Joe Isuzu's Daily Slander

REDEFINING FAITH - EPILOGUE

IT NEEDS TO BE STATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
THIS "FAITH" IS NOT A SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF,
BUT A BELIEF BORN OF TRUST IN DAILY LIFE,
FOSTERED BY HUMANISM.
(Humanism: an outlook or system of thought attaching
prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural
matters. Humanistic beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of
human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely
rational ways of solving human problems.)

Sensei Glinda-The Good WILF of the North

Scarecrow
Look! Here's someone who can help you.
Dorothy
Oh - will you help me? Can you help me?
Glinda
You don't need to be helped any longer. You've always had the power to go back to Kansas.
Dorothy
I have?
Scarecrow
Then why didn't you tell her before?
Glinda
Because she wouldn't have believed me. She had to learn it for herself.
Tin Man
What have you learned, Dorothy?
Dorothy
Well, I - I think that it - that it wasn't enough just to want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. And that it's
that - if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard,
because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with. Is that right?
Glinda
That's all it is!
Scarecrow
But that's so easy! I should have thought of it for you.
Tin Man
I should have felt it in my heart.

BUDDHISM OF THE HEART

The Lotus Sutra-Chapter 4-Belief and Understanding
Translated by Burton Watson
"World-Honored One, we would be pleased now to employ a parable to make clear our meaning. Suppose there was a man, still young in years, who abandoned his father, ran away, and lived for a long time in another land, for perhaps ten, twenty, or even fifty years. As he drew older, he found himself increasingly poor and in want. He hurried about in every direction, seeking clothing and food, wandering farther and farther afield until by chance he turned his steps in the direction of his homeland.

"The father meanwhile had been searching for his son without success and had taken up residence in a certain city. The father's household was very wealthy, with immeasurable riches and treasures. Gold, silver, lapis Lazuli, coral, amber, and crystal beads all filled and overflowed from his storehouses. He had many grooms and menservants, clerks and attendants, and elephants, horses, carriages, oxen, and goats beyond number. He engaged in profitable ventures at home and in all the lands around, and also had dealings with many merchants and traveling vendors.

"At this time the impoverished son wandered from village to village, passing through various lands and towns, till at last he came to the city where his father was residing. The father thought constantly of his son, but though he had been parted from him for over fifty years, he had never told anyone else about the matter. He merely pondered to himself, his heart filed with regret and longing. He thought to himself that he was old and decrepit. He had great wealth and possessions, gold silver and rare treasures that filled and overflowed from his storehouses, but he had no son, so that if one day he should die, the wealth and possessions would be scattered and lost, for there was no one to entrust them to.

"This was the reason he constantly thought so earnestly of his son. And he also had this thought: If I could find my son and entrust my wealth and possessions to him, then I could feel contented and easy in mind and would have no more worries.

"World-Honored One, at that time the impoverished son drifted from one kind of employment to another until he came by chance to his father's house. He stood by the side of the gate, gazing far off at his father, who was seated on a lion throne, his legs supported by a jeweled footrest, while Brahmans, noblemen, and householders, uniformly deferential, surrounded him. Festoons of pearls worth thousands or tens of thousands adorned his body, and clerks, grooms and menservants holding white fly whisks stood in attendance to left and right. A jeweled canopy covered him, with flowered banners hanging from it, perfumed water had been sprinkled over the ground, heaps of rare flowers were scatted about, and precious objects were ranged here and there, brought out, put away, handed over and received. Such were the many different types of adornments, the emblems of prerogative and marks of distinction.

"When the impoverished son saw how great was his father's power and authority, he was filled with fear and awe and regretted he had ever come to such a place. Secretly he thought to himself; This must be some king, or one who is equal to a king. This is not the sort of place where I can hire out my labor and gain a living. It would be better to go to some poor village where, if I work hard, I will find a place and can easily earn food and clothing. If I stay here for long, I may be seized and pressed into service! Having thought in this way, he raced from the spot.

At that time the rich old man, seated on his lion throne, spied his son and recognized him immediately. His heart was filled with great joy and at once he thought: Now I have someone to entrust my storehouses of wealth and possessions to! My thoughts have constantly been with this son of mine but I had no way of seeing him. Now suddenly he had appeared of himself, which is exactly what I would have wished. Though I am old and decrepit, I still care what becomes of my belongings.

"Thereupon he dispatched a bystander to go after the son as quickly as possible and bring him back. At that time the messenger raced swiftly after the son and laid hold of him. The impoverished son, alarmed and fearful, cried out in an angry voice, 'I have done nothing wrong! Why am I being seized?' But the messenger held on to him more tightly than ever and forcibly dragged him back.

