Faith
Via Twitter, @TheOnlyRealSage asked me if I have any words on lost faith or hope. To start with, we need to understand what these words mean. Faith is often used interchangeably with belief or trust. In such cases, to lose your faith in someone would mean a loss of trust or belief in their words or actions. Another use of “lost faith” is in a wider spiritual sense and means to become disillusioned with a particular view. In this light, Faith is the acceptance of an explanation for something that has no other reasoning that satisfies you. When you begin to doubt this explanation, you lose acceptance and eventually you’re left with no satisfactory answers.
The problem with faith in a specific system or religion is these are generally static, meaning they have little room for change. Yet answers must change as our understanding of the world changes. Anything unable to reasonably grow with our awareness will often bring us into direct conflict between our faith and our understanding. While it may be possible to make enough justifications in our minds to reconcile these differences, it’s often that we have to let go of old answers that simply no longer work for us.
Intolerance
Growing up, I heard it said that some people have “book smarts” but no “common sense”. This meant that some people, although highly educated, seemed lost concerning the simple things. This is a long standing observation. The Daodejing has some similar statements:
“The wise one does not know many things; He who knows many things is not wise.”
“The more knowledge you seek, the less you will understand.”
Science, Religion, Faith and Happiness
A friend and I were discussing religions (as I had been reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins), and he, like Richard, sees religion as nothing more than superstition formed by lack of knowing the real truth, which is science.
Throughout history, our religions have changed and adapted as our awareness and understandings also changed. We have gone from worshiping the sun and moon and seasons to worshiping beings that control the sun and moon and seasons. We have had pantheons that oversee almost every detail in our lives to singular omniscient deities that are seen as eternal parental figures.
Defining Tao
The Daodejing classically begins by stating the Tao that can be named is not the true Tao. Whatever you call it, is not what it is. It is defined as being undefinable. This leads many people who feel they understand it to also feel anyone who explains it does not understand it.
-
LOOKING OUT SOMEONE ELSE'S WINDOW
High quality, landscape, 24 page collection of modern poetry, printed new just for you.
-
Recent Comments
Translator
-
TaoAreYou Products
10 Suggested Books- Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics (Perennial Classics)
- Cultivating Stillness
- The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
- The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
- Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
- T'ai Chi Classics (Shambhala Classics)
- The Inner Chapters
- 365 Tao: Daily Meditations
- The Tao Of Physics
- Tao Te Ching: A New English Version
Past 30 Days
290Unique
VisitorsPowered By
