Ask a Brahmin: 3 Kinds of Faith

Hinduism Today's Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami reads his Publisher's Desk article (Oct-Nov-Dec 2009 issue) on the three stages of faith: blind faith, informed conviction, and personal realization.

Faith in Buddhism
In Buddhism, faith (Sanskrit, Śrāddha; Pali, Saddhā) is the initial acceptance of the Bud-dha’s teachings, prior to the acquisition of right under-standing and right thought. Buddhism does not rely on supernatural authority or the word of the Buddha but claims rather that its teachings can all be experientially verified. Starting on the Eightfold Path (the Buddhist system of spiritual progress) involves, however, a provisional acceptance, through faith, of the Buddha and his teachings that is later confirmed by direct experience and by the growth of right understanding.

Some Buddhist commentators have analyzed three kinds of faith or saddhā: affective (devotional), conative (involving effort), and cognitive (rational).

In the devotional sects of Mahāyāna Buddhism, faith is elevated to a dominant position [just as it is in devotional Hindu sects], equal to wisdom, as being for most people the appropriate way of reaching salvation in this present unenlightened age. Among the Pure Land sects, for example, sincere invocation of the name of the Buddha Amitābha is sufficient to ensure rebirth of the faithful in his Western Paradise (the Pure Land). Source

• Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg (author of Faith) describes the journey as having three interlocking stages: bright faith, verifying faith, and abiding faith.

Fasting: Eat Less, Remember More

"Less food, more thought," long a sta-ple of Buddhist meditators, Himalayan yogis, and other religious seekers, fasting is gaining credibility due to modern research. The more weight lost, the more memory improved. A preliminary study suggests that restricting calories (or regular, vigorous exercise -- such as yoga -- for those who are already at a healthy weight) is proven to improve memory.

• ABC News: How diet could help
• ABC News: Can Less Money Equal Better Eating?

Staying Connected, Faith Online: Sermon Via iPod?
(1/22/09)

Are you a person of faith who doesn't have enough time in a fast-paced world to go to a temple, church, synagogue, mosque, or other sacred place?

ABC News Wants to Hear From You (AP Photo)

Do you or does anyone you know download sermons onto an iPod, or listen to sermons online, or receive text messages with bits of spiritual wisdom on them?

Have you ever bought any "One-Minute Bible" books, or books reflecting a quicker way of attaining some spirituality in your life?

ABC News would like to hear from you. We are looking for people who turn to new, often abbreviated means, as a way to keep religion in their fast-paced lives.

Please tell us how you stay connected to your faith in the digital era and include a daytime phone number and an evening phone number, and an ABC News producer might reach out to you to include you in our story.