"At that time the son thought to himself, I have committed no crime and yet I am taken prisoner. Surely I am going to be put to death! He was more terrified than ever and sank to the ground, fainting with despair.

"The father, observing this from a distance, spoke to the messenger, saying, 'I have no need of this man. Don't force him to come here, but sprinkle cold water on his face so he will regain his senses. Then say nothing more to him!'

"Why did he do that? Because the father knew that his son was of humble outlook an ambition, and that his own rich and eminent position would be difficult for the son to accept. He knew very well that this was his son, but as a form of expedient means he refrained from saying to anyone, 'this is my son.'

"The messenger said to the son, "I am releasing you now. You may go anywhere you wish.' The impoverished son was delighted, having gained what he had not had before, and picked himself up from the ground and went off to the poor village in order to look for food and clothing.

"At that time the rich man, hoping to entice his son back again, decided to employ an expedient means and send two men as secret messengers, men who were lean and haggard and had no imposing appearance. 'Go seek out that poor man and approach him casually. Tell him you know a place where he can earn twice the regular wage. If he agrees to the arrangement, then bring him here and put him to work. If he asks what sort of work he will be put to, say that he will be employed to clear away excrement, and that the two of you will be working with him.'

"The two messengers then set out at once to find the poor man, and when they had done so, spoke to him as they had been instructed. At that time the impoverished son asked for an advance on his wages and then went with the men to help clear away excrement.

When the father saw his son, he pitied and wondered at him. Another day, when he was gazing out the window, he saw his son in the distance, his body thin and haggard, filthy with excrement, dirt, sweat and defilement. The father immediately took off his necklaces, his soft fine garments and his other adornments and put on clothes that were ragged and soiled. He smeared dirt on his body, took in his right hand a utensil for removing excrement, and assuming a gruff manner, spoke to the laborers, saying, 'Keep at your work! You mustn't be lazy!' By employing this expedient means, he was able to approach his son.

"Later he spoke to his son again, saying, 'Now then, young man! You must keep on at this work and not leave me anymore. I will increase your wages, and whatever you need in the way of utensils, rice, flour, salt, vinegar, and the like you should be in no worry about. I have an old servant I can lend you when you need him. You may set your mind at ease. I will be like a father to you, so have no more worries. Why do I say this? Because I am well along in years, but you are still young and sturdy. When you are at work, you are never deceitful or lazy or speak angry or resentful words. You don't seem to have any faults of that kind the way my other workers do. From now on, you will be like my own son.' And the rich man proceeded to select a name and assign it to the man as though he were his child.

"At this time the impoverished son, though he was delighted at such treatment, still thought of himself as a person of humble station who was in the employ of another. Therefore the rich man kept him clearing away excrement for the next twenty years. By the end of this time, the son felt that he was understood and trusted, and he could come and go at ease, but he continued to live in the same place as before.

"World-Honored One, at that time the rich man fell ill and knew he would die before long. He spoke to his impoverished son, saying, "I now have great quantities of gold, silver, and rare treasures that fill and overflow from my storehouses. You are to take complete charge of the amounts I have and of what is to be handed out and gathered in. This is what I have in mind, and I want you to carry out my wishes. Why is this? Because from now on, you and I will not behave as two different persons. So you must keep your wits about you and see that there are no mistakes or losses.'

"At that time the impoverished son, having received these instructions, took over the surveillance of all the goods, and gold, silver and rare treasures, and the various storehouses, but never thought of appropriated for himself so much as the cost of a single meal. He continued to live where he had before, unable to cease thinking of himself as mean and lowly.

"After some time had passed, the farther perceived that his son was bit by bit becoming more self-assured and magnanimous in outlook, that he was determined to accomplish great things and despised his former low opinion of himself. Realizing that his own end was approaching, he ordered his son to arrange a meeting with his relatives and the king of the country, the high ministers, and the noblemen and householders. When they were all gathered together, he proceeded to make this announcement: "Gentlemen, you should know that this is my son, who was born to me. In such-and-such a city he abandoned me and ran away, and for over fifty years he wandered about suffering hardship. His original name is such-and-such, and my name is such-and-such. In the past, when I was still living in my native city, I worried about him and so I set out in search of him. Sometime after, I suddenly chanced to meet up with him. This is the truth my son, and I will in truth am his father. Now everything that belongs to me, all my wealth and possessions, shall belong entirely to this son of mine. Matters of outlay and income that have occurred in the past this son of mine is familiar with."

"World-Honored One, when the impoverished son heard these words of his father, he was filled with great joy, having gained what he never had before, and he thought to himself, I originally had no mind to covet or seek such things. Yet now these stores of treasures have come of their own accord!

