Why Do I Believe That?

      In our next discussion group my friends and I will be looking at the question "Why do we believe what we do?" Not as simple a question as one might think....if one really thinks about it. And since I haven't really accepted anything at face value since I was in grade school - at least not for long - I'm going to explore this question here in the hope that it will enable me to bring more than confusion to our next meeting.
       The following is one translation of what the Buddha is reported to have said to his followers;
            "Do not believe anything simply because you have heard it.  Do not believe anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.  Do not believe anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.  Do not believe anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.  Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.  But after observation and analysis when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it."

      I think the first time I heard this admonition to "be a lamp unto oneself," I was a college freshman in a previous dimension of time, far, far away. It seemed to me to be of the utmost importance even then. However I had not yet gained the necessary mental acuity to flesh out the rest of my position. I think my friends might say that the jury is still out on this issue today, but I shall avoid that digression for now.

      Some might suggest that what they believe is truth. I have been searching for "what is true" since that early introduction to what turned out to be the severely limited annals of my experience with higher education. However, as my search widened and gained more depth over the years, I came to the realization that what I might believe at any moment had absolutely no necessary connection to what should be considered Truth. Surely whatever I believe is a truth for me, but Truth is another thing altogether (as evidenced by a previous post titled Chasing One's Tale). They are in most cases totally different animals. Or at least, we should be able to agree that no clear, absolute connection can be made between them. Personally, at some point I realized that if I knew the Truth I would have no need for a belief about it.
       "So," about now you're probably mumbling to yourself, "just get on with what you do think on this subject." Fine. Here goes.

        The results of my personal inquiry into "why I believe what I believe" to date, is that it resonates with what I have experienced and/or it is the result of my best thinking on the subject. Yes, it is purely subjective. How could it be otherwise? Without some form of Divine Intervention, (which, acceptable for some perhaps, has never met the two criteria I just mentioned), how could I imagine even a moment of successful, objective reasoning on any subject, without thought? That's just not reasonable since all human reasoning is subject to the limited capabilities of our brain. As the bumper sticker on my car says, "Don't trust everything you think."

       So, in an attempt to make the definitive statement you have been eagerly awaiting I will say, "My beliefs arise out of my particular history which includes, but is not necessarily limited to, all that I have learned from my own search as well as from those influences in my particular life experience which are so deeply embedded, that I am unaware of them as constitutional influences. In short I am referring to the historical aggregate named Bob, as he is at any moment in time. In addition, my beliefs are the result of visceral/emotional experiences as they arise in each moment. And these beliefs change in direct relation to my continued effort to be open to and mindful of them.....especially when they seem troublesome, painful, or in some manner disturbing to any beliefs presently held.
       My beliefs are as impermanent as anything else in this relative existence. They arise from memories of the past as well as the hopes or desires for an imagined future, and will function as a palliative to the fears and uncertainties endemic to the human condition. Whether or not I remain entrenched in any particular belief however, is contingent on my willingness to recognize that "what I believe" is not proof of any Universal or Ultimate Truth. It represents who I am at any point in the evolving history of Bob.
       At the very mundane level, beliefs allow us to function in this life with a modicum of psychological freedom since we don't have to process and determine our position on everything that arises. We can accept some things as factual, i.e. accurately depicting reality, and move on to making everyday decisions without the burden of doubt about the minutia of everyday life.
       Beliefs however, also have a dark side if we don't hold them lightly with an open mind. To do otherwise fosters hubris; a posture in which genocide and all of man's inhumanity to man is incubated. When mankind's need to feel safe from uncertainty and change becomes an obsession, beliefs can harden into unwavering preferences and prejudices. (If you are interested you can read more on this in the previous posts titled, The Three Shuns, and Preferences and Equanimity)
       The value of the Buddha's statement, "after observation and analysis when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it" would seem intuitive. And in order to assist us in the work of observation and analysis, he spoke to us about what I personally consider the fruits of his awakening: Dependent Arising, Impermanence, No-self, and Emptiness. With a deepening understanding of these four foundations of understanding, we are able to accept the uncertainties and ever-changing nature of our existence with equanimity.