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Post by zendancer on Dec 1, 2010 12:05:11 GMT -5
Or, faith is belief while waiting to obtain needed evidence. If a scientist says that there are x number of rings around Saturn, I may believe him and have faith that he is telling me the truth. After I set up a telescope, look at Saturn, count the rings around it, and confirm what he told me, then I no longer need to have faith. I have seen the facts with my own eyes.
Nisargadatta's teacher told him that if he stayed in the "I am," he would wake up. Niz had faith that his teacher was telling him the truth without having any corroborating evidence. After three years of doing what his teacher told him to do, he woke up, and faith in the teaching was no longer necessary.
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Post by m on Dec 1, 2010 17:56:59 GMT -5
ZD: I totally agree with your definition of "faith" and how it can be positively used. i don't know why I presented what I mean by "faith" in this forum. The only usefulness it may have is among catholic who are stuck with belief on their way to truth or who may bypass the depth of "Faith" as Unknown-Spirit-in-action in their own lives. m
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Post by enigma on Dec 1, 2010 18:40:51 GMT -5
Enigma : Forget about my word " faith" It does mean the same thing for you ( belief without need for evidence) and me ( Awareness without content; "not-knowing" in a buddhist translation). We don't need to get lost in semantics. if words make it more difficult to communicate, then let's drop them. I don't have any difficulty with what you say. Where I am awareness cannot be hidden (even if I happen to believe so) and awareness has no content ( even if there is content). m Sounds okay to me.
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Post by enigma on Dec 1, 2010 18:53:06 GMT -5
Or, faith is belief while waiting to obtain needed evidence. If a scientist says that there are x number of rings around Saturn, I may believe him and have faith that he is telling me the truth. After I set up a telescope, look at Saturn, count the rings around it, and confirm what he told me, then I no longer need to have faith. I have seen the facts with my own eyes. Nisargadatta's teacher told him that if he stayed in the "I am," he would wake up. Niz had faith that his teacher was telling him the truth without having any corroborating evidence. After three years of doing what his teacher told him to do, he woke up, and faith in the teaching was no longer necessary. I'll buy that. (At least until proven otherwise. Hehe.) I tend to shy away from the word 'faith' for reasons that are probly obvious. I'm very much in favor of encouragement and inspiration, though.
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