While looking at various texts, I noticed that there were a number of words being translated as faith. After a lot of back-translating, I came up with three main Sanskrit words; Shraddha, Prasada, and Adhimukti. This gets a bit convoluted, because different teachers and schools use these terms differently. Also, translation from Sanskrit to Chinese was a chaotic mess. So, keep in mind that I am oversimplifying for clarity.
Shraddha 信 {shin} means to believe in, to trust. Yogarchara breaks this down into Cognitive Faith 信忍 {Shinin}, Emotive or Joyful Faith 信樂 {shingyo}, and Volitional Faith 善法欲 {zenbo yoku}. Prasada 信心 {shinjin} is a deep or profound faith, a heart felt conviction or trust. Note that Prasada has a lot of other translations, the most common appears to be 清浄 {shojo}; which is also a translation of vishuddha, a term that means spiritual purification. For present purposes, 信心 shinjin works. Adhimukti 信解 {shinge} translates as a faith based on understanding. Adhi means something like primordial or source. Mukti means liberation or emancipation and the translation, ge 解, means to unravel. Shin {trust}, shinjin {heart felt faith}, and shinge {faith with understanding] all have a shared meaning; while each has a distinct nuance.
Most of us have heard the "poisoned arrow" parable from the Culamalunkya Sutta:
Most of us have heard the "poisoned arrow" parable from the Culamalunkya Sutta:
Suppose Malunkyaputta, a man is wounded by a
poisoned arrow, and his friends and relatives bring him a
physician. Suppose the man then says to the physician, "I will not
allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned who shot me: the age,
the occupation, the birthplace, and the motivation of the person who wounded
me. I will not allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned the kind of bow
with which I was shot, the type of bowstring used, the type of arrow, what sort of
feather was used on the arrow, and with what kind of material the point of the
arrow was made." That man would die before having learned all this. In
exactly the same way, anyone who should say, 'I will not follow
the teaching of the Buddha until the Buddha has explained all the
multiform truths of the world' - that person would die
before the Buddha had explained all this."
poisoned arrow, and his friends and relatives bring him a
physician. Suppose the man then says to the physician, "I will not
allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned who shot me: the age,
the occupation, the birthplace, and the motivation of the person who wounded
me. I will not allow you to remove this arrow until I have learned the kind of bow
with which I was shot, the type of bowstring used, the type of arrow, what sort of
feather was used on the arrow, and with what kind of material the point of the
arrow was made." That man would die before having learned all this. In
exactly the same way, anyone who should say, 'I will not follow
the teaching of the Buddha until the Buddha has explained all the
multiform truths of the world' - that person would die
before the Buddha had explained all this."
In the beginning, we require some degree of trust to get past mistrust, suspicion, and cynicism. So we suspend skepticism; and give it an honest shot. We need to remove the arrow. Nichiren called this 以信代慧 {ishin daie} or substituting faith for wisdom. I think Nichiren stressed trust because distrust, suspicious doubt, and cynicism tend to disable us before we even start, or cause us to quit at the first bump in the road. Who has time to sort out all the competing claims? So people tend to put their trust is something, to anchor themselves. However,, Nichiren Shonin said people were trusting the wrong things; like an all knowing Sensei, government authorities, or secret transmissions. He concluded that the Lotus Sutra was the best place to anchor one's practice; the best source to trust. Moreover, he evidently thought Chapters two and sixteen provided the keys. I think one can do worse.
Whereas suspicion, mistrust, and cynicism are far enemies of trust; there is also the near enemy of gullibility. I do not know the Buddhist words for gullible, sucker, or con-man. However, the Buddha clearly warned about blind faith in the Kalama Sutta. Prasada or shinjin is a deeper level of faith. Pramoda or Fortune 歡喜 {kanki}, Purity, 清浄 {shojo}, and Joyful Faith 信樂 {shingyo} pretty much connote the same thing. It is a level of faith and conviction where we pour our heart and soul into it. This can be a good thing, but is Fraught with Peril, like a double edged sword. Whenever I hear about 'pure faith' it triggers my BS meter. Too often, this can and does lead to intolerance and bigotry. There is some thinking that expecting any kind of evidence or proof somehow equals doubt, suspicion, mistrust, or disloyalty. The SGI says members should not ask for financial disclosure; because this implies mistrust of the leaders. "Who is right" has trumped "what is right."
Whereas suspicion, mistrust, and cynicism are far enemies of trust; there is also the near enemy of gullibility. I do not know the Buddhist words for gullible, sucker, or con-man. However, the Buddha clearly warned about blind faith in the Kalama Sutta. Prasada or shinjin is a deeper level of faith. Pramoda or Fortune 歡喜 {kanki}, Purity, 清浄 {shojo}, and Joyful Faith 信樂 {shingyo} pretty much connote the same thing. It is a level of faith and conviction where we pour our heart and soul into it. This can be a good thing, but is Fraught with Peril, like a double edged sword. Whenever I hear about 'pure faith' it triggers my BS meter. Too often, this can and does lead to intolerance and bigotry. There is some thinking that expecting any kind of evidence or proof somehow equals doubt, suspicion, mistrust, or disloyalty. The SGI says members should not ask for financial disclosure; because this implies mistrust of the leaders. "Who is right" has trumped "what is right."
Some say we do not need to know what the Lotus Sutra means. To want to know is seen as mistrust; a lack of faith. Others say we should not chant any other mantras; that would be disloyal. Critical thinking or discernment is seen as an enemy of faith. Anti-intellectualism is conflated with faith. It also becomes thinkable to launch smear campaigns against competing 'faiths;' in order to discredit them; to inspire distrust of them. So heart felt faith can spiral downward into its own 'enemies' of fear, superstition, intolerance, and bigotry. That is where the third level, Faith with Understanding, enters. The sanskrit words literally mean primordial {adhi} and liberation or emancipation {mukti}. The sino-japanese translation means trust 信 {shin} with objective understanding or intellectual clarity 解 {ge}. By definition, discernment {prajna} is required to reach this mature level of faith.
While cynical doubt is never healthy; I think healthy skepticism is really a prerequisite for 'Faith with Clarity.' Self deception, immature understanding, and attachment to fixed views are enemies of clarity. So it then perhaps becomes necessary to honestly reexamine and challenge our beliefs, assumptions, and conceptions. I suspect this is the real meaning of "honestly discarding the provisional." Faith, in the sense of a tentative trust and and open mind, is a prerequisite to over come suspicion, biased skepticism, and cynicism. Emotive Faith is a double edged sword that can and does lead to excessive attachment to views and bigotry. Faith with Understanding overcomes bigotry and leads to a mature confidence that can tolerate ambiguity and allow one to honestly deal with doubts. Faith, Practice, and Study. 信行学 {shin-gyo-gaku} ties in with this. Faith, in the beginning is trust, in the sense that an infant trusts its parents. Practice leads to the deeper; but sort of immature, level of heart felt confidence. However, for a fully matured faith and real emancipation, objective study is needed.
