{"id":13186,"date":"2021-08-29T15:32:18","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T05:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oldsite.buddhistcouncil.org\/?p=13186"},"modified":"2021-08-29T16:22:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-29T06:22:16","slug":"faith-in-buddhist-thought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oldsite.buddhistcouncil.org\/old\/faith-in-buddhist-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith in Buddhist Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"13186\" class=\"elementor elementor-13186\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2f4b12b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2f4b12b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c68c54c\" data-id=\"c68c54c\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-763ea0a elementor-widget elementor-widget-author-box\" data-id=\"763ea0a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"author-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<link rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.buddhistcouncil.org\/old\/wp-content\/plugins\/elementor-pro\/assets\/css\/widget-theme-elements.min.css\">\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/rainbodhi.org\/about-us\/\" class=\"elementor-author-box__avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.oldsite.buddhistcouncil.org\/old\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Bhante-Akaliko-Profile-Photo-244x300.jpg\" alt=\"Ak\u0101liko Bhikkhu\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/rainbodhi.org\/about-us\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-author-box__name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAk\u0101liko Bhikkhu\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__bio\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Ak\u0101liko Bhikkhu is an Australian monk in the Theravada forest tradition  currently residing at Lokanta Vihara (the Monastery at the End of the World) in Sydney, Australia. Bhante Ak\u0101liko is the founder of Rainbodhi LGBTQIA+ Buddhist Community and a Buddhist chaplain at Western Sydney University. He is also on the board of directors of the Buddhist Council of NSW. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1cb5729 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1cb5729\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-263597d\" data-id=\"263597d\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c18f8c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5c18f8c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.14.0 - 26-06-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>When we talk about faith in Buddhism, we might think of devotional practices such as bowing to images of the Buddha, offering candles and incense, and perhaps reciting chants. These small rituals can be comforting and play a role in helping to affirm our spiritual practice.\u00a0 A danger arises when people treat devotional practice as something akin to prayer, asking for assistance from beings stronger than ourselves in whom we place our faith to help us. Still, devotional acts can be useful because they uplift our mind and incline us towards wholesome qualities whilst keeping us connected to our spiritual practice.<\/p><p>At the other end of the spectrum there are people who are sceptical of any form of devotion, viewing these as superstitious displays of religious emotion. Instead, they rely upon the power of reason to think their way through the teachings, as if they can somehow \u2018logic\u2019 their way to Enlightenment. However, this can lead to a disconnect between theoretical understanding and actual experience. Often, this focus on abstract philosophy creates a dry and somewhat unemotional practice which remains separated from practical application in our daily lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p>Neither of these two approaches\u2014blind faith in a tradition, and logical reasoning\u2014was encouraged by the Buddha. Instead, the Buddha exhorts us to rely on our own personal knowledge gained from experience:<\/p><p><i>But when you know for yourselves: \u2018These things are wholesome; these things are blameless; these things are praised by the wise; these things, if accepted and undertaken, lead to welfare and happiness,\u2019 then you should live in accordance with them. <\/i>(<i>Kesamutti Sutta<\/i> AN 3.65) <a href=\"https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an3.65\/en\/sujato\">https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an3.65\/en\/sujato<\/a><\/p><p>The Pali word we translate into English as \u2018faith\u2019 is <i>saddh\u0101. <\/i>Its meaning is not like faith in the Christian sense\u2014a complete reliance on God\u2019s grace based on spiritual conviction\u2014instead, saddh\u0101 might better be translated as \u2018confidence\u2019 or \u2018conviction\u2019. This is because faith in Buddhism is never blind trust; rather, confidence in the path is built up gradually, dependent on knowledge gained from personal experience.<\/p><p>The way we start to develop confidence in the spiritual path is by coming into contact with the Buddha\u2019s teaching, the Dhamma. We hear something that makes sense to us, which we can personally verify and know for ourselves. This sense of truthfulness gives us confidence in the Buddha as a teacher and our faith in his teaching starts to grow. Then we are happy to listen to more teachings, our confidence increases even more, and we trust the Buddha a little further.<\/p><p>The Buddha encouraged us to associate with good, wise people who could teach us the Dhamma. Listening to the Dhamma is the nutriment for the development of faith.\u00a0<\/p><p>A stock phrase at the end of many suttas shows how people, having heard the Dhamma, come out of ignorance:<\/p><p><i>&#8230;Magnificent, Master Gotama! Master Gotama has made the Dhamma clear in many ways, as though he were turning upright what had been overthrown, revealing what was hidden, showing the way to one who was lost, or holding up a lamp in the darkness for those with eyesight to see forms. I go to Master Gotama for refuge and to the Dhamma and to the Sangha of bhikkhus. From today let Master Gotama accept me as lay follower who has gone to him for refuge for life.