Faith

Although our goal in practice is clear seeing – wisdom – it is faith that ignites our aspiration and enables us to embark on this journey of awakening.

We have faith that there is more to life than that which appears on the surface; we are keen to look more deeply.

Faith helped pique my interest and led to my joining my first meditation retreat; faith meant I have been able to endure apparently unendurable ordeals and burn through layers of habitual resistance.

Faith illuminates the way ahead when it seems that there is no way.

To have faith in the Buddha’s teachings is to have wealth.

This wealth nourishes us, often in unimaginable ways.

If we could accurately imagine what lay ahead, we wouldn’t need faith; but we can’t; so faith is essential.

Faith has the power to transform pain into understanding and confidence.

On this journey, I have seen how the pain of the loss of a sense of belonging can lead to learning how to let go of false securities.

I have learned that the pain of feeling judged can lead to enquiring more deeply than I thought possible.

Early on in life, I was told that we are all born damaged goods, and in my case it took a lot of effort before I could even begin to see that story as a story.

Like many others, I was taught that we need someone else to save us, but that is like being told someone else can take away our shadow. Everybody has a shadow.

What is needed is that we understand the nature of our shadow, and we develop the spiritual faculties until we are able to fully receive all aspects of who and what we are.

For the teachings that point to that understanding, I am sincerely grateful.

This reflection by Ajahn Munindo is from the book, In Any Given Moment, (pdf) pp. 491-492.