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.The Sata Sastra says, We should first rely on meritsin order to get rid of sin.Secondly, we should rely on equanimityand let the merits go.Then we can attain the state offormlessness or Nirvana.Chapter 7 in the Samyuktagama says, If I feel that nothing is obtainable,then there is no sin.If I am attached to form (and to other things),then it is sinful.If one knows this,then one will not be attached to anythingin this mundane world.Sin means defilement and obstacles.As long as weconstantly become attached to various things as real, we willnot see the truth of emptiness.This is an obstacle on the way166towards liberation.Therefore it is clear that we should notbecome attached to the merits of good deeds, as these are also Meritempty in nature.The Nagarjuna Bodhisattva once said,is like a hot, burning gold coin, although it is valuable, it isuntouchable.Thus, the nature of the Noble Eightfold Path is also empty.It coincides with the wisdom (theory) of the Middle Path.Under the truth of emptiness, theory and practice merge into one.The Middle Path that emphasizes emptiness and DependentOrigination avoids perverted views.The Noble Eightfold Pathavoids the two extremes of suffering and luxury, andemphasizes non-attachment.These two main themes of theMiddle Path supplement each other and lead us to perfection.If there was only theory to explain the Law of DependentOrigination without the emphatic proof of personal practiceand experience, the Path could not fulfil religious faith inhelping followers disentangle themselves from suffering,thereby attaining ultimate freedom.On the other hand, if the Path only taught us the ways ofpractice without theoretical or intelligent guidance, it might bedefeated by our lack of wisdom, and we might become atheistic follower.The Noble Eightfold Path of the Middle Pathfulfils human religious expectations by encouraging moralpractice.In addition, it has the intelligent guidance of the Lawof Dependent Origination and of Emptiness.The Middle Pathemphasizes the unity of wisdom and faith.This is the specialTranslated by Shi Nengcharacteristic of Buddha s teaching.(Rong, edited by Ke Rong, proofread by Shi Neng Rong.(6-7-96))167The Two Distinctive Characteristics ofBuddhismBuddhism is not limited to the two salient characteristicsdiscussed here.The purpose of highlighting these twocharacteristics is to illuminate the difference betweenBuddhism and other religions or worldly philosophies.Generally speaking, practices in Buddhism may includefollowing the Buddha; having faith in the Buddha andBodhisattvas because of their virtues, wisdom, loftiness andgreatness; and understanding the profound teachings of theBuddha Dharma.However, these Buddhists practices are justaimed at showing us the path of Buddha Dharma, which canlead us to understanding the significance of life, and ways ofelevating ourselves, grounding our lives in true morality.Infollowing the way of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas we canattain the state of supreme realization.Efficacious religions, irrespective of their relative meritsand demerits, can guide us to a smoother and more expansivestate of being.Religion thereby becomes an essential part ofevery human life.We have to be positive about thisfundamental facility for acquiring actual benefits from religionand honor the essence and values expressed in humanity sreligious variety.The Unification of Faith (s.sraddha) and Wisdom(s.prajna)People are of varying natures and types and thus havedifferent temperaments, worries, demands and passions.In168general, one who has stronger feeling and sentiment is morelikely to be compassionate and is more capable of developingstrong faith in one s belief; while an intellectual person tendsto have greater powers of discernment and lucidcomprehension.The biased development of either faith orintellect results in protracted, cumulative, negative andharmful effects.For example, if an emotional person hasstrong faith without counter-balancing wisdom, he may sinkinto ignorance and superstition due to his fanatical faith.Thelop-sided attitude of discriminating against rationality andwisdom is not acceptable in Buddhism.On the other hand, ifwe over-emphasize rationality and doubting everything, wewill lose our faith and belief.This induces us to ignore moralvalues and to deny the existence of Universal Truth, saints andsages.One would thereby finally become anti-religious.Suchperversity would lead us astray and prevent us fromestablishing truly moral behavior, eventually threatening thevery fabric of our society! Thus, there is a saying inBuddhism, Faith without wisdom will develop ignorance;wisdom without faith will develop a perverted view.Buddhism advocates the unification of faith and wisdom.How can we bring faith and wisdom together? Is it possible tounify them? In the first place, we need to understand theBuddhist perspective of faith and wisdom.Faith ischaracterized by the sentiments of respect and of inspirationby an ideal.Faith is a common experience amongst thefollowers of any religion.Faith without intellectualcomprehension and discrimination cannot be regarded as arational faith.Faith in Buddhism is developed through169contemplation and investigation so that the characteristics oftruthfulness, righteousness, and efficacy of the ideal in whichone develops faith, can be understood and revealed.This is theway a Buddhist develops faith and respect toward SakyamuniBuddha.Sakyamuni is understood rationally to have existed inthis world as a historical figure.He has supreme wisdom andgreat virtues and he has boundless compassion workingtowards the liberation of sentient beings.In Buddhism, faith isrooted in rational intellectual comprehension [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]