Faith in Buddhism
Encyclopedia
Faith is an important constituent element of the teachings of the Buddha
for all traditions of Buddhism
, though the kind and nature of faith changes in the different schools
. According to received tradition, some of the first words voiced by the Buddha after resolving to teach Dharma
were, "Wide opened is the door of the Immortal to all who have ears to hear; let them send forth faith [saddha] to meet it."
s), one of five spiritual faculties (indriya
s), one of four "streams of merit", and one of the spiritual powers (balas).
Gyatrul (b.1924), in a commentary on the work of Chagmé
(Wylie: Kar-ma Chags-med, fl. 17th century), rendered into English by Wallace
states:
, Shakyamuni Buddha remonstrates against basing oneself upon authority, tradition or specious reasoning.
When a person decides to give up domestic life and live as a monk or nun, it is said to be out of faith "through faith in the Lord". First comes the "hearing" of Dharma
and then the aspirant follows the Dharma teachings and instructions on faith, reflecting upon the value of its application.
Faith is primarily faith in the Buddha himself as the Teacher of supreme spiritual realization and accomplishment. The Buddha extols such faith as befitting a "noble" Buddhist disciple:
In the Kasibharadvaja Sutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya
, we have the relationship of faith, practice and wisdom:
Such faith, it is said, can lead towards liberation. Indeed, a person who is "released by faith" can well, in consequence, be "on the path to arahantship" (spiritual adeptship). It is for such reasons that faith is stated by the Buddha to be appropriate as "a person's partner" and to be "a man's best treasure". The Buddha even quotes with evident approval the god Sakka's Dharma-charged words:
Factor in Stream-Entry Unwavering faith in the Awakened One, in the Dhamma, and in the Sangha are Three out of the Four factors that lead towards stream-entry.
"There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with unwavering faith in the Awakened One: 'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy & rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & 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 & human beings, awakened, blessed.' (AN 10.92)
Lack of Faith as Wrong A lack of faith is listed from DN.33 or the Sangiti Sutta [8] as one of the wrong practices for a monk:
Seven wrong practices: here a monk
a. Lacks Faith
b. Lacks Moral Shame
c. Lacks Moral Dread
d. Has little Learning
e. Is slack
f. Is unmindful
g. Lacks wisdom (DN.33)
canon exemplify faith in Buddha – Ānanda
and Vakkali.
The power of visionary faith over skepticism is exemplified in An 3.8, a passage which more closely resembles in tone and quality many of the later Mahāyāna
sutras. Buddha extols Ānanda over the skeptic Udayi when Ānanda is awed and overwhelmed by the power of the Buddha. Ānanda had asked the Blessed One how far his voice would reach in the universe. The Lord had answered that the Enlightened Ones were immeasurable and could reach further than a thousandfold world system (with a thousand suns, a thousand heavens, and a thousand brahma worlds), even further than a three-thousandfold world system. They could penetrate all those worlds with their shining splendor and reach all beings living there with their voice.
Ānanda was delighted with this description, so all-encompassing and transcending all horizons, and he exclaimed: "How fortunate I am, that I have such an almighty, powerful master!"
Udayi objected: "What good does it do to you brother Ānanda, that your master is almighty and powerful?" The Buddha immediately took sides with Ānanda with the following words:
Vakkali Thera was considered one of the chief arahants who had obtained arahanthood through faith and love (saddhādhimuttānam) for Buddha. After seeing the Buddha, he could never tire of looking at him and became a monk just to be near him. Apart from eating and bathing, he spent all his time meditating on the Buddha's appearance, to which Buddha admonished Vakkali with his famous utterence on the transcendental nature of Buddha's true body
(dharmakāya): "The sight of my foul body is useless; he who sees the Dhamma, he it is that seeth me". Buddha had to command Vakkali to leave. With a heavy heart he went up to Gijjhakuta mountains. In the Apadāna
Buddha is said to have spoken to him from the foot of the rock, saying "Come, monk." Filled with joy Vakkali jumped down the mountain to greet Buddha, dropping a depth of many cubits, but remained unhurt and realized arahantship. Here, Buddha declared him to be amongst the foremost of those of great faith.
. It betokens faith in the reliability of the Buddha as a truly awakened spiritual friend and faith, conviction and confidence in the three jewels (triratna). Devoted faith in some yāna may take the form of the guru yoga sādhana
.
In the Kalama Sutta
the Buddha himself argues against simply following authority, tradition or specious reasoning. Even though one's own experience is emphasized in accepting Buddha and Buddhism, however, one should always depend upon the counsel of the wise, implicitly meaning a Buddha or a Buddhist master well versed in Dhamma. Hence there remains a requirement for a degree of trusting confidence in Buddhism, essentially in the authority of Buddha, based on his spiritual attainment and saving knowledge.
Faith in Buddhism is expressed in the act of taking refuge. In this, it centres on the authority of Buddha as a supremely awakened being, by assenting to his unsurpassed role as teacher of both humans and gods. It also honors the truth of his spiritual Doctrine
(Dharma), and accepts the community of spiritually developed followers
(saṅgha). Faith in Buddhism can be said to function as a form of motor, which propels the Buddhist practitioner towards the goal of awakening (bodhi
) and nirvana
.
