Faith, Confidence and Devotion

Faith in the theistic sense is not found in Buddhism because of its emphasis on understanding. Theistic faith is a drug for the emotional mind and demands belief in things which cannot be known. Knowledge destroys faith and faith destroys itself when a mysterious belief is examined under the daylight of reason. Confidence cannot be obtained by faith since it places less emphasis on reason, but only by understanding.

Referring to the unintelligible and 'blind' nature of faith, Voltaire said, 'Faith is to believe in something which you reason tells you cannot be true; for if your reason approved of it, there could be on question of blind faith.'

Confidence, however, is not the same as faith. For confidence is not a mental acceptance of that which cannot be known. Confidence is an assured expectation, not of an unknown beyond, but of what can be tested as experienced and understood personally. To a Buddhist, confidence is a product of reason, knowledge and experience. When it is developed, confidence can never be blind faith. Confidence becomes a power of the mind.

In his book, What the Buddha Taught Walpola Rahula says: 'The question of belief arises when there is no seeing - seeing in every sense of the word. The moment you see, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that I have a gem hidden in the folded palm of my hand, the question of belief arises because you do not see it yourself. But if I unclench my fist and show you the gem, then you see it for yourself, and the question of belief does not arise.

Source: What Buddhists Believe by Dr. K. Sri. Dhammananda