Now let us take a comparative look at some of the qualities
related to Buddhism, science and other religions, beginning with
faith.
Most religions use emotion as the driving force for attaining their
goals. Emotion arouses belief and obedience to the teachings, and
emotions, particularly those that produce faith, are a necessary
part of most religions. In other words, because faith is so crucial
to them, emotion is encouraged. In contrast to other religions,
Buddhism stresses wisdom, giving faith a place of importance only
in the initial stages. Even then, faith is used with reservation,
as wisdom is considered to be the prime factor in attaining the
goal.
In order to clearly understand faith, it helps to analyze it into
different kinds. Generally speaking, faith can be divided into two
main kinds:
The first kind of faith is that which obstructs wisdom. It relies
on inciting, or even enforcing, belief, and such belief must be
complete and unquestioning. To doubt the teaching is forbidden,
only unquestioning obedience is allowed. This kind of faith does
not allow any room for wisdom to develop. Faith in most religions
is of this variety. There must be belief and there must be
obedience. Whatever the religion says must go, no questions asked.
This feature of religion is known as dogma, the doctrine that is
unquestionable, characterized by adherence in the face of
reason.
The second kind of faith is a channel for wisdom. It stimulates
curiosity and is the incentive for learning. In this world there
are so many things to learn about; without faith we have no
starting point or direction in which to set our learning, but when
faith arises, be it in a person or a teaching, we have that
direction. Faith, particularly in a person, awakens our interest
and encourages us to approach the object of that interest. Having
faith in the order of monks, for example, encourages us to approach
them and learn from them, to gain a clearer understanding of the
teachings.
An example of this kind of faith can be seen in the life story of
Shariputra, the Buddha's foremost disciple. He became interested in
the teachings of the Buddha through seeing the monk Assaji walking
on alms round. Being impressed by the monk's bearing, which
suggested some special quality, some special knowledge or spiritual
attainment, he approached Assaji and asked for a teaching. This is
a good example of the second kind of faith.
The second kind of faith is a positive influence, an incentive for
learning. It also gives a point of focus for that learning.
Energies are motivated in whatever direction faith inclines. A
scientist, for example, having the faith in a particular
hypothesis, will direct his enquiry specifically in that direction,
and will not be distracted by irrelevant data.
These two kinds of faith must be clearly distinguished. The faith
that functions in Buddhism is the faith, which leads to wisdom, and
as such is secondary to wisdom. Buddhism is a religion free of
dogma.
The second kind of faith is found in both Buddhism and science. It
has three important functions in relation to wisdom:
1. It gives rise to interest and is the incentive to begin
learning.
2. It provides the energy needed in the pursuit of that
learning.
3. It gives direction or focus to that energy.
Apart from these main functions, well-directed faith has a number
of further characteristics, which can be shown in the Buddhist
system of practice. The goal of Buddhism is liberation,
transcendence, or freedom. Buddhism wants human beings to be free,
to transcend defilements and suffering. This freedom must be
attained through wisdom, understanding of the truth, or the law of
nature. This truth is as equally attainable by the disciples as it
was by the Teacher, and their knowledge is independent of him. The
Buddha once asked Shariputra, "Do you believe what I have been
explaining to you?" Shariputra answered, "Yes, I see that it is
so." The Buddha asked him, "Are you saying this just out of faith
in me?" Shariputra answered, "No, I answered in agreement not
because of faith in the Blessed One, but because I clearly see for
myself that it is so." [Pubbakotthaka Sutta, Saim. S.V. 220]
This is another of Buddhism's principles. The Buddha did not want
people to simply believe him or attach to him. He pointed out the
fault of faith in others, because he wanted people to be free. This
liberation, or freedom, the goal of Buddhism, is attained through
wisdom, through knowledge of reality.
But how is wisdom to arise? For most people, faith is an
indispensable stepping-stone in the development of wisdom. (For
clear thinkers, those who have what is known as yoniso manasikara,
[1] the need for faith may be greatly reduced.)
In order to attain liberation it is necessary to develop wisdom,
and that development is in turn dependent on faith. This gives us
three stages connected like links in a chain:
Faith leads to Wisdom leads to Liberation
Faith is the initiator of the journey to truth, which in turn leads
to wisdom, which in turn leads to liberation. This model of
conditions is the defining constraint on faith in Buddhism. Because
faith is related to both wisdom and liberation, it has two
characteristics:
1. It leads to wisdom.
2. It is coupled with, and leads to, liberation.
Faith in Buddhism does not forbid questions or doubts, nor demand
belief or unquestioning committal in any way. Both Buddhism and
science use faith as a stepping-stone on the journey to truth. Now
the question arises, what kind of faith is it, which leads to
wisdom? It is the belief that this universe, or the world of
nature, functions according to constant and invariable laws, and
these laws are accessible to man's understanding. This faith is the
impetus for the search for truth, but because faith in itself is
incapable of leading directly to the truth, it must be used to
further develop wisdom. At this stage the faith of Buddhism and the
faith of science look very similar. Both have a belief in the laws
of nature, and both strive to know the truth of these laws through
wisdom. However, the similarity ends here. From this point on, the
faith of Buddhism and the faith of science part their ways.
I have said that the source of both religion and science is the
awareness of problems in life, the dangers of the natural world. In
search of a remedy for this problem, human beings looked on the
natural environment with trepidation and wonder. These two kinds of
feeling led to both the desire for a way out of danger, and the
desire to know the truth of nature. From this common origin,
religion and science part their ways. Science, in particular,
confines its research exclusively to external, physical phenomena.
Science does not include mankind in its picture of the universe,
except in a very limited, biological sense. In other words, science
does not consider the universe as including mankind, and does not
look at mankind as encompassing the whole of the universe.
Looking at nature in this way, science has only one object for its
faith, and that is the physical universe -- the faith that nature
has fixed laws. In brief we could call this "faith in
nature."
But the objective of Buddhism is to solve the problem of human
suffering, which arises from both internal and external conditions,
with an emphasis on the world of human behavior. At the same time,
Buddhism sees this process as a natural one. For this reason,
Buddhism, like science, has faith in nature, but this faith also
includes human beings, because human beings are a part of nature,
and they encompass the whole of nature within themselves.
To be continue in the link:
http://www.buddhistinformation.com/role_of_faith_in_science_and_bud.htm
The Role of Faith in Science and Buddhism
By Bhikkhu P.A. Payutto
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