In Buddhism, faith is only one part of five characteristics that a Noble disciple must possess. In other words, in Buddhism faith is qualified. Blind faith is especially not treated well. In Sutta 44 (iv, 220), Buddha questions Sariputta to which Sariputta answers, "Herein, O Lord, I do not follow the Exalted One out of faith. Those by whom this is unknown, unseen, uncognized, unrealized and unexperienced by wisdom, they will herein follow others out of faith." In other words, in blind faith there is no knowledge or conviction, and one can have blind faith in anyone and such blind faith never leads to wisdom and true conviction. Only the actual experience of regular practice can lead to true faith and conviction born out of realization. "But those by whom this is known, seen, cognized, realized and experienced by wisdom, they have no uncertainty, no doubt about it that these five faculties, if cultivated and regularly practiced, lead to the Deathless, are bound for the Deathless, end in the Deathless."
In conclusion, faith in the Theravāda tradition is generally confidence based on first-hand understanding of a concept - especially in the primary texts as faith in the reality of the enlightenment of the Lord Buddha [tathāgatabodhisaddhā] or in the Pāli commentaries as:
Buddhism is as strong as that of the Theravādin. Moreover, the depth and range of faith may be perceived as being intensified, particularly in the Buddha nature (tathāgatagarbha) sutras and the Pure Land
literature.
In the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Buddha is portrayed giving a foundational position to faith. He states:
Faith as understood in this sutra is belief in the teachings of the Buddha and in the Buddha's own eternality. More specifically, it is belief in such doctrines as the law of karma, in the reality and eternity of the Three Jewels
(i.e. the Buddha
, the Dharma
, and the Saṅgha
), and in the efficacy of the Buddhist path. The Buddha comments:
The Buddha further notes that a person possessed of faith is superior to one lacking in it:
Faith in the Buddha is seen as a positive virtue as it leads to more attentive absorption in Dharma, which in turn strengthens faith still further. The Buddha remarks:
Through such faith, along with other spiritual practices, the Buddhist aspirant is enabled to attain nirvana, according to this text. Faith is the first step for the bodhisattva to tread along that path to nirvana. It is viewed as a basic requirement, and crucially entails the understanding that the "real" Buddha is not a being of flesh and blood who can bleed and who dies, or whose Truth (Dharma) perishes with his physical body. The true Buddha and his Dharma are utterly deathless and eternal, so the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra insists. This the bodhisattva is urged to believe:
Yet faith in the Buddha should not be blind. The Mahāyāna not infrequently links faith with discernment and spiritual insight (prajñā) - spiritual penetration. The following words of the Buddha's indicate the need for a balance:
Linji
said that if a person were to adopt perfect self-confidence (faith in themselves) they would attain enlightenment in an instant.
Faith is thus presented as a powerful means for Buddhist practitioners to penetrate through to, and realize deep spiritual truths for themselves.
It is not only in the Buddha nature literature that faith is lauded. In the perfection of wisdom
(prajñāpāramitā) scriptures, too, faith is extolled. Here it is usually in connection with trust and belief in the sutra which is at that moment being expounded. Thus in the Prajñāpāramitā Sutra on How Benevolent Kings May Protect Their Countries, the Buddha declares that even if living beings were to give away the most precious substances known to humanity in a huge act of generosity, still "their merit would not be such as that of the production of one single thought of serene faith in this Sutra". This and other prajñāpāramitā sutras explain that such persons who naturally engender faith in these texts are those who have worshipped and revered countless Buddhas in past incarnations. Faith comes naturally to them. Moreover, faith in, and reverence towards, such sutras is tantamount to faith and reverence directed towards all Buddhas. The Buddha asserts in the 18,000-Line Prajñāpāramitā Sutra:
Takasaki in his translation and study of the Sanskrit Ratnagotravibhāga (with protracted consideration of the Tibetan and Chinese traditions) renders an embedded extract of a sutra of Shakyamuni unidentified in the text that conveys the importance of faith in relation to what is known in the tradition as the "revolution of the basis" (Sanskrit: āśrayaparivṛtti) of "buddha-dhatu" (buddha-nature
) to the Dharmakāya
(a Buddhadharma nomenclature of the ultimate truth):
, coupled with one's development of "roots of goodness" and the earnest wish to enter the Buddha's happy land, that is said to bring deliverance into Buddha Amitabha's Western Paradise, the "land of bliss", preparatory to entry into awakening and nirvana. In the Contemplation of Amitayus Sutra, the Buddha tells of the types of being who gain birth in this pure land
– and they are all characterised by faith:
However, even in these faith-oriented sutras of "Pure Land" Dharma, faith is often linked with understanding. It is not totally blind faith. The Buddha of the Smaller Pure Land Sutra speaks of faith allied with understanding as a prerequisite for the attainment of supreme awakening (bodhi), when hearing this text. Thus:
This teaching of faith, originally advocated in conjunction with discernment and Dharmic practice, received a new interpretation in the teachings of the Japanese Buddhist saint, Shinran Shonin (1173–1262 CE), who taught that just one recitation of the mantra, "Homage to Amida Buddha", with deep faith, would be enough to secure the faithful person entrance into the Western Paradise. Subsequent utterances of that formula would be expressions of gratitude to Buddha Amida (Amitabha). Deep understanding of the Buddha's teachings and Buddhic practice were not necessary, Shinran claimed. This interpretation of the "Pure Land" sutras represents perhaps the zenith of faith-oriented Buddhism and remains controversial, although Shinran's school of Jodo Shinshu is today perhaps the largest Buddhist sect in Japan.
