Since I’m a Buddhist, I like hearing Dharma talks and since I listened to the following talk, I’m thinking about my primary beliefs and where they came from. In Buddhism, one of the main ideas is that one should never accept anything upon faith. No holy teachings, no teacher and no philosophy should ever be allowed to convince you that you need faith in order to understand something. Faith leads to a suffering.

How many beliefs – about myself and the world around me – were formed, not upon my own direct experience, but on faith in what someone told me? At one point, I fervently believed that devils and gods could tell me what to do or give me what I want as long as I did what they wanted me to do. I used to believe that Buddhism was the best way to gain an understanding of one’s self. As I heard in a Dharma talk, “All beliefs – ALL of them – will always be proven true.” If I believe that the world is flat, I will certainly find evidence to back up my view. If I believe that a man named Jesus or Ala is the only way to salvation, I will surely find that I am correct.

Beliefs define our sense of self and when we fight for our belief, we actually defending who we think we are. This is why so many are willing to die for their belief. It is a big reason why we are willing to emotionally harm and physically injury others. Just as any personal belief can be proven true, any belief can be proven false, which means that most everyone’s sense of self is very vulnerable. This is why my Dharma teachers strive for “emptiness” (AKA, openness ) and it is why I like to listen to Dharma… To be reminded that I can only count on compassionate knowledge – that which has been tested by me and found to be beneficial to myself and to others.