Right Faith and Blind Faith 正信與迷信

A open hand in the twilight. Image by Billy Pasco at Unsplash.

Trust means truly believing in something. It's okay if you don't believe in anything right now, but when you do, you believe it with all your heart. This is what we call the right kind of faith.

For example, in Buddhism, people who have the right faith understand how everything is made. They see that everything is always changing and that nothing lasts forever. They know that things like life, death, money, and fame have their own rules. Because they understand these things, they don't wish for things that probably won't happen. This understanding is called right faith.

But sometimes, even if people know these things, they still wish for a long life or blessings. Wanting things that might not happen can make them unhappy. This is called blind faith.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says: "Faith is the source of Tao and the start of all good deeds." Also, the Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom says: "Faith is the only way to learn the vast teachings of Buddhism." This shows that the difference between right faith and blind faith can be very small, like a thin hair. A small thought can make a big difference, so be careful with it!

This translated text is a chapter from Collection of Rain Blossoms, a collection of scriptures written by JiGong Living Buddha in the 1900s through spirit writing.

Here is the video of the translation.

正信與迷信

雨花集

濟公活佛

信，就是信仰，正信，就是不信則已，既信不疑。譬之信佛，正信者明白成、住、壞、空四大理由，對於生死富貴，知有定律，不作妄念，不作幻求，謂之正信。明知此理，而仍求長生福報，自生煩惱，謂之迷信。華嚴經云﹕信為道源功德海。大度論有云﹕法海無量唯信可入。是故正信與迷信，其中間不容髮，一念之微，相差甚遠，慎之。