Following on from Shinran, Rennyo Shonin, a disciple of Shinran's, gave utterance to the view that practicing the Way of Dharma and being embraced by Amita Buddha and embracing Amita in faith are one-and-the same. Buddha-Mind and one's own individual mind are ultimately inseparable. He says:
One of the most famous of Mahāyāna sutras, the Lotus Sutra
, also embraces the ideal of faith, but links it to discernment. The Buddha tells his audience in the Lotus Sutra:
The same sutra asserts that the Dharma as a whole is difficult to grasp with mere words, and that ultimately only those bodhisattvas who believe with firm faith can penetrate its nature. The Buddha says:
Thus faith is a major element within Buddhism. While it is rarely (if ever) taught by the Buddha in any "blind" form and is often linked to discernment and understanding, it is nevertheless viewed as a powerful force which can start the Buddhist practitioner on his or her spiritual journey and convey him or her towards awakening themselves. Perhaps the most enthusiastic paean to faith can be found in the massive Avataṃsaka Sutra
, where, to the delight of all the Buddhas, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra
proclaims the following verses in a great eulogy of bodhisattvas' faith:
ess and her salvific milk of Dharma
, hailed as a panacea
in Traditional Tibetan medicine
, rendered into English by Wallace
:
Gyatrul (b.1924), in a commentary to this verse cited by Chagmé
(Wylie: Kar-ma chags-med, fl. 17th century), conveys the importance of faith as a qualification of disciples who "listen" to the Dharma, rendered into English by Wallace:
to The Red Citadel on the Copper Mountain (Sangri Khamar), the cave of Machig Lapdron, redactor of a specific form of Chöd
practice. Tsultrim Allione
and pilgrims had to traverse the "Great Purifier" (Tsangpo River):
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
for all traditions of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, though the kind and nature of faith changes in the different schools
Schools of Buddhism
Buddhism is an ancient, polyvalent ideological system that originated in the Iron Age Indian subcontinent, referred to variously throughout history by one or more of a myriad of concepts – including, but not limited to any of the following: a Dharmic religion, a philosophy or quasi-philosophical...
. According to received tradition, some of the first words voiced by the Buddha after resolving to teach Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
were, "Wide opened is the door of the Immortal to all who have ears to hear; let them send forth faith [saddha] to meet it."
The treasure, faculty and power of faith
The Pāli suttas (scriptures) list faith as one of seven treasures (dhanaDhana
Dhana is a census town in Sagar district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.-Demographics: India census, Dhana had a population of 10,295. Males constitute 61% of the population and females 39%. Dhana has an average literacy rate of 96%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy...
s), one of five spiritual faculties (indriya
Indriya
Indriya, literally "belonging to or agreeable to Indra" is the Sanskrit and Pali term for physical strength or ability in general, and for the five senses more specifically....
s), one of four "streams of merit", and one of the spiritual powers (balas).
Gyatrul (b.1924), in a commentary on the work of Chagmé
Karma Chagme
The name Karma Chagme refers to a 17th century Tibetan Buddhist lama and to the tülku lineage which he initiated. Including the first, seven Karma Chagme tülkus have been recognized...
(Wylie: Kar-ma Chags-med, fl. 17th century), rendered into English by Wallace
Wallace
-People:* Wallace * Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace , English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright.* Clan Wallace in Scotland* William Wallace, a famous Scottish knight, and Guardian of Scotland...
states:
By the power of faith, we are able to eliminate the two types of obscurations. Through the power of faith both ontological and phenomenological knowledge arises. It is also by the power of faith that both the common and uncommon siddhis arise.
Kalama Sutta
In the Kalama SuttaKalama Sutta
The Kālāma Sutta , is a discourse of the Buddha contained in the Aṅguttara Nikaya of the Tipiṭaka...
, Shakyamuni Buddha remonstrates against basing oneself upon authority, tradition or specious reasoning.
When a person decides to give up domestic life and live as a monk or nun, it is said to be out of faith "through faith in the Lord". First comes the "hearing" of Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
and then the aspirant follows the Dharma teachings and instructions on faith, reflecting upon the value of its application.
Faith is primarily faith in the Buddha himself as the Teacher of supreme spiritual realization and accomplishment. The Buddha extols such faith as befitting a "noble" Buddhist disciple:
The ariyan [noble] disciple is of faith; he has faith in the Awakening of the Tathagata [Buddha], and thinks: He is indeed Lord, perfected one, fully Self-Awakened One, endowed with right knowledge and conduct, well-farer, knower of the world(s), matchless charioteer of men to be tamed, teacher of devas [gods] and men, the Awakened One, the Lord.