REDEFINING FAITH

“The title of the Sutra, says Nichiren doctrine, is the essence of the whole sutra, the holy teaching of the Buddha’s life, the principle of all things, and the truth of eternity; the fullest implications of the title are inexplicable and inconceivable, understood not even by subordinate Buddhas. The title of the original doctrine is to be believed in, not understood.” pages 31-32, Buddhist Prophet Nichiren-A Lotus In The Sun by Bruno Pertzold

I know many people who struggle with study. I’m one myself. Perhaps, like me, they equate “wisdom” with the use of accumulated knowledge, which is in itself taking an action based on reason. It is very important to come to an understanding of what the definition of faith is in context of this Buddhism. For when I am instructed to substitute faith for wisdom, I may very well wait for someone of faith to tell me what I should think and feel.

“To know what a given belief is about, I must know what my words mean; to know what my words mean, my beliefs must be generally consistent. There is just no escaping the fact that there is a tight relationship between the words we use, the type of thoughts we can think, and what we can believe to be true about the world.”
Sam Harris, The End Of Faith

Page 49, May-June Living Buddhism, Lecture by Mr. Ikeda;

By "substituting faith for wis-
dom" (footnote 22)--bringing forth Buddha
wisdom through faith in the correct
teaching--we, as ordinary people, can
triumph over fundamental darkness
just as we are. The power with which we
can subdue fundamental darkness is
solely the power of faith, our minds
and the inherent enlightened wisdom
within our own lives.

Firstly the footnote looked as if it was a quote lifted from a source so I looked at footnote 22 which reads:

"Substituting faith for wisdom: the principle that faith is the true cause for ataining supreme wisdom, and faith alone leads to enlightenment. In general, Buddhism describes supreme wisdom as the cause of enlightenment. According to the Lotus Sutra, however, even Shariputra, who among the Buddha's 10 disciples was revered as foremost in wisdom, could attain enlightenment only through faith, not through wisdom."

So it appears that it really isn't a quote from a specific source as
the quotation marks infer, but a non-sourced cite. As we read the
second sentence, which is used to qualify the preceding one, it has
the appearance of making logical sense until you look at the grammar
which is confusing in that it asks the reader to make a connection
from faith to our minds, which, according to the cite, is not the
source of enlighten wisdom. The premise
relies on the conclusion, which in turn relies on the premise.
It gives no clue to what faith means.

REALITY BASED FAITH

But even if it was grammatically correct, it's very Kantian in that
it's using logical wisdom from the same plane it claims is inherently
delusional, to argue against the same logical wisdom from that plane,
to a wisdom that may only be known through a faith, which exists
regardless of our existence. The famous "leap of faith" attributed to
Kierkegaard, the belief in something without, or in spite of, empirical
evidence, lives in a paradox for there is no reason for anyone to leap
without unreasoned external encouragement. Kantian faith, in my
definition, is different than Buddhist faith. Kantian faith, like his
disciple Kierkegaard, is Christian and is a belief in something that
has no factual reason for belief or actual evidence to the contrary.
Buddhist faith, in my definition, is based in the same daily
experience as stubbing your toe and falling to the ground: everyone
experiences the same result and it is only subjective in the degree to
which it hurts when you land. But everyone falls in the same
direction. Nobody except Jesus and Mohammed ever fell up and that's a
conjecture based faith.

THE MEANING OF FAITH

What do we mean when we use these words: faith, trust, belief, understanding, knowledge, reason, logic, wisdom, and truth. Here are several examples, many conflicting, of what some believe to be a reflection of the term “faith”:

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.--ST. AUGUSTINE

Life is a battle between faith and reason in which each feeds upon the other, drawing sustenance from it and destroying it. -- REINHOLD NIEBUHR

Faith... Must be enforced by reason...When faith becomes blind it dies.-- MAHATMA GANDHI

He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses much more, He who loses faith, loses all. --ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope or confidence. --HELEN KELLER

Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. --DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible. --ST. THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274)

A faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets. --ARTHUR C. CLARKE

Humanity's first sin was faith; the first virtue was doubt --UNKNOWN

Faith certainly tells us what the senses do not, but not the contrary of what they see; it is above, not against them. --BLAISE PASCAL

Faith is not belief. Belief is passive. Faith is active.--EDITH HAMILTON

Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.--KAHALIL GIBRAN

A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.--FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to. --GEORGE SEAT

