Hello Sangha,

This post is really more me thinking out loud, but feel free to comment if you wish. I may be off-base here.

Everyone has heard the phrase before "buddhism is not a faith-based religion" (let's not get into the religion vs. philosophy debate right now). But, until recently, I considered the Precepts and the 8-Fold-Path as "faith." I said to myself "can't everything be discovered through zazen? who needs these statements telling me what I should or shouldn't do?"

However, now it makes sense. The Precepts and 8-Fold-Path were themselves discovered through the meditation practices of the Buddha. They have been "tried and tested" over the thousands of years since then in that they produce experiential results within ones lifetime. So, in that sense they are not "commandments of faith" but, rather, tried and tested tools developed out of meditation to compliment meditation (and for meditation to complement them).

Pure "faith" implies something you can never personally experience in your lifetime (e.g., salvation in heaven or damnation in hell). The Precepts and 8-Fold-Path, therefore, are not based on faith.