In the Kasibharadvaja Sutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya
Samyutta Nikaya
The Samyutta Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the third of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism. Because of the abbreviated way parts of the text are written, the total number of suttas is...
, we have the relationship of faith, practice and wisdom:
|
|
Such faith, it is said, can lead towards liberation. Indeed, a person who is "released by faith" can well, in consequence, be "on the path to arahantship" (spiritual adeptship). It is for such reasons that faith is stated by the Buddha to be appropriate as "a person's partner" and to be "a man's best treasure". The Buddha even quotes with evident approval the god Sakka's Dharma-charged words:
... faith in the Tathagata
unshakable and well established ...
... the person of intelligence,
remembering the Buddha's Teaching,
should be devoted to faith and virtue,
to confidence and vision of the Dhamma [Dharma].
Factor in Stream-Entry Unwavering faith in the Awakened One, in the Dhamma, and in the Sangha are Three out of the Four factors that lead towards stream-entry.
"There is the case where the disciple of the noble ones is endowed with unwavering faith in the Awakened One: 'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy & rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & 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 & human beings, awakened, blessed.' (AN 10.92)
Lack of Faith as Wrong A lack of faith is listed from DN.33 or the Sangiti Sutta [8] as one of the wrong practices for a monk:
Seven wrong practices: here a monk
a. Lacks Faith
b. Lacks Moral Shame
c. Lacks Moral Dread
d. Has little Learning
e. Is slack
f. Is unmindful
g. Lacks wisdom (DN.33)
Ānanda and Vakkali
Two disciples of Buddha in the TheravādaTheravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
canon exemplify faith in Buddha – Ānanda
Ananda
Ānanda was one of the principal disciples and a devout attendant of the Buddha. Amongst the Buddha's many disciples, Ānanda had the most retentive memory and most of the suttas in the Sutta Pitaka are attributed to his recollection of the Buddha's teachings during the First Buddhist Council...
and Vakkali.
The power of visionary faith over skepticism is exemplified in An 3.8, a passage which more closely resembles in tone and quality many of the later Mahāyāna
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
sutras. Buddha extols Ānanda over the skeptic Udayi when Ānanda is awed and overwhelmed by the power of the Buddha. Ānanda had asked the Blessed One how far his voice would reach in the universe. The Lord had answered that the Enlightened Ones were immeasurable and could reach further than a thousandfold world system (with a thousand suns, a thousand heavens, and a thousand brahma worlds), even further than a three-thousandfold world system. They could penetrate all those worlds with their shining splendor and reach all beings living there with their voice.
Ānanda was delighted with this description, so all-encompassing and transcending all horizons, and he exclaimed: "How fortunate I am, that I have such an almighty, powerful master!"
Udayi objected: "What good does it do to you brother Ānanda, that your master is almighty and powerful?" The Buddha immediately took sides with Ānanda with the following words:
Not so, Udayi, not so, Udayi! Should Ananda die without being fully liberated; he would be king of the gods seven times because of the purity of his heart, or be king of the Indian subcontinent seven times. But Udayi, Ananda will experience final liberation in this very life.
Vakkali Thera was considered one of the chief arahants who had obtained arahanthood through faith and love (saddhādhimuttānam) for Buddha. After seeing the Buddha, he could never tire of looking at him and became a monk just to be near him. Apart from eating and bathing, he spent all his time meditating on the Buddha's appearance, to which Buddha admonished Vakkali with his famous utterence on the transcendental nature of Buddha's true body
Dharmakaya
The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...
(dharmakāya): "The sight of my foul body is useless; he who sees the Dhamma, he it is that seeth me". Buddha had to command Vakkali to leave. With a heavy heart he went up to Gijjhakuta mountains. In the Apadāna
Apadana
The Apadāna is a collection of biographical stories found in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Pāli Canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. It is thought by most scholars to be a late addition to the canon, composed during the 1st and 2nd century BCE...
Buddha is said to have spoken to him from the foot of the rock, saying "Come, monk." Filled with joy Vakkali jumped down the mountain to greet Buddha, dropping a depth of many cubits, but remained unhurt and realized arahantship. Here, Buddha declared him to be amongst the foremost of those of great faith.
Faith is not blind
In the Buddhadharma, faith is not blind for it sees with the heart of devotionLoyalty
Loyalty is faithfulness or a devotion to a person, country, group, or cause There are many aspects to...
. It betokens faith in the reliability of the Buddha as a truly awakened spiritual friend and faith, conviction and confidence in the three jewels (triratna). Devoted faith in some yāna may take the form of the guru yoga sādhana
Sadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
.
In the Kalama Sutta
Kalama Sutta
The Kālāma Sutta , is a discourse of the Buddha contained in the Aṅguttara Nikaya of the Tipiṭaka...
the Buddha himself argues against simply following authority, tradition or specious reasoning. Even though one's own experience is emphasized in accepting Buddha and Buddhism, however, one should always depend upon the counsel of the wise, implicitly meaning a Buddha or a Buddhist master well versed in Dhamma. Hence there remains a requirement for a degree of trusting confidence in Buddhism, essentially in the authority of Buddha, based on his spiritual attainment and saving knowledge.