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe. --VOLTAIRE

Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind. --IMMANUEL KANT

DEATH BY FAITH

“Some say we do not need to know what the Lotus Sutra means. To want to know is seen as mistrust; a lack of faith. Others say we should not chant any other mantras; that would be disloyal. Critical thinking or discernment is seen as an enemy of faith. Anti-intellectualism is conflated with faith. It also becomes thinkable to launch smear campaigns against competing 'faiths;' in order to discredit them; to inspire distrust of them. So heart felt faith can spiral downward into its own 'enemies' of fear, superstition, intolerance, and bigotry.” Robin http://mettasense.blogspot.com/2009/04/three-levels-of-faith.html

Wausau, Wis. Leilani Neumann has been convicted by a jury of her “peers” of second-degree reckless homicide. Her daughter, Madeline Neumann, died of untreated diabetes March 23, 2008, surrounded by people praying for her. When she suddenly stopped breathing, her parents' business and Bible study partners finally called 911. Her defense attorney, in response to his client being labeled a religious zealot who let her daughter die as a test of faith, stated "Religious extremism is a Muslim terrorist. They are saying these parents were so far off the scale that they murdered their child. The woman did everything she could to help her. That is the injustice in this case."

Injustice indeed! In trying to deflect away from his client and towards a different type of extremist, the defense missed the actual point. He could have just as easily turned inward to everyone in the courtroom. Chances are that most people in that courtroom, the accusers, the accused and the “peers”, believe in the same Bible that the Nuemanns’ and their friends put their faith in. So how could she possibly be found guilty? But since we live in a nation that runs on the law of man and not God, most people cherry pick which parts of the Bible to follow. If you go strictly by the Word, you may end up in jail. The desperate effort of the defense to deflect what their client was accused of to another religion makes one ask the question that most people do not ponder; why do we believe what we believe?

PROVE IT

Like Scully, I trust my partner but I “believe” in scientific empiricism not phenomenalism. Yet for 35 years I have invoked a phrase that provokes what I “believe” to be empirical phenomena. And for the last 10 years I have endeavored to take away anything that may be strictly subjective in order to find what may be termed as an authentic truth that transcends both the temporal and secular affairs and yet at the same time cannot exist outside of either. Sounds a lot like Kant. The truth is out there and in there. But what I believe needs to be based in common sense. For example, and sticking to a fictional theme which many people have “faith” in, I have no reason to believe that this planet has, within the span of time that humans have had a recorded history, been visited by extraterrestrials. There isn’t any solid evidence. It makes as much sense as the movie Signs; a species of life that has mastered time and space travel (but can’t get out of a locked closet) uses their technology to come to a planet two-thirds water (which is deadly to them) to eat us. It’s a lot of fun, but when all is said and done “It’s a cook book!” And yet some people believe, in spite of the lack of evidence or the face of evidence to the contrary. Believing in an anthropomorphic, metaphysical being who is both omniscient and omnipotent is what the term “FAITH” means in the Judeo/Christian culture I was raised into. But people will suspend their disbelief when they want to believe.

“Many today regard any kind of belief---and religious faith, in particular—as somehow in opposition to reason or at the very least as a sort of paralysis of the faculty of reason. There are, indeed, fanatical religions in which faith opposes reason. But it is an erroneous leap of logic to assume on this basis, and without any evidence, that all religions are so. That itself is irrational and can be characterize as a kind of blind faith in it’s own right.”
Daisaku Ikeda, The Wisdom Of The Lotus Sutra, Vol. II, Belief and Understanding.

Spoken like a man of religion in defense of religion. I couldn’t disagree more. And there is at the very least a couple of millennia worth of recorded evidence that every religion enables the suppression of reason through faith. Even Buddhism. Here's a question for the guest blog: can somebody still be my mentor if I disagree with him? Or maybe the question should be, can I still be a disciple? Will I be guilty of cherry picking? Will I survive the repercussions from from the other disciples? (Please note: the reason that I have read Kant, Spinoza, Kierkegaard, Augustine, Aquinas and more, is because Mr. Ikeda has quoted from their works more than once in a positive way in shedding light upon Buddhism. And I was curious as to why, they being bastions of Christianity. All of them have an affinity towards finding an ultimate "truth" which cannot be understood through reason alone. They were, as the Lotus Sutra states, looking for a single moment of belief and understanding in which faith and reason are inseparable yet cannot be reach through an intellectual process. They were perhaps trying to find their version of Ichinen Sanzen through an external faith in God. But, as Nichiren consistently points out, one needs the correct vehicle to put faith into. But Mr. Ikeda in no way excludes reason or wisdom when it comes to faith as you will read below. In fact, he and one of the worlds most active atheists, Richard Dawkins, who refers to "faith" as the root of all evil, find a point of convergence regarding Buddhism.)

