Awakening Faith

I don't remember when I started my quest for the Great Work. I also don't remember when I set it aside or what made me set it aside. It must have been when I became overly focused on business and investing. It seems my life has always been about money, and this must be becasue my mother and I struggled for money the first 30 years of our life together. The other problem I suppose is my Libra predisposition which is always trying to find a balance but never finding one.

I became fascinated with Witchcraft when I was around 12 or 13, but I wasn't allowed to study it because I was raised a Christian. I didn't mind being Christian because it provided a sense of belonging due to youth groups and Bible studies. I did want to be a Youth Pastor at one point in time, and while that dream has faded, I still find being a cleric of any faith interesting. When I finally allowed myself to put aside the fear of learning about witchcraft a whole new world opened up to me.

Being a Christian, at least how I perceived it 20 plus year ago, was that it was always about what God had in store for me. I decided that this wasn't God's life. It was mine, and I wanted what I want. So, I found Raymond Buckland, Gerald Gardner, Scott Cunningham, and Silver Ravenwolf to name a few. I started studying tarot, astrology, and began going deep into Yoga. As I went deeper, I started doing Magic for all kinds of things, to clear up my acne, to lose weight, to pay bills, etc. I also did a lot of things with Magic that I shouldn't have done, and I have had to live with the consequences.

Somewhere along the way, as a lot of authors do, is they tell you to be aware of Aleister Crowley which made me want to learn more. Reading about Aliester Crowley lead me to other fascinating occultist. WB Yeats, Mac Gregor Matthew's, Elephias Levi, Dion Fortune, and my two favorites Paul Foster Case and Israel Regardie. It also made me realize I am and will forever be an occultist. Not that we should label ourselves. Even now as I have moved to studying eastern mysticism I still consider myself a Occultist or Mystic. An occultist is a person who believes in or practices occult arts, such as magic, astrology, alchemy, seances, or other activity claiming the use of secret knowledge or supernatural powers or agencies. I think that an additional part of being an occultist is the desire to complete the Great Work.

The Great Work represents the culmination of the spiritual path, the attainment of enlightenment, or the rescue of the human soul from the unconscious forces which bind it. For me, it means to be free. Free from desires, free from suffering. It also, allows you to find your purpose, your great work. Compassion becomes your greatest virtue. The most fascinating thing is there are many paths to the Great Work. The occultists I mentioned above utilized Ceremonial Magick. Awakening your holy Guardian Angel is the Great Work. It is the awakening of your higher self, your perfected self.

Something that has been on my mind is how to get involved with the Great Work, and how it can be difficult. Doubt in this context is uncertainty. Uncertainty, can be the greatest impediment to reaching enlightenment. It is something that can plague even the most religious of persons. However; it is something that must be distinguished if you are going to work towards the Great Work. It would not surprise me if there were text about maintaining faith in most religions. If you don't wish to mix religions traditions I recommend researching to find practices which increase faith in your religious tradition.

Before I provide some recommendations from a sutra regarding awakening faith I must explain why I found the sutra. While I was growing up, it was much easier to believe in religious and paranormal experiences. I made the decision to focus on a career in Accounting and Finance. This has afforded me lots of opportunities and will continue to provide opportunities into the future. However; it is with much regret that I did not follow my passions. This is one of the reasons I encourage people to focus on doing what they enjoy, and find ways to make money doing it. The years I spent in college left me very analytical. I feared, and to some extent still fear, that I will never regain the faith I had in religious experiences as I did when I was younger. This is the reason I sought out actions that I could take to awaken my faith. Studying this sutra and practicing what it recommends can help create Adamantine faith.

The Sutra is called The Awakening of Faith. You can download it for free by clicking HERE You can also find other BDK America Sutra Translations by clicking HERE I encourage you to read it if you want to understand Its full meaning. I am going to take some of the practical applications from it and present them here. The text is atributted to Aśvaghoṣa. He is worth looking up, and understanding his importance in Buddhism. You can begin your reading with his Wikipedia page by clicking HERE and from there utilize the references for a further basis for research. Moving forward if I use the word the text, I will be referring to the Sutra known as The Awakening of Faith.

Beginning Practices to Awaken Faith

1. Invocation

Let us begin with Invocation. Most Buddhist's begin practice with a manifesto of acceptance and devotion to the Three Treasures (trirantna). The Invocation that is presented in the text if as follows:

I take refuge in [the Buddha,] the greatly Compassionate One, the savior of the world, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, of most excellent deeds in all the ten directions; And in [the Dharma,] the manifestation of his essence, the reality, the sea of suchness, the boundless storehouse of excellencies; [And in the Sangha, whose members] truly devote themselves to the practice, May all sentient beings be made to discard their doubts, cast aside their evil attachments, and give rise to the correct faith in the Mahayana, that the lineage of the Buddhas may not be broken off.

All religious traditions have some prayer that can be said on a daily basis. This is a good starting point. From my experience, it is not necessarily important if at the beginning you don't believe every word. The act of practice and tradition is what is important, and your sub conscious begins to hear the words on a daily basis. Your sub conscious begins to push you in the direction of belief. There may be individuals that believe this isn't healthy, but my intention isn't to debate fact vs falsity. My intention is to create Adamantine Faith, and in this instance it is more important the practice provides meaning to the practitioner.