\u00a0 <\/i>(The Shorter Elephant\u2019s Footprint Simile MN27) <a href=\"https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/mn27\/en\/sujato\">https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/mn27\/en\/sujato<\/a><\/p><p>In Buddhism, going for refuge to the Triple Gem is a mark of our conviction and becomes the basis for our development on the spiritual path.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><b>Further Reading on Saddh\u0101<\/b><\/p><p><b>Ignorance <\/b><b><i>(<\/i><\/b><b>Avijj\u0101 Sutta\u00a0AN 10.61) <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an10.61\/en\/bodhi\">https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an10.61\/en\/bodhi<\/a><\/p><p>Describes the dependent nature of the path and what things we can do to develop in the Dhamma. <\/p><p><i>&#8230;Faith, too, I say, has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for faith? It should be said: hearing the good Dhamma. Hearing the good Dhamma, too, I say, has a nutriment; it is not without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for hearing the good Dhamma? It should be said: associating with good persons.<\/i><\/p><p><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p><p><i>\u00a0Thus associating with good persons, becoming full, fills up hearing the good Dhamma. Hearing the good Dhamma, becoming full, fills up faith. Faith, becoming full, fills up careful attention. Careful attention, becoming full, fills up mindfulness and clear comprehension. Mindfulness and clear comprehension, becoming full, fill up restraint of the sense faculties. Restraint of the sense faculties, becoming full, fills up the three kinds of good conduct. The three kinds of good conduct, becoming full, fill up the four establishments of mindfulness. The four establishments of mindfulness, becoming full, fill up the seven factors of enlightenment. The seven factors of enlightenment, becoming full, fill up true knowledge and liberation. Thus there is nutriment for true knowledge and liberation, and in this way they become full.<\/i><\/p><p><i>\u00a0Just as, when it is raining and the rain pours down in thick droplets on a mountaintop, the water flows down along the slope and fills the clefts, gullies, and creeks; these, becoming full, fill up the pools; these, becoming full, fill up the lakes; these, becoming full, fill up the streams; these, becoming full, fill up the rivers; and these, becoming full,\u00a0fill up the great ocean; thus there is nutriment for the great ocean, and in this way it becomes full. So too, associating with good persons, becoming full, fills up hearing the good Dhamma\u2026. The seven factors of enlightenment, becoming full, fill up true knowledge and liberation. Thus there is nutriment for true knowledge and liberation, and in this way they become full.<\/i><\/p><p><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><b>Treasures: <\/b><b>Vitthatadhana Sutta\u00a0AN 7.6 <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an7.6\">https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an7.6<\/a><\/p><p>Discusses the treasures of faith, energy, conscience, prudence, learning, generosity, and wisdom.\u00a0<\/p><p><i>\u00a0\u00a0And what is the treasure of conviction? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones has conviction, is convinced of the Tathagata\u2019s Awakening: \u2018Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge &amp; conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine &amp; human beings, awakened, blessed.\u2019 This is called the treasure of conviction.<\/i><\/p><p><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><b>The Shorter Elephant\u2019s Footprint Simile: C\u016b\u1e37ahatthipadopama Sutta MN 27 <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/mn27\/en\/sujato\">https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/mn27\/en\/sujato<\/a><\/p><p>Describes the gradual arising of conviction in the Buddha through the simile of tracking a bull elephant in the forest; real conviction isn\u2019t based on faith but on actual knowledge. <\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><b>With The Kalamas: Kesamutti Sutta AN 3.65<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an3.65\/en\/sujato\">https:\/\/suttacentral.net\/an3.65\/en\/sujato<br \/><\/a>A famous sutta about how to navigate spiritual beliefs with confidence.\u00a0<\/p><p><i>Come, K\u0101l\u0101mas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reasoning, by reasoned cogitation, by the acceptance of a view after pondering it, by the seeming competence\u00a0<\/i><i>of a speaker<\/i><i>, or because you think: \u2018The ascetic is our guru.\u2019 But when you know for yourselves: \u2018These things are wholesome; these things are blameless; these things are praised by the wise; these things, if accepted and undertaken, lead to welfare and happiness,\u2019 then you should live in accordance with them.<\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section 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These small rituals can be comforting and play a role in helping to affirm our spiritual practice.\u00a0 A danger arises when people treat devotional practice as&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oldsite.buddhistcouncil.org\/old\/faith-in-buddhist-thought\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Faith in Buddhist Thought<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[826],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Faith in Buddhist Thought | Buddhist Council of NSW<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When we talk about faith in Buddhism, we might think of devotional practices such as bowing to images of the Buddha, candles, incense, and chants.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, 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