Floating on Faith (A Buddhist Interpretation of Faith)

I love the water. One of the reasons we picked our house was because the neighborhood had a pool. When my son was little, we went to the pool almost every day in the summer, so it was important he learned how to float and swim. But teaching my toddler to relax and float posed its challenges. He was convinced that he needed to take action to stay afloat, whether by stiffening his body, moving his arms, or kicking his legs. This belief led him to sink rather than float.
It makes me think of my journey in Shin Buddhism. I had it in my mind I knew what practice I needed to take to get to enlightenment – the path of the sages. This isn’t a practical path for me, a householder with everyday responsibilities. It took me a bit to understand and embrace the Shin path.

In our minds, we hold certain desires and believe we have the right solutions to fulfill them. Our fixation on our solutions often blinds us to other possibilities. I had a desire to diligently follow the path of the sages even though my life wasn’t like that of a monk’s. I was the toddler, convinced of what I had to do in order to attain enlightenment. The Shin path taught me another way – that enlightenment is all around us if we’re open to receiving it. The one thing I had to do was take a leap of faith – to let go and relax. I needed to make that first jump onto the Shin Buddhist path.

What happens when we take the leap of faith, when we fully entrust in Amida Buddha? We float. We become one with ultimate reality and float on a sea of enlightenment. While the first leap is one of faith, we find with time the proof that this path and practice work. There will be times when our desires and blind passions still get in the way, and we will struggle to float. It happens to me all the time, and that’s OK! In these moments, I can close my eyes and hear Amida’s call. Just like someone may call to us from the next room, Amida is still calling to us from the other shore. When we hear Namo Amida Butsu we are reminded to entrust, to float, and go with the flow that is ultimate reality. It is in this way we receive enlightenment.