The Fifty-eighth of 108 Gates Of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

The fifty-eighth Gate: The Faculty of Belief

The faculty of belief* is a gate of Dharma illumination; for [with it] we do not [blindly] follow the words of others. (Nishijima/Cross)
The root of trust** is a gate of realizing dharma; it does not follow others’ words. (Tanahashi)

*[Belief: confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof]
**[Trust: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing]

Gate Gatha:

May we, together with all buddhas;
Reflect on and clarify our beliefs,
That we may not become as sheep.

Reflection Prompts:
1. In light of the differing meanings, are we at the same Gate?
2. Irregardless , how does belief or trust contribute to not following others' words?
3. Write a new Capping Verse.

Capping Verse:

With faith comes practice
With practice
Comes steadfast belief

gassho, Shokai
stlah

[Tairin]

Doesn’t this gate seem a little contradictory? How can I follow something through belief and trust without relying on others? To me a critical aspect of this practice is to actually do the practice. Live the life. Verify for oneself.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Hosai]

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_/\_
sat/ah
hōser

[Choujou]

Reflection Prompts:
1. In light of the differing meanings, are we at the same Gate?
2. Irregardless , how does belief or trust contribute to not following others' words?
3. Write a new Capping Verse.

1. Yes, placing your belief and trust in the truth of the Dharma, we are not led astray by the words of others. We stick to the path.

2. with our belief and trust in the Dharma, we are not led astray by those that still sleep to the truth. We live in a society that seems to sometimes glorify actions/words/thoughts that go against the precepts, with sometimes encouragement to do so from others too! If we hold fast to our belief and trust in the Dharma, then we won’t be led by the nose away from that truth by others.

3. A mountain stands firm
Unmoving, unwavering
Even when it is told it is wrong

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Furyu]

I had the same reaction as Tairin here. Seems contradictory in a way. We don't pull belief/trust out of nothingess - someone has to tell us something first that we choose to trust/believe. What I understand is to provisionally accept the possibility of something and through practice verify the truth of it. In fact, I think that's what Buddha was teaching.
With practice, we gradually rely less on others and more on our own experience.

i act like a blind fool
until i learn better
than i live like a greater fool

or

starting with childish trust
i come and see for myself
belief unfolds of itself

Gasshō
Fūryū
sat-lah

[Choujou]

Just adding a thought… and hard to put into words…when one considers that the Buddha discovered the truth through practice, it’s a realization. One can’t be told what to believe, but must experience it. But then… how do you “prove” it to someone else, or even yourself? So that is belief and trust in truth… we can’t exactly point to it and say “see, here is the truth!” And they know it. We can only point to the moon and it is up to us to become it.

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Shokai]

It is what it is