Faith in Buddhism is expressed in the act of taking refuge. In this, it centres on the authority of Buddha as a supremely awakened being, by assenting to his unsurpassed role as teacher of both humans and gods. It also honors the truth of his spiritual Doctrine
Dharma (Buddhism)
Dhamma or Dharma in Buddhism can have the following meanings:* The state of Nature as it is * The Laws of Nature considered collectively....
(Dharma), and accepts the community of spiritually developed followers
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
(saṅgha). Faith in Buddhism can be said to function as a form of motor, which propels the Buddhist practitioner towards the goal of awakening (bodhi
Bodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
) and nirvana
Nirvana
Nirvāṇa ; ) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering. In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through moksha...
.
In Buddhism, faith is only one part of five characteristics that a Noble disciple must possess. In other words, in Buddhism faith is qualified. Blind faith is especially not treated well. In Sutta 44 (iv, 220), Buddha questions Sariputta to which Sariputta answers, "Herein, O Lord, I do not follow the Exalted One out of faith. Those by whom this is unknown, unseen, uncognized, unrealized and unexperienced by wisdom, they will herein follow others out of faith." In other words, in blind faith there is no knowledge or conviction, and one can have blind faith in anyone and such blind faith never leads to wisdom and true conviction. Only the actual experience of regular practice can lead to true faith and conviction born out of realization. "But those by whom this is known, seen, cognized, realized and experienced by wisdom, they have no uncertainty, no doubt about it that these five faculties, if cultivated and regularly practiced, lead to the Deathless, are bound for the Deathless, end in the Deathless."
In conclusion, faith in the Theravāda tradition is generally confidence based on first-hand understanding of a concept - especially in the primary texts as faith in the reality of the enlightenment of the Lord Buddha [tathāgatabodhisaddhā] or in the Pāli commentaries as:
- faith in the working of the law of karma [kammasaddhā]
- faith in the consequences of actions [vipākasaddhā]
- faith in the individual ownership of actions [kammassakatāsaddhā], and;
- faith in the reality of the enlightenment of the Lord Buddha [tathāgatabodhisaddhā].
Faith in Mahāyāna Buddhism
In general, the role of faith in MahāyānaMahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
Buddhism is as strong as that of the Theravādin. Moreover, the depth and range of faith may be perceived as being intensified, particularly in the Buddha nature (tathāgatagarbha) sutras and the Pure Land
Pure land
A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
literature.
In the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Buddha is portrayed giving a foundational position to faith. He states:
We say that unsurpassed awakening [bodhi] has faith as its cause. The causes of awakening are innumerable, but if stated as faith, this covers everything.
Faith as understood in this sutra is belief in the teachings of the Buddha and in the Buddha's own eternality. More specifically, it is belief in such doctrines as the law of karma, in the reality and eternity of the Three Jewels
Three Jewels
The Three Jewels, also called the Three Treasures, the Siemese Triples, Three Refuges, or the Triple Gem , are the three things that Buddhists take refuge in, and look toward for guidance, in the process known as taking refuge.The Three Jewels are:* BuddhaTaking refuge in the Three Jewels is...
(i.e. the Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, the Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, and the Saṅgha
Sangha
Sangha is a word in Pali or Sanskrit that can be translated roughly as "association" or "assembly," "company" or "community" with common goal, vision or purpose...
), and in the efficacy of the Buddhist path. The Buddha comments:
All that is said in these MahayanaMahayanaMahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
sutras is the truths of the Way [marga] ... As I have already stated, if one believes in the Way, such a Way of faith is the root of faith. This assists the Way of Awakening ... The Way begins with the root of faith....
The Buddha further notes that a person possessed of faith is superior to one lacking in it:
Faith in the Buddha is seen as a positive virtue as it leads to more attentive absorption in Dharma, which in turn strengthens faith still further. The Buddha remarks:
Faith arises out of listening to Dharma, and this listening is [itself] grounded in faith.
Through such faith, along with other spiritual practices, the Buddhist aspirant is enabled to attain nirvana, according to this text. Faith is the first step for the bodhisattva to tread along that path to nirvana. It is viewed as a basic requirement, and crucially entails the understanding that the "real" Buddha is not a being of flesh and blood who can bleed and who dies, or whose Truth (Dharma) perishes with his physical body. The true Buddha and his Dharma are utterly deathless and eternal, so the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra insists. This the bodhisattva is urged to believe:
First, he [i.e. the Bodhisattva] is perfect in faith. How is faith perfect? This is believing deeply that the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha are Eternal, that all Buddhas of the ten directions [= everywhere] make use of expedients [effectively to convey Dharma to the different types of being], and that beings and icchantikas [= the most spiritually depraved of persons] all possess the Buddha-dhatu [Buddha-Principle, Buddha-natureBuddha-natureBuddha-nature, Buddha-dhatu or Buddha Principle , is taught differently in various Mahayana Buddhism traditions. Broadly speaking Buddha-nature is concerned with ascertaining what allows sentient beings to become Buddhas...
