:
"Minor transgressions" to me suggests that sila is not perfect. The essay cites the case of Sarakaani, a man who drank and yet was identified by the Buddha as a stream-winner. But the Sarakaani Sutta itself seems to suggest that Sarakaani did not attain to stream-entry until the moment of death. That seems to conflict with the essay by Ven. Dhammavuddho Thera. Are there instances in the suttas of Airyas transgressing the five precepts?Ariyas can still have minor transgressions of the precepts.
I'm wondering more about this perfection of sila. Can "perfection of sila" also be understood as a short-term phenomenon subject to change? So that a person might have perfect sila for a period of time, then transgress? Or is there a strict demarcation between a (very long) period of "imperfect sila" and a subsequent period of irrevocable "perfect sila" in the course of a mindstream?