Faith is a Living Thing, Part 2

All of us practice walking meditation. First you receive some instructions from a teacher, or a brother, or a sister, and you use your body and your life to experiment with the practice. Those who have practiced walking meditation for some time have seen changes in their practice. Their way of practicing walking meditation brings more peace, awareness, and joy to them than when they first began practicing. Our understanding of practice grows. Suppose you have faith in walking meditation. That faith in walking meditation is made of your experience of practice. You do better and better all the time because you have practiced and you have learned. You are doing better than the year before, just because in the last year you have practiced continuously. You have found better ways to practice. Now you can release your anger, your worries, and you can restore your peace and your health by practicing walking meditation. 

Our faith in the practice also grows. What I am saying is simple: Faith is a living thing. It has to grow. The food that helps it to grow is the continued discoveries the deeper understanding of reality. In Buddhism, faith is nourished by understanding. The practice of looking deeply helps you understand better. As you understand better, your faith grows. 

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

to be continued . . .