"Faith, faith,..." they say. But what is meant by "faith"?

RJM Corbet said:
I find it all in Proverbs 3: 5-7 in the Bible:

'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord and depart from evil.'

Faith.
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Corbet, strong "love" and devotion for the teacher is needed for every skill to learn. Maybe "for a skill to learn" already hints to the main different to all other religions, since noboby can help others aside themselves.

It's a little hard here to write, first the many javas and my persons low internet connection, secound mostly not so welcoming enviroment and currently "struggling" with rain-seasons virus and fever, so merely weak and have to go for alms soon. Maybe later (forgot the errors...) later, you and others are how ever always invited on sangham.net , online monastery, anyway.

Maybe some other places where respect is very needed in addition:

http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.031.than_en.html said:
Then a certain devata, in the far extreme of the night, her extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Jeta's Grove, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, she stood to one side. As she was standing there, she said to the Blessed One, "These seven qualities, lord, lead to a monk's non-decline. Which seven? Respect for the teacher, respect for the Dhamma, respect for the Sangha, respect for training, respect for concentration, respect for heedfulness, respect for hospitality. These seven qualities, lord, lead to the non-decline of a monk."

http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.032.than_en.html
respect for shame, respect for compunction

http://zugangzureinsicht.org/html/tipitaka/an/an07/an07.034.than_en.html
There is the case where a monk himself has admirable friends. He speaks in praise of having admirable friends. With regard to those other monks who don't have admirable friends, he gets them to undertake admirable friendship. As for those other monks who do have admirable friends, he at the proper times speaks in praise of them — truly, accurately.
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How ever, it not so that all those faiths get no prove. Step by step those are replaced by seeing and knowing, become wisdom after having done the tasks.

Let my person stop here for now, Crobet, Steve and others interested.
 
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Samana Johann said:
Corbet, strong "love" and devotion for the teacher is needed for every skill to learn. Maybe "for a skill to learn" already hints to the main different to all other religions, since noboby can help others aside themselves.

It's a little hard here to write, first the many javas and my persons low internet connection, secound mostly not so welcoming enviroment and currently "struggling" with rain-seasons virus and fever, so merely weak and have to go for alms soon. Maybe later (forgot the errors...) later, you and others are how ever always invited on sangham.net , online monastery, anyway.

Maybe some other places where respect is very needed in addition:



How ever, it not so that all those faiths get no prove. Step by step those are replaced by seeing and knowing, become wisdom after having done the tasks.

Let my person stop here for now, Crobet, Steve and others interested.
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Thank you. You sure do not have an easy life, Samana.

... strong "love" and devotion for the teacher is needed for every skill to learn. Maybe "for a skill to learn" already hints to the main different to all other religions, since noboby can help others aside themselves.

I do agree that total dependence on God is something that has to be learned. All other dependencies and 'attachments' must take second place. So I have heard it said that: 'Those whom God loves most, he takes away from them everything.'

Christ is the teacher, the guru. It all comes around to: just let God take over completely?


I do like this statement, from the website:
'Unlike the scriptures of many of the world's great religions, the Tipitaka is not regarded as gospel, as an unassailable statement of divine truth, revealed by a prophet, to be accepted purely on faith. Instead, its teachings are meant to be assessed firsthand, to be put into practice in one's life so that one can find out for oneself if they do, in fact, yield the promised results. It is the truth towards which the words in the Tipitaka point that ultimately matters, not the words themselves.'

I'm also in a rush this morning, using the library computer, instead of my phone, hence the cut-and-paste and colour highlights on this post.

Best regards, and good luck with your alms collection ...



 
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I'm sorry to hear you are sick and hope you feel better soon
 
Samana Johann said:
It's a little hard here to write, first the many javas and my persons low internet connection, secound mostly not so welcoming enviroment and currently "struggling" with rain-seasons virus and fever, so merely weak and have to go for alms soon
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A tad confused... Hard to write? Your persons problems manifest with you? Fever, virus, I would think they would all feel simply like slow internet connections to the one not in the body.
 
