Hi Everybody,
We finished the last episode with the question, ' So what have we learned about faith in Buddhism.'
That's where we pick up the story today.
' You might say that in some ways it is the most important question of all, because faith is a chameleon of a word, and in trying to pin down what it signifies for Buddhists, we are clearly concerned to establish both what it does mean...and what it doesn't. So that we end up with a much clearer, much stronger understanding of the territory. There's really no point in our constantly being advised to ' have faith,' is there, if we don't fully understand what that means.
So in all the major religions with which we are most familiar, in Christianity for example and Judaism and Islam, we know that the word faith is used to bind together all those elements of the teaching that are beyond the reach of proof, or beyond the reach of human experience. And inevitably in religions that deal with the nature of divinity itself, and the mystery of how it works in the world, and the unknowable after life, those unprovable, unknowable elements are very substantial indeed. So faith of this sort has a truly immense role to play. The believer is asked to make what we have come to call a leap of faith, to accept those elements of the teaching or doctrine.
And the word leap in this context describes very accurately what we are being asked to do, namely to leave the solid ground of our experience, of what we absolutely know to be the case, and put our trust and belief in something that is way outside our normal experience, and what's more, will always be outside our normal human experience. That is not of course suggesting that such a leap of faith is immensely difficult. Clearly it isn't, given the sustained and hugely sustaining power of Christianity and Islam for countless millions of people over the past two thousand years. And of course I should make it absolutely clear tha tin no way should these comments be interpreted as a value judgement. Not in any way. I am simply trying to explore differences in the way in which we use this key word faith. I have been to many Christian and Islamic funerals for example, and there can be not the slightest doubt about the immense consolation and support provided by the deep faith of the people there.
It is clear therefore that in all these major religions, faith has much to do with the firm belief in the powers of God and Allah, and the decisive role that power plays in the daily lives of men. That is to say, this kind of faith, which is deeply embedded in our western culture, has very much to do with entities, powers, that are outside of oneself. That's the key. In fact I would go so far as to suggest that this idea of taking a leap of faith is now so deeply embedded, that it has become the essential meaning of the word itself. Whenever we use the word faith in the West we are normally talking about faith in something out there, something very much outside of ourselves,and I think it helps to be totally aware of that.
Whic brings us back to that earlier question, that since there is no all-powerful creator-god ' out there' in Buddhism, the word must carry a very different meaning. And right from the start we learn that the fundamental difference in Nichiren Buddhism is that faith is not in any way to be equated with belief in something external, something outside of oneself. The word only has meaning in relation to a quality or strength that we are seeking within. As Nichiren Daishonin expreses it on so many occasions,
' ...perceive the true nature of your life...If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, then your performing even ten thousand practices and ten thousand good deeds will be in vain. It is like the case of the poor man who spends night and day counting his neighbour's wealth, but gains not even half a coin.'( WND Vol 1 p 3 )
So what must faith mean then in this context...if we are to understand...the true nature of our lives?
The somewhat surprising answer is that faith in Buddhism is essentially about belief in oneself, self-belief. And it is related directly to the strength of the desire, or the determination, that we can summon up, within our own life, to act or to live in accord with Buddhist values and principles. It means going into battle if you like, against our own inner weaknesses or lack of self-confidence or self-belief, so that we can create for ourselves a life that is overwhelmingly resilient and positive and optimistic and compassionate, and always concerned with creating value out of whatever circumstances we might encounter.
Faith in Buddhist terms then, is not all that different from the sheer determination or the self-belief we work hard to summon up, to pursue any major goal or objective in our life. We do find that we have to dig deep within ourselves to achieve success in a chosen career, or to turn a crisis situation around, or to overcome a life-threatening illness, or create a lasting and fulfilling relationship. The fundamental difference, and of course it is fundamental, is that in this case the self-belief is anchored firmly in the powerful humanistic philosophy introduced into the world by Shakyamuni, and developed and amplified by a series of remarkable thinkers and teachers over the past two and a half thousand years.
So faith in Buddhism is also very much about method, about how we can develop such a life, such an enduring self-belief. And to bring this story bang up to date we need now to look briefly at one of the greatest and most controversial of these teachers, who has already been mentioned on several occasions, and who has had a huge role to play in the evolution and transmission of Buddhist teachings into the modern world. His name...Nichiren Daishonin'
And that's where we go next. To look at Nichiren and the huge heritage that he has handed down to us.
See you on Saturday.
William
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