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| Regarding faith in Buddhism, one may ask the question:- Is there faith or not in Buddhism? Or to put it another way: does Buddhism need faith? - If yes, is faith in Buddhism different from faith in other religions? - If different, what characteristics does this faith have? - And finally, what are the differences of faith between the sects of Buddhism, between Buddhism of origin, Theravada and Mahayana, between Zen, Pure Land and Tantric? The first design is to define faith and its types. Defining the type of faith News (croire, to believe), from the dictionary, means: 1. to be true, to be true. 2. to put total hope in someone or something. From there there are compound words such as: trust, trust, trust, trust, trust. Special trust (avoir confiance en, to trust on) means: believing in something or a solid, well-grounded person. On the contrary, gullibility is believing easily, lightly, without considering. Sino-Vietnamese news is credit . The word has words like: master, credit, creed, believers, signals, creeds, beliefs, beliefs, creed, fanatic, superstition, devotion. Special creed (religion) means: believe in a particular religion (the threshold is looked up with reverence). Dogma (dogme) is what religious believers set out to follow, or what was believed in absolute terms. Devotion (dévotion) is a complete belief in a religion, with respect and admiration. Superstition is to believe in a blind, unspoken way, often in myths and myths. The word superstition often accompanies the word superstition , that is, strange or magical things that come from bullshit. Fanaticism (foi aveugle) is believed passionately, madly, blindly. Thus, we see many types of faith, with different intensities, with different contributions of reason. It can be said that in faith there are both parts of reason and faith, in belief in faith that prevail over reason, but in superstition and fanaticism is no longer rational, especially in fanatic the power of blind faith. blindness causes people to lose their intelligence, lose control, and easily cause violence. Most religious wars, ideological wars, and racial wars are also caused by fanaticism. Reason and faith From time to time, reason and faith have always opposed each other, in theory as well as in action. In the West, the correlation between ratio and fides has been a lively problem since the Middle Ages, causing many conflicts between religious organizations and secular society. Reason uses reason and reflection, derived from experience and comment, while faith is in the emotional sphere, unable to reason, consider, explain, which is the irrational part of man . Believe, believe it originates from the ancient german word liebe, means love. Therefore, in revelation religions, believing in God also means loving God. As Blaise Pascal said: "Faith is like this: God can feel with the heart, not with reason (Voilà ce que c'est que la foi: Dieu sensible au coeur, non à la raison)". The object of faith is beyond human reason, supernatural, and cannot be explained scientifically. People can only believe or not believe, but can not justify or deny belief. Reason and faith inevitably go against each other: when there is reason, there is no faith, and generally faith fades back to science, which is hard to deny, although there are many scientists still believe in the Supreme Being. Medicine has proven that the human brain has two hemispheres, the left specializes in reason, language, the right in intuition, emotion and possibly in faith. So the fact that an individual has a mixture of both reason and faith is no wonder. Another aspect of faith is: people believe, it is because of the uncertain beliefs. Because if it was certain, then there was no need for trust. For example, no one says "I believe in the sun", because it is a certain thing brought about by daily experience; or "I believe you have something in your hand," while the hand is open. On the contrary, if you hold your hand and say there is something in your hand, I can believe it or not. In general, when something has been proven or proven, there is no faith. And whether you say "I firmly believe, or I firmly believe ...", faith can still be wavered and wavered. Someone who says "I believe in God, I believe in Buddha", may also one day, for some reason, lose faith. Therefore, religions often use auto-suggestion methods to strengthen the faith of believers every day, by setting up regular rituals, such as praying many recitations. times in a day. Faith is a driving force, a motivation for action, whether positive or negative. It is an undeniable power, capable of "filling the sea and moving young". Meanwhile, suspicion could not lead to any action. Like Voltaire when it comes to passion and reason, Anagarika Govinda lama often compares faith with the wind blowing into the sails and reason with the boat's oars. Without the wind the boat will not go, without sailing the boat will turn around in place. Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy? The question of faith in Buddhism is no different from asking a classic question: "Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy ?" Because religion places a heavy emphasis on faith, while philosophy is based on reason . In general, philosophy raises general questions about life, does not believe in spirits, does not rely on beliefs, rituals, organizations, while religion provides the answers that lie in the beliefs. things, worshiping the gods, relying on rituals and church organization. In fact, Buddhism cannot frame within either framework. It is up to the Buddhist, or Buddhistist, that Buddhism appears as a philosophy or a religion. And even for a Buddhist, there are times when the focus is on the teachings, sometimes at the back of the faith, depending on the temporary psychological state. Historically, it can be said that Buddhism in its origins is a philosophy , but in development it has been contaminated with the color of religion , and this aspect has become essential for the majority of Buddhists in the world. . The historical Buddha Shakyamuni was just a human being like everyone else, he was neither a god nor a teacher, but only a guide, a teacher, a Tathagata. ( Tathagata , ainsi allé, went to). Only after his passing away did people worship him, worship him like other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Thus it can be said that in Buddhism, there is also faith without faith, depending on what angle one looks at, according to the sect and especially according to the beliefs like. Faith in Buddhism originated (1) According to ancient Indian tradition, people often divide the paths of liberation into three categories: the devotional path (bhakti-magga) , the ritual path (kamma-magga) and the intellectual path ( ñana- magga) . It can be said that Buddhism is the third type of sugar, although it does not mean that the other two types of roads are completely absent in Buddhism. In the basic teaching of the Buddha, avijja is the beginning of the cycle of the twelve conditions (paticca-samuppada) that lead to samsara, suffering, and so only wisdom ( ñana or pañña). can defeat ignorance and lead to liberation That wisdom was not in heaven, nor was it given by any God or any god, but it was developed by itself, following the path of liberation laid out by the Buddha. In that eightfold path (ariya-atthangika-magga) , right view (samma ditthi) is the most important, because it is essential to see such truth (yatha bhutam) . In the Buddhist sutras it is often referred to as "the Eye of truth" when one has seen the truth clearly. And soon after the Buddha Shakyamuni passed away, people everywhere lamented: "The Eye of the world is gone! The Eye of the world is gone!"(2) . The Buddha's teaching, also known as ehi-passika, "come here and see", rather than "come here to believe". We also find that in the eight main paths there are: right speech, right action, right livelihood, right thought, right effort, mindfulness, right concentration, but no right faith . Should it be understood that faith is not an important thing for Buddhism, and Buddhists do not need faith but only diligence? In fact, in Buddhism of origin, there is also faith, called saddha in pali, and sraddha in sanskrit, but believing in the sense of trust (foi de confiance), not in thereligious sense. (dévotion) as in revelation religions. Buddhists believe in the Buddha and his teachings, as well as those who are not used to trust the guide, that is, the one who has gone first, who has experimented on the path and guided the followers. Buddha Shakyamuni is not a god of infinite power, but a human being determined to find the way to liberation, and to attain enlightenment by his own efforts. For the rest of his life and for many generations to come, through his teachings, he continues to guide all who want to follow that path. Therefore, of all his titles, the "Guru" may be more accurate and appropriate. Of course, the person on the road has to trust and trust in the guide, because for the first time on this road, as well as a person with poor eyesight in the dark, if he ever fails to stumble, it is possible to fall at any time, so at first be confident. Then gradually, by personal experience, the walker will see the path himself and no longer depend on the guide, no longer need faith. The Buddha himself taught himself to his disciples, before he passed away: "Be islands, torches for yourself. Rely on yourself, not in any other place." (2) . He also repeated in the Dhammapada: "You should try your best, Tathagata is only the guide ..."