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=== The Proper Meaning of Faith in the Buddha ===
'''B:''' Then what do you mean when you chant ''Namu Shakamuni Budaya''?

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'''A:''' It expresses gratitude and reverence toward Śākyamuni as the founder and teacher—not belief in him as an actually existing creator god. Buddhism teaches that “one who sees the Dharma sees the Buddha.”<ref>“One who sees the Dharma sees the Buddha” (Pāli: yo dhammaṃ passati so maṃ passati) derives from the Vakkali Sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya 22.87), where the Buddha tells the monk Vakkali: “One who sees the Dharma sees me; one who sees me sees the Dharma.”</ref> Anyone who follows the Buddha’s teaching, comes to understand and embody even a little of the truth, and experiences joy as a result will naturally come to praise, revere, and feel gratitude toward Śākyamuni Buddha as the ideal person who realized that truth.

And praising, revering, and thanking such a person in turn helps lead us more deeply into a life of truth.  Praying to Śākyamuni Buddha will not make rice suddenly appear in your rice chest. If you are poor, the Buddha would tell you to work hard and figure out how to earn money.

But if, as under our present economic system, people work and yet their labor brings no worthwhile return, then the Buddha would surely tell us first to transform that bad system and guarantee the welfare of the masses. He would not mechanically repeat some maxim like “poverty can never catch up with hard work.” If you are sick, rather than making vows or relying on prayer rites, the Buddha would tell you first to seek proper treatment, reflect upon the causes of the illness, and observe the principles of health. That is the Buddha I understand.

'''B:''' As expected, the Buddha even seems to have understood Marxist theory.

'''A:''' That’s giving him too much credit. There is no way the Buddha could have known Marx’s theories. And his authority is not diminished in the least by not knowing them. He lived twenty-five hundred years ago; of course he did not know them. The point is that those who genuinely understand the Buddha’s life of love and equality naturally acquire the kind of understanding appropriate to their own time, place, and circumstances. Buddhism therefore develops continuously along with the age. That is the process I meant earlier when speaking of historically developing Buddhism. What we need to learn from Buddhism is the fundamental orientation of human life. Once we stand upon that foundation, an appropriate way of life will unfold in accordance with circumstances. I express this in the slogan: “From Impermanence to Devotion.”

'''B:''' Then Confucius’s saying, “A neighborhood is beautiful when there is benevolence; if one does not choose to dwell in benevolence, how can one be called wise?” expresses the same view of life.

'''A:''' I think so. The ''tian'' of Confucianism, the God of Christianity, Japanese Shintō and the Buddha of Buddhism may all be explained differently, but if we follow them to their roots, I believe they all rest upon the same path of sacred love.