Shin Buddhism in Modern Culture

Chapter 11 – The Symbolic Structure of Faith

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Fundamentally, Buddhism is non-mythological. Over the centuries, however, myths and legends have evolved because:
- the Buddha has come to be revered as a true human being
- the historical Buddha has evolved into a Cosmic Buddha
- people who revere the Buddha have good imaginations
2. The writers of the Pure Land Sutras had as their focus the:
- suffering of humanity
- life of Siddharta Gautama
- goal of Nirvana
3. Which of the following is FALSE?
- modern people still believe strongly in myth
- people today generally think that myths are empty stories
- scientific thought has dispelled the power of myth once had over the lives of people
4. When 19th- and early 20th-century Japanese Buddhist scholars began challenging Buddhist myths, the institutions reacted by:
- rewriting those myths
- dispelling myths altogether
- becoming generally defensive
5. According to D.T. Suzuki, “authority must come from within and not from without.” He goes on to say that, therefore, Pure Land teaching should be interpreted in terms of:
- scriptural authority
- special revelation
- religious consciousness
6. Which of the following regarding the nature of myths is false?
- myths direct themselves to the crucial problems of human existence
- myths always have factual reality
- myths arise from the awareness of human limitations
7. Religious myth is different from other types of myths in that it:
- does not require any form of commitment
- expresses what is ultimate for life
- is absorbed by the individual as norms for attitude and action
8. In regard to myths, religion becomes the taskmaster and tyrant over the human spirit when:
- faith turns into belief
- experience is valued more than doctrine
- people are freed by myth

Submit

Thought Questions

1. Fundamentally, Buddhism is non-mythological. That is, in early Buddhism, the Buddha was regarded as an enlightened human being, and not as a divine figure. Yet, as Buddhism developed, many myths were created to exalt the Buddha and symbolically portray his compassion. Do you personally find these myths relevant to your life? Or are they problematic? In other words, do you find them hard to believe and accept? Why do you think this is so?

2. What kind of authority and credibility do you think religious myths have for contemporary culture? In an age in which science dominates, of what value are myths?

3. Do you think that the critical approach to religion hinders the development of religious faith? Why or why not? Is it possible for the two — a critical attitude and religious faith — to co-exist? To complement each other? What are the dangers of blind faith?

4. Why is it important to understand the symbol system (including myths) of one’s religion?

5. How can religious myth enable a person to discover his true self?

6. The author says that “the myth that frees may also subjugate.” What do you think he means by this?