(3) In the Pali Canon, there is a sutta also called the Sutta of Faith, the Kalama Sutta(4) . One day, Buddha passed through a small town, called Kesaputta, of the kingdom of Kosala. The people there, called the Kalama people, immediately visited the Buddha and presented their bewilderment at the fact that the Brahmins and monks who passed by here all upheld their principles and disparagedly only other people. So they turned into suspicion, not knowing who told the truth, who said it wrong, not knowing who to believe. The Buddha then explained to them the ten foundations of true faith, and advised them to always be critical, not accepting any truth before verifying and experimenting on their own. - "Hey Kalama, do not believe because you listen to the words again, do not believe because of tradition, do not believe because you hear rumors, do not believe in the scriptures, do not believe for metaphysical reason, do not believe do not believe because it is appropriate for me, do not believe because the speaker seems to have authority, do not believe because he thinks that he is his teacher. you know for yourself: 'These dharma s are unwholesome (akusala, cause bad karma ) , if they are done, they will lead to unhappiness and misery,' renounce them. do you know for yourself: 'These dhammas are good (kusala, cause good karma ), if these practices are performed, they will lead to peaceful happiness, 'then you should follow and practice. " Perhaps in the history of mankind, there has not been a philosopher, a religious person. There is such a free, open, highly rational and empirical attitude.In addition to the Buddha, one can say: don't believe in the scriptures, don't believe in your own words, your own, because because "all the things we wake up to are the fingers of the moon"(5) ? On another occasion, the Buddha further warned: "Believing me without understanding me, means defaming me." Therefore, the most essential thing for a Buddhist is to believe in oneself, trust in one's self-awareness, and at the same time believe in the Triple Jewel (ti-ratana) , that is, Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha . The ti-sarana ceremony, which is an initiation ceremony for all Buddhists, is not outside that spirit: relying on Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha is putting faith in the path, those who went ahead and the guides. In that spirit of faith, faith does not go against reason, and also plays an important role on the path of liberation by bringing the necessary energy for diligence and perseverance in practice. Without trust, people will stagnate, neglect and sometimes back down from the difficulties and challenges encountered. It can be said that trust and reason complement each other in a balanced way in Buddhism originating. Faith in the development of Buddhism 1. The devotion in Buddhism of origin and Theravada In India in the centuries after the Buddha's passing away, parallel with the aforementioned spirit of belief (saddha) , devotional god (dévotion) ( bhakti) continues to expand in popularity and inevitably influences Buddhism's evolution. It can be said that faith has gradually infiltrated Buddhism through the ritual and cult forms of a religion. Read the Mahaparanibbana-Sutta ( Mahaparanibbana-Sutta ) in Pali, we also see clearly that the spirit of cult and belief actually appeared very early. Immediately after the Buddha passed away in Kusinara, the kings of the neighboring region drew horses to scramble for ruinous relics of the Buddha, such as relics, teeth and hair to bring back to worship in the country. surname. Ultimately, in order to preserve peace, the Buddha's disciples agreed to divide the rest of his body into eight places to be worshiped. In fact, the cult of the ruined relic goes against the advice of the Buddha to his disciples before his passing away: "After I die, what you have to uphold is the Dharma. It is the Dharma that will replace us in this world. Take care of the Dharma " (2) . Unfortunately, in the human psyche, Dharma is something too abstract to rely on, while a root, a hair, a relic, even if not of the Buddha, is also enough to create cult and cultivate trust. Thus, to say that there is no devotion in Theravada Buddhism (which is a continuation of the original Buddhism) is an inaccurate. Just by looking at the sincere worship and the influence of Buddhism on social life in Theravada countries, such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, we can clearly see the spirit. How strong is the devotion here. In general, the Three Jewels of devotion in Theravada Buddhism are real, but often stop at a reasonable level, and it is important that there is no extremist nature and also less of a self-interest and a demand. Please respect for yourself and your loved ones. It can also be said that the faith here is simpler and purer than in the Mahayana countries, in the sense of worshiping Shakyamuni instead of dozens of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. 