]. It is not believing that the Tathagata is subject to birth, old age, illness, and death, that he has undergone austerities, and that Devadatta [= Buddha's cousin] really caused blood to flow from the Buddha's body, that the Tathagata ultimately enters Nirvana [= finally dies], and that authentic Dharma dies out. This is where we speak of the Bodhisattva's being perfect in faith.
Yet faith in the Buddha should not be blind. The Mahāyāna not infrequently links faith with discernment and spiritual insight (prajñā) - spiritual penetration. The following words of the Buddha's indicate the need for a balance:
If a person does not possess faith and insight [prajñā], such a person increases his ignorance. If a person possesses insight, but not faith, such a person will increase [his or her] distorted views. ... A person who has no faith will say, out of an angry mind: "There cannot be any Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha!"
Linji
Linji
Línjì Yìxuán was the founder of the Linji school of Chán Buddhism during Tang Dynasty China. Linji was born into a family named Xing in Caozhou , which he left at a young age to study Buddhism in many places....
said that if a person were to adopt perfect self-confidence (faith in themselves) they would attain enlightenment in an instant.
Faith in Buddha nature literature
The Nirvāṇa Sūtra is not alone in according a foundational position to faith. The Buddha nature sutra, Exposition of Non-Decrease, Non-Increase (Anunatva-Apurnatva-Nirdesa) tells of how the essence of ultimate truth, the Buddha nature (tathāgatagarbha), can be perceived by means of faith. This matter of the Buddha nature lies beyond the reach of the foolish, of the ordinary person, unless that person possess faith, which will gain him or her entry into the realm of the Buddha nature:
No sravakas [the elementary students of the Buddha] or pratyekabuddhas ["private" Buddhas, who usually avoid people and generally do not teach] are able to know, see or investigate this matter with their insight. How much less able to do so are foolish ordinary people, except when they directly realise it by faith!
Faith is thus presented as a powerful means for Buddhist practitioners to penetrate through to, and realize deep spiritual truths for themselves.
It is not only in the Buddha nature literature that faith is lauded. In the perfection of wisdom
Prajnaparamita
Prajñāpāramitā in Buddhism, means "the Perfection of Wisdom." The word Prajñāpāramitā combines the Sanskrit words prajñā with pāramitā . Prajñāpāramitā is a central concept in Mahāyāna Buddhism and its practice and understanding are taken to be indispensable elements of the Bodhisattva Path...
(prajñāpāramitā) scriptures, too, faith is extolled. Here it is usually in connection with trust and belief in the sutra which is at that moment being expounded. Thus in the Prajñāpāramitā Sutra on How Benevolent Kings May Protect Their Countries, the Buddha declares that even if living beings were to give away the most precious substances known to humanity in a huge act of generosity, still "their merit would not be such as that of the production of one single thought of serene faith in this Sutra". This and other prajñāpāramitā sutras explain that such persons who naturally engender faith in these texts are those who have worshipped and revered countless Buddhas in past incarnations. Faith comes naturally to them. Moreover, faith in, and reverence towards, such sutras is tantamount to faith and reverence directed towards all Buddhas. The Buddha asserts in the 18,000-Line Prajñāpāramitā Sutra:
If anyone, when this deep perfection of wisdom is being preached, feels respect, affection, and serene faith for it, then he feels respect, affection and serene faith also for the Buddhas and Lords of the past, future, and present.
Takasaki in his translation and study of the Sanskrit Ratnagotravibhāga (with protracted consideration of the Tibetan and Chinese traditions) renders an embedded extract of a sutra of Shakyamuni unidentified in the text that conveys the importance of faith in relation to what is known in the tradition as the "revolution of the basis" (Sanskrit: āśrayaparivṛtti) of "buddha-dhatu" (buddha-nature
Buddha-nature
Buddha-nature, Buddha-dhatu or Buddha Principle , is taught differently in various Mahayana Buddhism traditions. Broadly speaking Buddha-nature is concerned with ascertaining what allows sentient beings to become Buddhas...
) to the Dharmakāya
Dharmakaya
The Dharmakāya is a central idea in Mahayana Buddhism forming part of the Trikaya doctrine that was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñā-pāramitā , composed in the 1st century BCE...
(a Buddhadharma nomenclature of the ultimate truth):
O Śāriputra, the ultimate truth is really approachable only by faith [in the Tathāgata]. O Śāriputra, the ultimate Truth is a synonym of the mass of living beings (sattva-dhātu). The mass of living beings is, O Śāriputra, nothing but a synonym of the Matrix of the Tathāgata (tathāgatagarbha). The Matrix of the Tathāgata is, Śāriputra, nothing but a synonym of the Absolute Body (dharmakāya).
Faith in Pure Land literature
It is perhaps in the "Pure Land" sutras that faith and devotion reach a pinnacle of soteriological importance. Here it is one's faith in the salvific compassion of the Buddha AmitabhaAmitabha
Amitābha is a celestial buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahāyāna school of Buddhism...
