Not Believing

Yutang Lin

Taking hard to verify by sciences as disproof;
Without evidence one should at most suspect.
Disbelieve whatever not yet seen by the eyes;
Have all things ever been brought to face one?

Comment:

Some people do not believe in gods or Buddhas because they have never seen one or because there is no scientific proof. Lack of evidence, according to scientific principles, justifies only suspicion but not hasty judgment of disbelief. Science as human knowledge is rather limited. What is beyond the knowledge and manipulation of sciences are limitless. To people with experiences of practices and inspirations Buddhas and gods are real beyond questions of belief or disbelief. As to those who demand personal experience as a prerequisite to their believing, first of all one should realize that not all things in the world would come one way. It is unreasonable to demand that all things must be personally experienced. Furthermore, if one could give up worldly prejudices and practice the Dharma accordingly, then it is within each and every person reach to have inspirational experiences of Buddhas or gods. If, instead of walking along the right path and making progress step by step, one just keeps demanding to see the ultimate goal first, then it would seem adequate for such persons to reflect first on whether their demand is reasonable or not.

Written in Chinese on August 2, 2001
Translated on August 10, 2001
El Cerrito, California

---

[Home][Back to list][Back to Chinese versions]