2. Devotion in Buddhism develops (Mahayana) When comparing the Theravada Buddhist texts (Pali Tripitaka) with Mahayana sutras (such as the Sutra, Avatamsaka Sutra, Dharma Flower, Sutra, Buddha, Mausoleum Nghiêm, Di Am, etc.), one could not help but notice the difference between a simple, natural presentation, though somewhat dry and repetitive, of the Theravada classics, and the way of presentation. the great, extraordinary, ornate of the Mahayana sutras, such as "the Buddha radiates light, the fragrance smells sweet, the earth shakes", etc., with supernatural phenomena, often present within the framework of worship. As we know, the characteristics of the Mahayana are the worship of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, based on the Buddha's "three-body" (trikaya).(6) placing heavyemphasis on the Bodhisattva's vow, bringing compassion and faith to the level of wisdom, and resorting to some skillful means (upaya kausalya) . On the doctrine, the Mahayana relies on the suttas that appeared after the Pali Tripitaka, each sect taking one or more suttas as a guide (7) . And between sects, faith has a different importance, a different intensity, and it can be said to play a different role. a) With the thought of Prajna , presented in the Prajnaparamita Sūtra (Mahaprajnaparamita-sutra) , and interpreted by Long Thu (Nagarjuna) , the intellect ( pañña in pali, prajña in sanskri t) is the most important, though, even though Mr. Long Thu acknowledges that "The path of faith is the easy path, the intellectual path is the hard way". So the path he proposed, Trung Quan (Madhyamaka), also known as the "New Wisdom Faculty", to distinguish it from the "Old Faculty of Wisdom" of the Chief Elder (Sthaviravada) . The Bat Nha thought, expressed through the two discourses of the Heart Sutra and the Sutta Diamond Sutra, has profoundly influenced the development of Zen Buddhism in China and neighboring countries. For Zen Buddhism , faith is not an important thing. Because there is nothing to believe, "all things are not legal," only the empty, static nature. Zen students only need to believe in their enlightenment ability, in the teacher who guides them in the first steps, taking that trust as a means. And then leave it, forget it, like forget your finger to follow the moon. "Directly pointed out the human mind" does not need the Buddha images, such as nama, like incense, which are outside the mind. We may still remember the story of an old Zen master and a disciple who suddenly encountered a snowstorm, so he temporarily avoided it in a cave. The Zen master asked his disciple to go inside the cave to find firewood for heating. After a while, the disciple came out. "-B sensei, there is no wood to burn. -Are you sure?" Asked the Zen master. "Sure. -Is there really nothing in the cave?" . The Zen master went tattooed into the cave, carried the Buddha image, and in front of the disciple, hammered the statue to pieces, and lit the fire. The fire was on fire, and the disciple suddenly became enlightened. Buddha is Buddha, firewood is firewood, believing in firewood is not believing in Buddha. Worshiping Buddha images is not worshiping Buddha. To live according to the Buddha's teaching is to worship Buddha. As well as a teaching in the Diamond Sutta: "If you see the color of seeing with you, take the sound of praying to us, then the deviant person cannot see the Tathagata." (8) . b) On the contrary, in the Pure Land , faith is essential. Faith in the sense of cult (bhakti) , loved the Buddhas in order to be saved by them into their land or world, and finally liberated. The most familiar land is the blissful Western (Sukhavati) of Amitabha Buddha (Amitabha, Amitayus) , Amitayus Buddha. But there are countless realms of Buddha, also known as the Buddhist school (champs de Bouddha) everywhere, under the thousands and thousands of states, and finally only one.Buddha is everywhere, in the words of Buddha Duy Ma: "All magnificent palaces, all Pure Land worlds are represented here, in this very room." (9) . Regarding practice, the founding fathers of Pure Land Buddhism concept that Buddhism has reached the "Dharma-ending" period, so Buddhists need to use skillful means such as reciting sutras and special reciting Amitabha Buddha (called nembutsu in Japanese ), with a strong faith, in order to be reborn in Buddha land and finally liberated. Because there is not enough "self-reliance" ( jiriki in Japanese ), Buddhists must call for " tariki " , so that they can save and impart strength to them. Pure Land tones based on three basic mind: faith, sincere devotion and one-pointed mind; and the three main sutras are : Amitabha Sutta, the Amitabha Long Sutra and the Amitabha Long Sūtra (7) . From the psychological perspective, the faith of Pure Land Buddhists does not appear to be different from that of Christians or Muslims, that is, faith towards God, Christ, Allah or Mr. Mohamed. In fact, a closer look will see a significant difference: that is the temporary and means of trust in the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Pure Land ancestors still reminded that "faith is an easy path for those with a low base," but enlightenment to Nirvana is still the only true and final end. It is thus possible