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As Wil likes to think, as some think that circumstances reflect ones mind, being attached to form, taking it as real. There are those who are at peace even if very sick, "punished" or dying, while the most are not even a little at peace yet just enjoying away their old merits, drunken in youth, health and life.

Crobet, just remebered having uploaded a nice general talk an faith in practice. You, and those interested are welcome to download the about 11min talk by Bhante (Ven. Sir) Thanissaro: [En] Faith, by Bhante Thanissaro
 
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RJM Corbet said:
Thank you. You sure do not have an easy life, Samana.
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Actually, if having less wishes and a strong fundation in faith, unshakeable, it's not at all burdensome but at ease. Less are there, very less, but actually possible for many.
For now have to walk for another days food supply, giving others chances to rejoices in faith with it and making merits.
(Note, things are expressed here because you would not be able to see and really not to make anybody feel sorrow or worried. Everything fine and not for sure.)
 
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Samana Johann said:
"Faith, faith,..." they say. But what is meant by "faith" What is a person of faith??
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From the Writings of the Bab we have:

I have used as an example the highest declaration, upon which the faith of all men depends. The beginning of faith is confirmed through its utterance, and all speak it at the moment of death and finally reurn to it. Wherefore, the reflections of the mirrors return only to that in which they had their origin. If the mirror should remove that portion of the sun's reflection that lies within it, it will return to it [the sun], for that is where it had its inception. Both its return and its going back exist in nothing but the limitation imposed upon it by being nothing more than a mirror.

(Provisional Translations, Persian Bayan (Partial Trans))

Also Abdul-Baha defined faith as "conscious knowledge"...

By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 382)
 
What I still don't understand is your talking about your person. As if it is not your person typing. But then you reference being sick, and it being hard to write.... Not hard for your person to write for you...but hard for you?
 
arthra said:
... By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Baha'i World Faith - Abdu'l-Baha Section, p. 382)
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And it keeps coming back to the same thing: first honour/sacrifice to God, then do charity. But first seek God?

'Love/fear God, and love thy neighbour as thyself,' said Jesus.
 
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Samana Johann said:
Actually, if having less wishes and a strong fundation in faith, unshakeable, it's not at all burdensome but at ease. Less are there, very less, but actually possible for many.
...
(Note, things are expressed here because you would not be able to see and really not to make anybody feel sorrow or worried. Everything fine and not for sure.)
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Good. Blessing and best wishes
 
Not like the Benedictine monastery nearby with catered kitchen, central heating, monastery cars, three meals a day, cleaners and gardeners, and repairmen, etc. Definitely no uncertaity/survival anxiety in that sense. The opposite is true: complete certainty and repetition is the life.

However, they are mostly very old men. Very old and not strong. Not many new vocations.

Up at dawn in the Abbey church for vigil prayers, five other prayer sessions during the day, until final compline night prayer 9pm. Communal meals in silence. Comminsl bathroom, toilets. No privacy. 16hour day. Day after day, year after year. Some have been there for 60 years and more. In the same place ...
 
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RJM Corbet said:
No privacy. 16hour day. Day after day, year after year. Some have been there for 60 years and more. In the same place ...
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Some think the monastic life is evading the world. I think nothing faces it so head-on.
 
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"Faith, faith, they say but what is faith?"
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Well, if we go according to Paul, according to II Corinthians 5:7, he said that Christians are supposed to walk by faith, not by sight. By juxtaposing faith with sight, obviously, to walk by sight is to walk with understanding of the knowledge we are walking for. On the other hand, to walk by faith, one has agreed to walk in the dark while probably leaving the understanding with him, Paul. Probably, the master did not like wise guys around him.
 
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Maybe useful in this regard as well

Faith In Awakening

...To get to the bull elephant, you have to do what the Buddha's disciple Sariputta did. He kept following the path, without jumping to dishonest conclusions, until he saw the elephant within. Then, when the Buddha asked him, "Do you take it on faith that these five strengths — faith, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment — lead to the deathless," Sariputta could answer honestly, "No, I don't take it on faith. I know."
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