(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Koan of Faith and Doubt [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-02 Many Christians make a great production of faith in the unknowable. This is not what faith means in Buddhism. We must bring forth faith in the evidence of those who have passed through Mumon’s Doorless Gate into selflessness and the rest of what makes no sense to the deluded. At the same time we must deepen our practice and raise the great doubt that leads to real awakening. Shakyamuni Buddha’s great doubt was about the nature of birth, old age, disease, and death. Dogen Zenji’s was why training is necessary given that we all are of the same Buddha Nature. But they persisted. Several koans have the form It does you no good to say so if you don’t know why it is so. You must find your own doubt, and you must pass through it. The Five Roots of Training First, the root of faith in the Dharma Second, the root of zealous spiritual endeavor Third, the root of mindfulness Fourth, the root of concentration Fifth, the root of wise discernment Keep in mind that the root of faith in the Dharma is beyond self, beyond other, beyond any forcing of oneself, beyond anything contrived, beyond anything others have hauled up in their minds, beyond any objective rules or standards, and therefore it was Transmitted, unseen, from West to East. What we call ‘faith’ is a faith that is forged with one’s whole being. It is invariably following where faith goes from the perspective of Buddhahood, which is following our Self where It goes. Were it not based upon the perspective of Buddhahood, there would be no manifestation of faith. This is why it is said that we can enter the great ocean of Buddha Dharma by means of our faith. In sum, the place where faith manifests is the place where Buddhas and Ancestors appear. Dogen Zenji, Shobogenzo We begin by hearing some part of the Dharma, the words of the Buddha, from some member of the Sangha. So the first level of faith is I take refuge in Buddha/Dharma/Sangha or Homage to Buddha/Dharma/Sangha These first words are likely to be about the Four Noble Truths, or possibly about faith in Amitabha Buddha (Pure Land) or the Lotus Sutra (Nichiren). Each of these is skill in means to attract people to what cannot be explained directly, but can be penetrated by straightening out your life and fixing your mind on the offered key. I originally came from the West to save all sentient beings. Bodhidharma Thus the koan Why did Bodhidharma come from the West? as a target of both faith and doubt. The Lotus Sutra tells us about Buddha Nature. So Does a dog (one who rejects karma as applied to himself) have the Buddha Nature? No such thing. If we are all of the same nature as Buddhas, This mind is Buddha. then Why do we need to train? Just train. Let go of body and mind. We must learn to be unselfish. Who or what are we then, if not a self? We must give up the opposites. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/2/2243784/-The-Koan-of-Faith-and-Doubt?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/