to see the Pure Land under two aspects, or two degrees, namely "the Pure Land of the other" and "the Pure Land of mind", that is, to regard the Pure Land as another world that we wish to be reborn in, or regard the Pure Land as the pure land of mind. According to the Sutta, "If the Bodhisattva wants to be Pure Land, he has to calm his mind. When the mind is calm, the Buddha realm is pure". The patriarch Truc Lam Tran Nhan Tong also said about the Pure Land as follows: "Pure Land is pure heart, Do not doubt to ask the West. Di Da is the enlightenment, Ma has to search hard for Bliss." c) Tantric , Tantrayana (or Vajrayana, Vajrayana), the Mahayana sect that uses the most skilful means, with rituals and esoteric practices (ésotérique), as opposed to the esoteric nature (exotérique) (10) of the teachings of origin and Theravada. Theoretically, Tantra is based on the teachings of Trung Quan and Duy Thuc, but this does not prevent the development of countless gods, rituals, talismans, seals, seals, mixed with traditional folk religion. land. Because the concept of "reincarnation is Nirvana", so the special feature of Vajrayana is to use all human life experiences, all mental states, whether evil, vile, to transfer transform them, in order to transcend the binary world and achieve truth. On this difficult and complex path of study, the guidance of a teacher (guru) is crucial. The disciple should have a firm faith in this teacher-student relationship (such as the relationship between Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa and Milarepa) , as well as faith in his own enlightenment abilities. On the surface, Tantra appears to be full of ritual color, complex form, but actually, in depth and on the highest level, it is a purely search path of omniscience, with a comprehensive person. Summary and conclusions It is important to remember in Buddhism: faith is only a means . Intellect is also only a means, but an essential means, while faith is a secondary, temporary means. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is liberation, enlightenment. It is also the sole purpose and general purpose of all sects of Buddhism. Faith can be compared to a stick, to guard against, when starting on dark, twisted roads. But then, when the path was clear and clear, there was no need for a stick.Faith can also be compared to a float, so wear it at the beginning to swim, but leave when you can swim. Just as there is no need for the raft to cross the river, no need to finger when the moon. But sometimes suddenly storms come in life, making people feel weak and hopeless. Faith at that time reappeared like a float in the rough sea, more necessary than ever ... Faith in Buddhism in its origin and Theravada is trust. Belief in enlightened ones, that is, Buddha, trust in the path they have drawn, that is Dharma, belief in teachers who have gone before, that is Sangha. It is important to believe but never forget to contemplate and realize what you have learned. And especially trust in yourself, in your self-awareness. Faith in developed Buddhism (Mahayana), according to the Pure Land method, is the devotion to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, but that devotion, as well as their calling to "spare energy", does not to forget the ultimate end is liberation, to receive the Buddha's nature within you. In fact, if "mind" is the master, if you understand that "Buddha is mind", then what is the difference between "self-reliance" and "tha force"? When calling to forgiveness, where does that energy come from, if not the strength in one's own mind? Buddhas, where are the Bodhisattvas, if not the world in their minds? Where is the Pure Land, if not the tranquility of mind, at this time and here? So is the faith in tantric (or Vajrayana). In addition to believing in the Three Jewels, Tantra also considers the teacher-student relationship to be crucial, and uses many skillful means. in order to attain enlightenment, while in Zen Buddhism, although there is the seal of the teacher "wholeheartedly transmitting the mind", the main thing is to point directly to the mind to receive the true Buddha-nature, without the need for skillful means, but just mindfulness in awakening. After all, it's all about believing in yourself . Trust in the Three Jewels, devotion to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas is actually believing in us, in our true self nature ... And superstition and fanaticism? Superstition and fanaticism have no place in Buddhism. Because Buddhism is the path of wisdom, of the breaking of ignorance. And ignorance is the source of superstition and fanaticism, misleading faith leads to suffering. With Buddhism, there has never been a religious war, a dispute over doctrine, lashing out on faith. The simple reason is: why don't you crank your arms, when it's only the moon! END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.27/10/2019.  |
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