Can anyone tell me a bit more about "virtuous worldling"?

How is a virtuous worldling different than an uninstructed worldling? Is a virtuous worldling different than a lay follower? Is a virtuous worldling a bikkhu or bhikkhuni who has not yet attained stream entry? Bhikkhu Bodhi uses the term a few times, including in his essay The Nobility of the Truths and another in The Suttanipata. The latter describes the virtuous worldling as living on the mundane path but is also included in the four kinds of ascetics. I find this confusing because to me the virtuous worldling seems like a progression between the uninstructed worldling and the lay follower. Does anyone have any thoughts on this or other things I can read that might clarify this idea?

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from Buddhism https://ift.tt/2KPHHKS