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:
“It has come to this, that the friends of liberty, the friends of the slave, have shuddered when they have understood that his fate was left to the legal tribunals of the country to be decided. Free men have no faith that justice will be awarded in such a case.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)