[Buddha-l] beliefs

[Peter D. Junger]

Erik Hoogcarspel writes:

: Fort, Andrew schreef:
: 
: >One of Richard's posts reminded me how perplexing I find it, when I really r
: eflect, to understand what someone means when they say they "believe" or "bel
: ieve in" something.  The meanings are so multivalent and elusive.  But now, a
: s they say, I believe I'll have a sandwich.  Andy Fort
: >  
: >
: 
: This is a tough one indeed. I'll give you my two cents, just to get some 
: clarity myself. Sartre once wrote that belief includes an aspect of 
: uncertainty, but this only holds for facts. When someone asks me if it 
: will rain tomorrow, I can answer: 'I believe so'. If someone asks me if 
: I really love her, this is not the kind of answere that makes her happy. 
: But when I say 'I believe in you' or 'I believe in the Lord' this 
: element of uncertainty is suddenly positive. Appearantly because the 
: uncertainty is taken for granted. Belief in this way becomes a token of 
: solidarity and an indication of loyalty. If it's solidated we call it 
: 'faith'. This is a loyalty which I cannot change,  which is tied up with 
: my very existence. This loyalty is supposed to include the conviction 
: that the person in question is a good person. But it's also a loyalty to 
: the group of cobelievers and becomes a form of tribalism. Related to 
: faith is devotion, which is a kind of submissiveness. A puja is a series 
: of signs of devotion, it creates an atmosphere of protective and benign 
: power. Signs of faith create a sphere of togetherness, like in a 
: pentecostal church. Faith can in monotheïstic religions also create a 
: more tribal feeling of solidarity with other brothers and sisters of the 
: virtual tribe.

Many, many, many years ago, in a class on British Empiricism, Henry
Aiken told us that he thought that belief in God was like belief
in Democracy and that it had nothing to do with facts.

--
Peter D. Junger--Case Western Reserve University Law School--Cleveland, OH
 EMAIL: junger at samsara.law.cwru.edu    URL:  http://samsara.law.cwru.edu