THE CULT OF FALLING UP

Everyone I have ever met on good ole planet earth during my lifetime has experienced falling. And everyone has always fallen in the same direction: towards the earth. I have complete faith in my belief that if I stub my toe on an unseen crack in the driveway on the way to my mailbox, I will fall towards the earth. In fact, if I say, “I fell down” it’s redundant. And because I am resolute in my belief about the potential injury I may suffer, because my experience has never once proven otherwise, I have found myself, and the rest of humanity, going through extraordinary dance-like gyrations in order to remain upright in an effort to save us from the impact from the fall. Until recently I never understood the exact physics behind the why of what happens when the gravity of the mass of earth attracts the mass of my body. When I hit the earth, the electrons composing the molecules of my body mass and the electrons of the mass composing the earth repel each other showing that the electromagnetic force is even stronger than gravity. But that really didn’t matter to me growing up. I just knew after a few times that in falling, I scraped the skin off my knees and hands and it hurt. So I tried not to let that happen whenever possible. If I were to start a religion or a cult using other religions as a template, the first thing is to find something that the followers must suspend their disbelief about. The Cult Of Falling Up is based upon the premise that a true believer has faith that on judgment day everyone who is saved will fall up. I doubt that I will have many disciples accompany me to my rooftop to test their faith. Or maybe I will.

BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING

“Buddhism, the ‘religion of wisdom,’ is an extremely rational religion. In fact, it is so rational that many Westerners even question whether it can be classified as a religion, since it does not teach the existence of a supreme being in the image of humankind.”
Daisaku keda, The Wisdom Of The Lotus Sutra, Vol. II; Belief and Understanding.

“And I shall not be concerned with other religions such as Buddhism or Confucianism. Indeed, there is something to be said for treating these not as religions at all but as ethical systems or philosophies of life.”
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion; The God Hypothesis.

“In the beginning, we require some degree of trust to get past mistrust, suspicion, and cynicism. So we suspend skepticism; and give it an honest shot….Nichiren called this 以信代慧 {ishin daie} or substituting faith for wisdom. I think Nichiren stressed trust because distrust, suspicious doubt, and cynicism tend to disable us before we even start, or cause us to quit at the first bump in the road. Who has time to sort out all the competing claims? So people tend to put their trust is something, to anchor themselves. However,, Nichiren Shonin said people were trusting the wrong things; like an all knowing Sensei, government authorities, or secret transmissions. He concluded that the Lotus Sutra was the best place to anchor one's practice; the best source to trust. Moreover, he evidently thought Chapters two and sixteen provided the keys. I think one can do worse.” Robin http://mettasense.blogspot.com/2009/04/three-levels-of-faith.html

(Actually, in regarding re-defining faith, I think one can do better. But I encourage everyone to read in their entirety all the quotes from their original sources.)

“While looking at various texts, I noticed that there were a number of words being translated as faith. After a lot of back-translating, I came up with three main Sanskrit words; Shraddha, Prasada, and Adhimukti. This gets a bit convoluted, because different teachers and schools use these terms differently. Also, translation from Sanskrit to Chinese was a chaotic mess. So, keep in mind that I am oversimplifying for clarity. Shraddha 信 {shin} means to believe in, to trust. Yogarchara breaks this down into Cognitive Faith 信忍 {Shinin}, Emotive or Joyful Faith 信樂 {shingyo}, and Volitional Faith 善法欲 {zenbo yoku}. Prasada 信心 {shinjin} is a deep or profound faith, a heart felt conviction or trust. Note that Prasada has a lot of other translations, the most common appears to be 清浄 {shojo}; which is also a translation of vishuddha, a term that means spiritual purification. For present purposes, 信心 shinjin works. Adhimukti 信解 {shinge} translates as a faith based on understanding. Adhi means something like primordial or source. Mukti means liberation or emancipation and the translation, ge 解, means to unravel. Shin {trust}, shinjin {heart felt faith}, and shinge {faith with understanding] all have a shared meaning; while each has a distinct nuance.” Robin, Three Levels of Faith

The 4th chapter of the Lotus Sutra is translated as BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING, or in Sanskrit, Adhimukti. The bottom line of the metaphor it tells is that the son believes in and has faith in himself and in doing so gains what he had not sought nor coveted: a storehouse of treasure which comes to him of its own accord.

“These teachings are stated in the Lotus of Truth, and have been explained and elucidated by many a great master of the past; but they remain simply doctrines, so long as they are merely understood, and not personally experienced. Vain is all talk and discussion concerning existences and reality, unless the virtues of existence are realized in one’s own person.” Masaharu Anesaki, Nichiren the Buddhist Prophet, page 78.