Faith in Buddhism
Faith (Pāli: saddhā, Sanskrit: śraddhā) is an initial acceptance of the Buddha's teaching prior to realising its truth for oneself. It is an important constituent element of all traditions of Buddhism, although the kind and nature of faith changes in the different schools. Other translations of saddhā/śraddhā include confidence and trust. According to received Pali-Buddhist tradition, some of the first words voiced by the Buddha after resolving to teach Dharma were, "Wide opened is the door of the Deathless to all who have ears to hear; let them send forth faith [saddhā] to meet it."
Early Buddhism
Kalama Sutta
According to Guiliano Giustarini, "Saddhā is usually translated as faith, but it is not to be meant as a dogmatic belief." In the Kalama Sutta the Buddha himself argues against simply following authority, tradition or specious reasoning. Instead, a person should himself derive a moral judgement thus:
Even though one's own experience and judgement is emphasized in accepting Buddha and Buddhism, one should also heed to the counsel of the wise, meaning a Buddha or a Buddhist teacher well versed in the Buddhist teachings.