The remainder of the practices come from Part Four of The Awakening of Faith Sutra. Buddhist texts traditionally pose a question and then provide an answer. I have presented the Question from the text and then the Answer. Where I think the full text is not necessary I have omitted it. Please download the Sutra, so you can review the full text.

2. Charity

   Question: How should he practice the [observance of] precepts?

   Answer: If he sees anyone coming to him begging, he should give him the wealth and other things in his possession insofar as he is able; thus while freeing himself from greed and avarice, he causes the beggar to be joyful. Or, if he sees one who is in hardship, in fear, or in grave danger, he should give him freedom from fear insofar as he is able. If a person comes to seek instruction in the teaching, he should, according to his ability an understanding, explain it by the use of expedient means. In doing so, however he should think only of benefiting himself and other alike and of extending the merit [that he gains from the practice of charity] toward the attainment of enlightenment.

   I won't go line by line, but I think the key takeaway is that faith can be created by removing greed. In many religious traditions greed is considered a sin. In Buddhism it is considered one of the three poisons. If greed and avarice (excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain) are reduced through charity, helping, and giving then one of the three poisons is being subdued. This moves the practitioner towards their perfected self (their holy guardian angel) and this will increase Faith in their specific goal.

3. Observance of Precepts

Question: How should he practice the [observance of] precepts?

Answer: He is not to kill, to steal, to commit adultery, to be double tongued, to slander, to lie, or to utter exaggerated speech. Hs is to free himself from greed, jealousy, cheating, deceit, flattery, crookedness, anger, hatred, and perverse views.

I won't go line by line, but I think the key takeaway is that faith can be created by removing greed. In many religious traditions greed is considered a sin. In Buddhism, it is considered one of the three poisons. If greed and avarice (excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain) are reduced through charity, helping, and giving then one of the three poisons is being subdued. This moves the practitioner towards their perfected self (their holy guardian angel) and this will increase Faith in their specific goal.

4. Practice Patience

Question: How should he practice patience?

Answer: He should be patient with the vexatious acts of others and should not harbor thoughts of vengeance, and he should also be patient in matters of gain or loss, honor or dishonor, Praise or blame, suffering or joy, etc.

One saying that I have heard lately is "give it time to digest." It is something that CJV (you can check him out here!) says. I have taken it to mean give time to process the situation, so you can make a good decision that is not based on emotion. Meditation is again, something that helps me stay calm in a situation. It helps me learn to breath and step back. Does it always work for me… no. However; I am better than I use to be, and it is about progressing over time.

5. Practice Zeal

Question: How should he practice zeal.?

Answer: He should not be sluggish in doing good, he should be firm in his resolution, and he should purge himself of cowardice. He should remember that from the far distant past he has been fermented in vain by all of the great sufferings of body and mind. Because of this he should diligently practice various meritorious acts, benefiting himself and others, and liberate himself quickly hindered by the evil karma derived from the grave sins of previous lives, he may be troubled in all sorts of worldly affairs, or afflicted by the suffering of disease. There are a great many hindrances of this kind. He should, therefor be courageous and zealous, and at the six four-hour intervals of the and should pay homage to the Buddhas, repent with sincere heart, beseech the Buddhas [for their guidance], rejoice in the happiness of others and fierce all the meris [thus acquired] to the attainment of enlightenment. If he never abandons these practices, he will be able to avoid the various hindrances as his capacity for goodness increases.

It is important to realize that finding specific activities from the text is the key. Having specific activities you can do on a daily basis is what is needed to build a routine. Looking at the text the following activities can be derived.

1. Actively practice meritorious acts. This goes back to giving. Not just giving money, but giving time. I recommend finding a non-profit that you believe and give of yourself on a regular basis.
2. Practice Integrity. While this one may not be something that you can set a time to practice. It means to get better at speaking your truth. It doesn't have to be in a negative way. It means that if something doesn't align with your values explain how you feel. This may be difficult at times, but if you do it often it will eventually become easier.
3. Breaking your waking hours in to 4 hour increments where you take time to pray. This would be similar to prayer times in Islam, however; they have specific times of the day. In our case, complete upon waking up. If you wake up at 6 AM, pray upon waking up. Then pray at 10 AM, 2 PM, 6 PM, then upon going to bed. It is always better to pray based on what you believe you should say. However; if you need guidance, I would recommend the Invocation prayer that I mentioned above.

6. Practice Cessation

Question: How should he practice cessation and clear observation?

Answer: What is called "cessation" means to put a stop to all characteristics (laksana) of the world [of some objects and of the mind ] because it means to follow the samatha (tranquility) method of meditation. What is called "clear observation" means to perceive distinctly the characteristis of the causally conditioned phenomena (samsara), because it means to follow the vipaśyanā method of meditation.

The practitioner should practice Vipaśyanā (vipassana) meditation as they progress through their meditative journey. Vipaśyanā is the Sanskrit pronunciation. Vipassanā is the Pali pronunciation. Vipaśyanā can be translated to mean "insight". A basic practice is to start by following your breathing. It is the recognizing of the breathing. Understanding that you are breathing, that your breaths are short, or maybe they are long. Once you realize that your breath comes and goes, then you will start to realize that your thoughts are coming and going. When the thoughts start to come in, recognize them for what they are, and let them go. As you practice this form of meditation you will begin to gain insight into Samsara because it is the coming and going of existence. For further study utilize You Tube to find practices or guided meditation.