, coupled with one's development of "roots of goodness" and the earnest wish to enter the Buddha's happy land, that is said to bring deliverance into Buddha Amitabha's Western Paradise, the "land of bliss", preparatory to entry into awakening and nirvana. In the Contemplation of Amitayus Sutra, the Buddha tells of the types of being who gain birth in this pure land
Pure land
A pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
– and they are all characterised by faith:
Those born in the Western Land are of nine grades. Those who attain birth on the highest level of the highest grade are sentient beings who resolve to be born in that land, awaken the three kinds of faith and so are born there. What are the three? They are, first, the sincere faith, second, the deep faith; and third, the faith that seeks birth there by transferring one's merit. Those who have these three kinds of faith will certainly be born there.
However, even in these faith-oriented sutras of "Pure Land" Dharma, faith is often linked with understanding. It is not totally blind faith. The Buddha of the Smaller Pure Land Sutra speaks of faith allied with understanding as a prerequisite for the attainment of supreme awakening (bodhi), when hearing this text. Thus:
Furthermore ... if there is a good son or good daughter, whether having already heard this, or shall hear it, or who is now hearing it – once hearing this Sutra, profoundly is there born an understanding faith. Once there is born an understanding faith, a certainty about the accumulations of merit residing in the ten directions with the Buddha World-Honoured Ones, whose number is like the sands of ten River Ganges, and they practice as instructed, all will be firmly in the supremely unexcelled Bodhi.
This teaching of faith, originally advocated in conjunction with discernment and Dharmic practice, received a new interpretation in the teachings of the Japanese Buddhist saint, Shinran Shonin (1173–1262 CE), who taught that just one recitation of the mantra, "Homage to Amida Buddha", with deep faith, would be enough to secure the faithful person entrance into the Western Paradise. Subsequent utterances of that formula would be expressions of gratitude to Buddha Amida (Amitabha). Deep understanding of the Buddha's teachings and Buddhic practice were not necessary, Shinran claimed. This interpretation of the "Pure Land" sutras represents perhaps the zenith of faith-oriented Buddhism and remains controversial, although Shinran's school of Jodo Shinshu is today perhaps the largest Buddhist sect in Japan.
Following on from Shinran, Rennyo Shonin, a disciple of Shinran's, gave utterance to the view that practicing the Way of Dharma and being embraced by Amita Buddha and embracing Amita in faith are one-and-the same. Buddha-Mind and one's own individual mind are ultimately inseparable. He says:
When wood is kindled by fire, fire does not leave it. The wood is likened to the mind of one who practices the Way; the fire is likened to the Light of Embracement of Amita. Shone upon and protected by the spiritual light, there can be no Buddha-Mind other than one's own and no mind of one's own other than the Buddha-Mind. This is called "Namuamidabutsu" ["Homage to Amita Buddha"].
One of the most famous of Mahāyāna sutras, the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
, also embraces the ideal of faith, but links it to discernment. The Buddha tells his audience in the Lotus Sutra:
If any living beings who seek after the Buddha-way either see or hear this Law-Flower Sutra [i.e. the Lotus Sutra], and after hearing it believe and discern, receive and keep it, you may know that they are near perfect enlightenment.
The same sutra asserts that the Dharma as a whole is difficult to grasp with mere words, and that ultimately only those bodhisattvas who believe with firm faith can penetrate its nature. The Buddha says:
This Law [Dharma] is inexpressible,
It is beyond the realm of terms;
Among all the other living beings
None can apprehend it
Except the bodhisattvas
Who are firm in the power of faith.
Thus faith is a major element within Buddhism. While it is rarely (if ever) taught by the Buddha in any "blind" form and is often linked to discernment and understanding, it is nevertheless viewed as a powerful force which can start the Buddhist practitioner on his or her spiritual journey and convey him or her towards awakening themselves. Perhaps the most enthusiastic paean to faith can be found in the massive Avataṃsaka Sutra
Avatamsaka Sutra
The is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras of East Asian Buddhism. The title is rendered in English as Flower Garland Sutra, Flower Adornment Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture....
, where, to the delight of all the Buddhas, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra
Samantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...
proclaims the following verses in a great eulogy of bodhisattvas' faith:
Deep faith, belief, and resolution always pure,
They [bodhisattvas] honour and respect all Buddhas ...
Deeply believing in the Buddha and the Buddha's teaching,
They also believe in the Way traversed by buddhas-to-be,
And believe in unexcelled great enlightenment:
Thereby do enlightening beings [bodhisattvas] first rouse their will.
Faith is the basis of the Path, the mother of virtues,
Nourishing and growing all good ways,
Cutting away the net of doubt, freeing from the torrent of passion,
Revealing the unsurpassed road of ultimate peace.
When faith is undefiled, the mind is pure;
Obliterating pride, it is the root of reverence,
And the foremost wealth in the treasury of religion ...
Faith is generous ...
Faith can joyfully enter the Buddha's teaching;
Faith can increase knowledge and virtue;
Faith can ensure arrival at enlightenment ...
