In her Dharma talk, Carole will explore the distinction between faith and hope in Buddhist practice: In Buddhism, ‘faith’ doesn’t mean ‘blind belief’. While hope is based on wanting an outcome to occur that may differ from what actually happens; faith comes from a trust that is grounded in the Dhamma (the Teachings) and is based in our lived present moment experience. When hope eludes us, it is important to remember that our actions, how we are living now, and what we care about matters, regardless of the outcome. 

To paraphrase something the late Dhamma Teacher Joanna Macy stated,‘When hope eludes us, we can rely on our courage and commitment to what we love, and what matters to us…Even if it fails, or feels like it’s a lost cause, we can choose to act even when we’re not seeing the light of possibility. It reveals something about who we are and how beautiful that is.’

Some questions we’ll consider this Sunday are: What is it that I am faithful to verses what am I hoping for? What supports me in staying aligned with thisunderstanding?