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Beliefs
Bunks
Australia Veteran
Are worthless...
You either know something or you don't.
I don't know much.
You either know something or you don't.
I don't know much.
1
Comments
The question of beliefs covers what is knowable. Quite a lot to experience on the internal path of knowing . . .
Saying that beliefs are worth much also overstates the case.
The problem with beliefs is that they exist in or rely on the past while human beings live in the present. Because of this, belief's most nourishing attribute is that it emphasizes and underlines doubt, and that doubt, with a little luck, will inspire an action or series of actions that will lead to experience. Experience trumps belief and erases doubt.
When I asked my Zen teacher about hope and belief, he observed that "For the first four or five years [of practice], belief and hope are necessary. After that, they are not so necessary." After four or five years, in his view, there is enough experience so that relying on what is unreliable becomes less sensible.
For example all beings are my kind mothers is a correct belief because not only does this correct belief generate a mind of affection and loving kindness to sentient beings if you trust Buddha's insights that Samsara is a beginingless cycle of uncontrolled rebirth and death which is a correct view according to Buddha and Dharma.
I firmly believe that I cannot know anything for sure without empirical evidence, for one. So I keep an open mind.
In Buddhism we have faith in the practice and as we begin to know the benefits our 'faith' or belief in its efficacy is backed up . . .
So we increase in 'faith'.
without becoming attached to them.
None of them hold up in the light of absolute reality.
The thinking is part of our practice, like being mindful and keeping basic precepts and doing our meditation. But that thinking doesn’t lead us to knowledge. The thinking is part of a process of deconstructing conventional views until we reach a critical point where we stop; not just stop thinking but really stop; and we touch upon something – we have a glimpse of the Ox.
When we had such a glimpse or kensho, it resonates in our body and mind but we still don’t have any conventional view that covers it.
(IMHO)
I just watched a Q&A session by Kevin Smith discussing his most recent movie Red State. Red State is a horror movie based on fanatic religious cults and very inspired by the Phelps family of the Westboro Baptist Church (the "God Hates Fags" people). Kevin Smith discusses his crazy experiences with the Phelps and it's amazing how far beliefs can remove someone from reality. This is one aspect of belief.
But then, in the same segment, he goes on to discuss how important it is to have belief in yourself to succeed... how important it is to surround yourself with people who ask "Why not?" instead of "Why?". This is another aspect of belief.
Of course we all have beliefs, just like we all have emotions and desires and perceptions. Beliefs are a set of assumptions on how the world works. Ideally, those beliefs should accurately reflect the reality of the world. If exposed to information or experience that conflicts with our assumptions of what's true and false, we should change our beliefs. Why would we want to believe something that isn't true? That way leads to suffering for us and everyone.
But our conscious ego doesn't want to admit we were wrong about something. Instead of seeing beliefs as assumptions subject to change, we insist our beliefs are sacred and not to be questioned. To question a belief is to attack us as a person. So the beliefs control our minds, our emotions and perceptions and actions instead. We start with the belief as true and twist our perceptions to match. We kill because of beliefs. And if you challenge my beliefs, it makes me angry.
And elevating simple belief to a sacred, inviolate thing is destructive, even when you believe in the Buddha and Dharma. Heck, I even disagree with some statements of belief that I wrote down years ago. I will probably disagree with some of the stuff I spit out on the forum here in the future. Do I believe in what I'm saying? Of course. Right now. But I may be wrong. Since I'm not omnipotent, I certainly am wrong once in a while. Just don't expect me to admit it without a fight.