Today, Roshi focused on the 37th gate of Dogen’s 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination – “Belief and understanding are a gate of Dharma – illumination; for [with them] we decisively comprehend the paramount truth.”

Roshi noted that the word “Belief” is an interesting word. What do we actually believe in Buddhism? If we look at the broad sweep of the tradition, we believe in the rules of cause and effect (e.g. karma) and the universality of suffering. However, are these really beliefs in the common sense? Each of these tenants of Buddhism can be proven straight away. For instance, cause and effect is a bedrock of our modern scientific understanding. In addition, we only need to look at our own subjective experience to understanding that suffering exists. So if everything in Buddhism seems to be explicit and provable, is it more of a philosophy rather than a religion?

Many people come to Buddhism from other faith traditions after a negative experience in their original faith. They are naively attracted to Buddhism because they think there is nothing to really believe in – it is all simply common sense. However, if one persists in practice, it soon becomes apparent that there is something deeper than mere common sense. Ask a master to explain Zen and they will tell you there is nothing to explain. So why practice in a tradition where there is nothing to believe in? The great masters are not playing a game here! They are honestly trying to explain the unexplainable. Roshi asked us to consider the master’s plight. They have vowed to save all beings by teaching the Dharma, but how does someone explain reality. Roshi asked us to think about this. You cannot simply take out a piece of paper and summarize suchness! In fact, masters throughout history have teased each other on the total uselessness of their pursuit!

So, what do we believe? In Zen our faith is that there is wisdom in practice. Suffering and karma are obvious and right in front of us. However, unlike other spiritual traditions, we believe that this suffering can be transcended by diligent practice. We put our faith and belief in the wisdom of the last 2500 years that although there is suffering, this suffering can be understood and transcended by following specific percepts of our practice. (e.g. Eight fold path)

Next Roshi noted that Dogen then adds the word understanding to the word belief. A good metaphor for this is mathematics. In order to solve complex problems, one must understand the mechanics of algebra, geometry, and calculus. This is normal understanding and it is quite valuable. However, this understanding is bounded. We cannot use calculus to understand love, for instance. Dogen is challenging us to understand all of unbounded reality! This goes far beyond the conventional understanding of mathematics. Can we have this boundless understanding? Can we save all beings? Sounds impossible, but we have FAITH, that we can make progress towards this goal.

Roshi wrapped up by noting that true understanding is an act of faith which is beyond the intellect. We do this not just with the mind, but with our whole being. We touch on this when we make the decision to “live by vow” during the Jukai ceremony. Roshi reminded us that the vows do not restrict our lives, rather they give us the freedom to open up and experience a wider reality.