There are actually two points here, but both are short and loosely connected, so you get the first remark on Christianity for free:).
Ken talks about three kinds of faith in the GDP series (among others), of which the confident faith is maybe the weakest, nevertheless it is maybe also the easiest to get to. IMHO it also helps if there is a track record before you listen to someone.
Confident Faith (from GDP03: Guru, Deity, Protector (retreat) 00:00:25.60 - 00:04:15.60)
(download into iTunes)
Confident faith is described as the feeling of solidity that comes from a rational appreciation. That is, you study the stuff, you think about it, it makes sense. So you say, "Okay, I’ll give it a try.“ And this is one of the reasons why I like Buddhist practice and Buddhist perspective; it’s because it actually does make sense.
Christianity, for instance, doesn’t. And the consequence of that is, faith as a practice in Christianity has to be stronger because it doesn’t make sense. And it’s not just Christianity, actually, it applies to most of the Abrahamic traditions, because somehow or other they ended up with a problem. And the problem was, if there is an all-loving, all-mighty God, why do we suffer? The problem of pain which C.S. Lewis wrote about.
Buddhism, on the other hand, says "There is suffering." That’s where we start. So its existence isn’t regarded as a problem; it’s regarded as a fact. No explanation required; there it is. And so a rational appreciation is for many people an important starting point. And I know this from my work with people who are not particularly into spiritual stuff. You know, if you want to get them to do something, it’s got to make sense to them ’cause they’re not going to do it out of clear appreciation or longing or anything like that.
Ken talks about three kinds of faith in the GDP series (among others), of which the confident faith is maybe the weakest, nevertheless it is maybe also the easiest to get to. IMHO it also helps if there is a track record before you listen to someone.
Confident Faith (from GDP03: Guru, Deity, Protector (retreat) 00:00:25.60 - 00:04:15.60)(download into iTunes)
Confident faith is described as the feeling of solidity that comes from a rational appreciation. That is, you study the stuff, you think about it, it makes sense. So you say, "Okay, I’ll give it a try.“ And this is one of the reasons why I like Buddhist practice and Buddhist perspective; it’s because it actually does make sense.
Christianity, for instance, doesn’t. And the consequence of that is, faith as a practice in Christianity has to be stronger because it doesn’t make sense. And it’s not just Christianity, actually, it applies to most of the Abrahamic traditions, because somehow or other they ended up with a problem. And the problem was, if there is an all-loving, all-mighty God, why do we suffer? The problem of pain which C.S. Lewis wrote about.
Buddhism, on the other hand, says "There is suffering." That’s where we start. So its existence isn’t regarded as a problem; it’s regarded as a fact. No explanation required; there it is. And so a rational appreciation is for many people an important starting point. And I know this from my work with people who are not particularly into spiritual stuff. You know, if you want to get them to do something, it’s got to make sense to them ’cause they’re not going to do it out of clear appreciation or longing or anything like that.
