Faith has an important role in the early Theravāda Buddhism. The Theravāda Pali Canon lists faith as one of seven treasures (dhāna), one of fi ve spiritual faculties (indriyas), and one of the spiritual powers (balas). There are also other lists of virtues in which faith is included; faith is described as an important quality in some stream-enterers, a state preceding enlightenment. In standard descriptions of people going forth (taking ordination as a monk), faith is usually mentioned as an important motivation. Faith in the sense of a trustful confi dence – a quality more of the heart than a cognitive belief – has an important role in Buddhism, albeit generally not as central as in some religions. Faith both leads to calm and encourages one to seek to attain the stages of spiritual perfection. This paper aims to search for current problems on Faith to the Saṅgha Community, to analyze their cause and effects.
目次
Introduction 107 What is Faith in Buddhism? 107 The Current Problem: Disrespect of Lay Buddhist Devotees 110 Cause of Problem of Faith: Monks Break the Vinaya Rules 111 Derogatory Conduct of Bhikkhus: Another Cause of Problems 113 Misunderstanding the Buddha’s Teaching as the Cause of Criticism 114 The Way Out is to Strengthen the Faith towards the Saṅgha Community 116 Conclusion 118
