A matter of faith

[Positive Change]

What you say here is very appealing and applicable to Life. I have many friends who do not have a specific religion. They call themselves Atheists and they preach to be good and not kill or lie, and do not hurt people.

As much as I can understand that "it is possible to practice Dharma without the faith as defined by a religious system because Dharma is correct conduct eg kindness, generosity, patience etc that can be practised by anyone and they don't have to be under the umbrella of a religious system." 

My question is: Is that enough to generate positive Karma? I understand that we are from previous lives and mindstreams which carry with it the negative and positive Karma into this current life. Is it enough to purify our previous negative karma just to be dormant and be good? How about doing more to accumulate positive Karma in this life?
And if yes we need to do more, then I ask would not it be good that we are part of a religious system in order to do more to benefit others beyond our limitations?

Dear Diamond Girl,

I have often wondered and pondered upon the very question you posed above. I may not have THE answer but I believe in sharing what I think works for me may work for someone else. After all, we are all on our spiritual path or journey of discovery and learning!!!

Here is how I see it... It really is not a good thing in the long run to just be dormant and think we do not harm others and do some good we are fine. Perhaps we are in this lifetime based upon our accumulated good merits from our previous lives which "presents" us with a relatively good life in the present.

Imagine your bank account as your merit bank. And with each lifetime you withdraw from that merit bank which in turns equals good karma... what happens when that merit bank reaches zero or below? Well that is when we experience the opening of bad karma. But then again it does not mean bad karma does not happen when our merit bank is in a healthy "balance". It does too but one can "cushion" the fall by using up more from the merit bank. Hence it is crucial that the merit bank is kept at an optimum balance so to speak.

We need to keep depositing good merits in the bank in order for us to ensure we have continuous ability to "withdraw". And when we reach a "bank balance" of enumerable merits we do not need to worry about the withdrawals as at this point the "interest" is exponential and the balance goes up regardles... Thats how I delude my own deluded mind into thinking in its own realm!!!

[buddhalovely]

The question naturally arises, "faith in what exactly?" I would like to suggest three things we ought to have faith in. Looking at this question strictly from the practical viewpoint of progress in meditation, the yogi must first of all have faith in the practice. Without this confidence, you will get nowhere. In an actual retreat situation this also implies faith in the teacher and his instructions. If you can't feel complete confidence in the teacher, then find another teacher. You won't get anywhere if you question the meditation instructions all the time. For the duration of the retreat, just surrender and do it.

It shouldn't need to be pointed out that faith in the teacher is not guru worship, which has no place in Theravada Buddhism. Faith here is not a helpless dependence on another, nor is a blind belief that the teacher is flawless. It is, or ought to be, a feeling of trust and confidence in the Dhamma presented by the teacher, as something valuable and worth heeding. During a practice session, it should be the courage and discipline to follow the instructions instead of the whisperings of monkey mind.

[RedLantern]

Depending in the religion faith is belief in a god or gods or in the doctrines or teachings of the religion informal usage can be quite bad,including trust or belief without proof.
In religion's view,faith and knowledge are both required for spiritual growth.It involves more than outward obedience to this authority,but also must be based on a deep personal understanding of religious teachings While faith in Buddhism does not imply 'blind' faith.Buddhist faith nonetheless requires a degree of faith and  belief,primarily in the spiritual attainment of Gautama Buddha.

[Dondrup Shugden]

It is important to have faith when we start on anything.  Whether spiritual or secular, faith must be there for us to pursue the goal.

In secular matters, we must have faith to preserve and work hard to achieve our goals and the most important faith is the believe in self.

As such if we have faith in what Shakymuni Buddha said that we all have Buddha nature, then do we have the courage to let go of our attachments, study and pursue the path to enlightment.