Faith (saddha)
Faith (saddha/sraddha) is an important Buddha's teaching element in both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. The Sanskrit word sraddha is translated as faith; the original word has trust, perseverance, humility and steady effort connotations. In contrast to Western notions of faith, sraddha implies thorough reasoning and accumulated experience.
In the Kalama Sutra the Buddha explicitly argues against simply following authority or tradition, particularly those of religions contemporary to the Buddha's time.. There remains value for a degree of trusting confidence and belief in Buddhism, primarily in the spiritual attainment and salvation or enlightenment through the Buddha's wisdom. Faith in Buddhism centres on belief in the Three Jewels.
Read more about this topic: Refuge (Buddhism)
Famous quotes containing the word faith:
“We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.”
—Bible: New Testament, Galatians 2:15-16.