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Faith, or belief, and reason are
commonly seen as being fundamentally in opposition to each
other. Many people regard any kind of belief--and religious
belief in particular--as some sort of paralysis of the faculty
of reason, an intellectual crutch. Currently, however, this
presumption of a sharp opposition between belief and reason,
which has been the hallmark of modern thought, is being
reexamined.
Twentieth-century philosophers such as Ludwig Wittgenstein and
José Ortega y Gasset have pointed out that each of us lives,
acts and thinks within a system of beliefs that is largely
unconscious but without which we would be incapable of any
thought or action. "Our beliefs are already operating in
the depths of our lives when we begin to think
something," writes Ortega y Gasset. Reason, in this
sense, is founded on belief. If belief is the foundation of
life, we don't really have a choice of whether to
believe or not. We can choose, however, what to
believe, what the substance of our faith will be.
Within the Buddhist tradition, the relationship between faith
and reason has been the subject of sustained inquiry since
ancient times. While this tradition has always held that the
Buddha's enlightenment cannot be grasped or expressed in its
entirety by reason or language, Buddhism has consistently held
that reason and language should be highly valued.
While the Buddha's enlightenment may transcend the realm of
reason, it is not irrational, nor does it resist rational
examination. Faith in the Buddha's teaching is in fact the
basis for a mode of intellectual examination which enlists not
only analytical capacities but also seeks to develop the
intuitive wisdom found in the deepest spiritual strata of the
human being. Learning and knowledge can serve as the portal to
wisdom; but it is wisdom that enables us to use knowledge in
the most humane and valuable way. The confusion of knowledge
and wisdom, arguably, is at the root of our societal
distortions.
Nichiren likewise developed and presented his teachings very
rationally. He is well known for his scholarship and his
willingness to debate. Many of his important writings take the
form of a dialectic question and answer in which doubts are
presented, responded to and resolved.
Sraddha, prasada and adhimukti are three
Sanskrit terms translated in the Lotus Sutra as
"faith" or "belief." Sraddha,
defined as the first stage of Buddhist practice, means
"to arouse faith" and also "to possess
curiosity about." The term thus includes the meaning of a
sense of awe or wonder that seems to be at the root of all
religious sentiment.
Prasada expresses the idea of purity and clarity. It
could be said that, from the perspective of Buddhism, the
proper purpose of faith is to cleanse the mind in order to
enable our inherent wisdom to shine forth.
Adhimukti literally means intent, that is, the
orientation of one's mind or will. This is the mental attitude
of deepening one's understanding, cultivating and polishing
one's life toward perfecting the sublime state of prasada.
Faith thus purifies reason, strengthens it and elevates it and
is an engine for continuous self-improvement. Daisaku
Ikeda has defined faith as "an open, seeking mind, a pure
heart and a flexible spirit."
The above terms can be contrasted with bhakti, another
Sanskrit term for faith. Bhakti, originally meaning
"to become part of," is a faith associated with a
practice of surrender to--and unification with--a transcendent
deity. This term is seldom, if ever, used in Buddhist texts.
The modern age seems convinced that intellect is an
independent faculty, operating independently from feeling or
belief. Yet it is becoming clearer that many trends, such as
efforts to exert technological mastery over nature, rest on
highly subjective beliefs or value judgements.
What is called for now is new unification of belief and reason
encompassing all aspects of the human being and society,
including the insights achieved by modern science. This must
be an attempt to restore wholeness to human society, which has
been rent asunder by extremes of reason artificially divorced
from belief and irrational religious fanaticism.
This synthesis must grow from a dialogue based on mutual
respect. Both sides must approach this dialogue, not with the
desire to establish dominion over the other, but with a spirit
of learning, of mining deeper and richer veins of truth. This
will only be possible if all participants keep firmly in view
the goal of human happiness. Does a particular position,
approach or belief advance the human condition, or does it
drive it back? Only on this basis can a dialogue between faith
and reason produce true and lasting value for humankind.
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