Faith can go beyond the pathways of demons,
And reveal the unsurpassed road of liberation.
Faith is the unspoiled seed of virtue,
Faith can grow the seed of enlightenment.
Faith can increase supreme knowledge,
Faith can reveal all Buddhas ...
Faith is most powerful, very difficult to have;
It's like in all worlds having
the wondrous wish-fulfilling pearl.
Faith in Tantrayāna
The Vajra Garland Explanatory Tantra (Wylie: bShad-rgyud rdo-re phreng-ba) evokes the metaphor of the snowlionSnowlion
The Snow Lion, sometimes also Snowlion, is a celestial animal of Tibet. It symbolizes fearlessness, unconditional cheerfulness, east and the earth element. It is one of the Four Dignities...
ess and her salvific milk of Dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, hailed as a panacea
Panacea
In Greek mythology, Panacea was a goddess of healing. She was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her five sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: Panacea was the goddess of cures, Iaso was the goddess of recuperation, Hygieia was the goddess of disease prevention, Aceso was...
in Traditional Tibetan medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior and dietary modification, medicines composed of natural materials and physical therapies...
, rendered into English by Wallace
B. Alan Wallace
B. Alan Wallace is an American author, translator, teacher, researcher, interpreter, and Buddhist practitioner interested in the intersections of consciousness studies and scientific disciplines such as psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and physics...
:
- Just as the milk of a lioness
- Is not to be placed in an earthen container,
- So is the Mahāyogatantra
- Not to be given to those who are not suitable vessels.
Gyatrul (b.1924), in a commentary to this verse cited by Chagmé
Karma Chagme
The name Karma Chagme refers to a 17th century Tibetan Buddhist lama and to the tülku lineage which he initiated. Including the first, seven Karma Chagme tülkus have been recognized...
(Wylie: Kar-ma chags-med, fl. 17th century), conveys the importance of faith as a qualification of disciples who "listen" to the Dharma, rendered into English by Wallace:
This injunction pertains to teaching Mahāyāna, Vajrayāna, and to Atiyoga in particular. Those without faith who are completely involved in the eight mundane concerns are not suitable vessels, and they should not be taught these kinds of Dharma.
Faith in Chod
Faith has been cultivated on a pilgrimagePilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
to The Red Citadel on the Copper Mountain (Sangri Khamar), the cave of Machig Lapdron, redactor of a specific form of Chöd
Chöd
Chöd , is a spiritual practice found primarily in Tibetan Buddhism. Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego," the practice is based on the Prajñāpāramitā sutra...
practice. Tsultrim Allione
Tsultrim Allione
Lama Tsultrim Allione is an author and teacher who has studied in the Tibetan Buddhist lineage. She was born in 1947 in Maine, in the United States, and given the name Joan Rousmanière Ewing. She first travelled to India and Nepal in 1967, returned in 1969 and in 1970 she became one of the first...
and pilgrims had to traverse the "Great Purifier" (Tsangpo River):
See also
- BuddhismBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
- FaithFaithFaith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
- God in BuddhismGod in BuddhismThe refutation of the notion of a supreme God or a prime mover is seen by many as a key distinction between Buddhism and other religions. In Buddhism the sole aim of spiritual practice is the complete alleviation of stress in samsara, called nirvana...
- Mahaparinirvana Sutra
- Pure LandPure landA pure land, in Mahayana Buddhism, is the celestial realm or pure abode of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. The various traditions that focus on Pure Lands have been given the nomenclature Pure Land Buddhism. Pure lands are also evident in the literature and traditions of Taoism and Bön.The notion of 'pure...
- Refuge (Buddhism)Refuge (Buddhism)Buddhists "take refuge" in, or to "go for refuge" to, the Three Jewels . This can be done formally in lay and monastic ordination ceremonies.The Three Jewels general signification is: * the Buddha;* the Dharma, the teachings;...
- ShinranShinranwas a Japanese Buddhist monk, who was born in Hino at the turbulent close of the Heian Period and lived during the Kamakura Period...
- ŚrāddhaShraaddhaŚrāddha or Shraaddha is a Sanskrit word which literally means anything or any act that is performed with all sincerity and faith . In the Hindu religion, it is the ritual that one performs to pay homage to one’s 'ancestors' , especially to one’s dead parents...
- Tathagatagarbha
Literature
- The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra (Nirvana Publications, London 1999-2000), tr. by Kosho Yamamoto, edited by Dr. Tony Page
- The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom (University of California Press, Berkeley 1975), tr. by Edward Conze (I)
- Perfect Wisdom: The Short Prajnaparamita Texts (Luzac, London 1973), tr. by Edward Conze (2)
- The Threefold Lotus Sutra (Kosei, Tokyo 1975), tr. by Bunno Kato, Yoshiro Tamura, Kojiro Miyasaka, revised by W. E. Soothill, Wilhelm Schiffer and Pier P. Del Campana
- The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra (Shambhala, Boston and London 1993)
- The Smaller Pure Land Sutra, tr. by Charles Patton (Internet)
- The Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus, tr. by Hisao Inagaki (Internet)