The Body of Faith (Part 1)

In Buddhism, people consider faith as a source of energy. With faith, with the energy of faith, you are more alive. But faith in what? That is the question. When you see or hear something, you may be convinced that that something is true, good, and beautiful. Suddenly you have faith in that something. But be aware that the object of your faith may not be there for a long time. You may lose your faith a few hours later, or a few days later because what you saw or heard was not a correct perception. When you put your belief into practice, you find it does not work. So you lose your faith. When you put your belief into practice, you may find that it works, but later on, when you try to do the same thing again, it does not work and you lose your faith again. Why? The answer is that faith is a living thing. Faith has to grow. If your faith is just a notion, it is not a living thing. When you conceive of an idea and cling to it as the object of your faith, you risk losing your faith later on.

Thich Nhat Hanh
from Going Home; Jesus and Buddha as Brothers

To be continued . . .