<<Назад Глава 10. Молитва, медитация и духовная практика

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Faith, Confidence and Devotion

Right understanding points the way to confidence; confidence paves the way to wisdom. Wisdom paves the way to salvation.

FAITH in the theistic sense is not found in Buddhism because of its emphasis on understanding. Theistic faith is a sedative for the emotional mind and demands belief in things which cannot be explained. Knowledge destroys faith and faith destroys itself when a mysterious belief is examined under the spotlight of reason. Confidence cannot be obtained by faith since it places little or no emphasis on reason.

Referring to the unintelligible and ‘blind’ nature of faith, Voltaire said, ‘Faith is to believe in something which your reason tells you cannot be true; for if your reason approved of it, there could be no question of blind faith.’ Confidence, however, is not the same as faith. For confidence is not a meek acceptance of that which cannot be known. Confidence is an assured expectation, not of an unknown beyond, but of what can be tested as experienced and understood personally. Confidence is like the understanding that a student has in his teacher who explains in the classroom the inverse square law of gravitation as stated by Newton. He should not adopt an unquestioning belief of his teacher and his textbook. He studies the fact, examines the scientific arguments, and makes an assessment of the reliability of the information. If he has doubts, he should reserve his judgement until such time as when he is able to investigate the accuracy of the information for himself. To a Buddhist, confidence is a product of reason, knowledge and experience. When it is developed, confidence can never be blind faith. Confidence becomes a power of the mind to understand the nature and the meaning of life.

In his book, ‘WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT’ Walpola Rahula says:

‘The question of belief arises when there is no seeing—seeing in every sense of the word. The moment you see, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that I have a gem hidden in the folded palm of my hand, the question of belief arises because you do not see it yourself. But if I unclench my fist and show you the gem, then you see it for yourself, and the question of belief does not arise. A phrase in the ancient Buddhist texts therefore reads: ‘Realising, as one sees a gem (or a myrobalan fruit) in the palm’.

<<Назад Глава 10. Молитва, медитация и духовная практика

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Редакция перевода от 01.07.2015 15:40