Buddha Mind – Outer Paths

The point on “faith” as a condition for true enlightenment has vexed me as I read my way through Getting the Buddha Mind.  As I said before, it doesn’t strike me as faith in the same way that it is used in other religions.  There was a passage in the book that summed up the difference well.

We call this “practicing outer paths” because your faith is not in yourself but only in outer things.  The usual interpretation of the Chinee term wai tao is “ outside of Buddhist belief,” that is, heretical.  But the real meaning of outer paths is seeking salvation outside of oneself, such as another person, a god, or even a Buddha.  As such, some Buddhists may be following outer paths.  Your fate is your own; to rely on someone else is foolish.

So, the need for faith in Chinese Buddhism is that the tools and ability to achieve enlightenment are internal.  Searching for the answers in an outside source is folly.  The faith in one’s teacher is essentially faith that they know how to help tap that inner potential.

I find this a little more agreeable to my own particular experience and personal philosophies, at least as compared to the faith requisite of Christianity.  But at the heart of all faith is still the fact that if you truly buy into it, there is the risk of it coloring perception and sustaining itself through confirmation bias alone. This perspective is what continues to repel me from religion in general.  It’s a pity too.  I really would like to be in possession of some kind of spirituality.