[Buddha-l] Re: Mahayana taught by the Buddha?

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Tue, 2005-06-21 at 14:02 +1200, Andrew Ward wrote:

> >The problem I see in this way of looking at things is that if you don't
> >have the necessary understanding of a teaching, there is no way you can
> >follow it anyway. Faith will not come to your aid, because faith itself
> >is generated by seeing that a teaching is working, and a teaching works
> >  
> >
> I thought that was proof, not faith.

What I am describing is what it Buddhism is called śraddhā, which some
people translate as faith. In a sense, it is a bit like faith, as when
we say "I have faith in your ability to get a good grade in calculus."
Obviously, one doesn't have blind faith in someone to do a good job.
Rather, one has reason to believe, based on past experience, that the
person will do a good job. That is exactly what śraddhā is. One has
confidence, based on one's past experiences, that certain practices will
lead to good results. Since life is uncertain, one can never be
absolutely sure that what has worked before will work again, but at
least one has good reason to place one's bets on continuing to do what
has worked well before. That is śraddhā. It is quite different from the
theological virtue of faith as it is defined in mainstream Christianity,
which sees faith as a grace that no one can cultivate without divine
aid. As I understand it, śraddhā is a middle path between the extremes
of Christian faith and mathematical proof. It is more like what Stephen
Toulmin calls a justified warrant to believe, rather like the confidence
a jury has in evidence presented in a court trial.

> Someone may be selfish and unhappy. However it might not be clear to 
> them that the cause of their unhappiness is selfishness. In this case 
> they may follow the teaching of altruism in blind faith and once they 
> achieve happiness they have proof that the cause of the unhappiness was 
> selfishness.

I don't think one ever has proof. Rather, as I said above, one has
reason to continue doing what turns out to work. What drives us to try a
new strategy is more akin to desperation guided by blind luck than to
blind faith.

-- 
Richard Hayes
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes