As we can look at most religion, it grounds on faith other than reason. On the other hand, the interesting thing about Buddhism is that it is different. In Buddist's Doctrine, reason comes before faith. The great one, the Buddha, said that when one listens to him one does not have to believe what he said, instead one listen then one have to think before make up any conclusion by oneself. Therefore to consider one as a real Buddist, one must know that reason comes before faith.

For me, Buddhism is a rational religion and as rational as scientific thought. Around 2500 years ago ( the same time as Socrates of the Western, and the former of Taoism in China Lao Zhu we can refoer to as the first axail age, of course, refers to the period approximately 500 B.C., spread two or three hundred years in either direction, in which the world had seen, in succession, the appearance of famous philosophic giants), the Great Buddha was trying to find so-called universal truth of mankind which he found The Four Facts of Change at first as the base of the Buddist thought. The first of all is the fact that we, humans, have to be born or the birth. Second, we are growing and getting older as the time goes by. This change naturally changes us physically and mentally. Third, change because of illness. This change bring suffer and sorrow to us mankind. The last is the death which we all have to face. All these four facts of changes is undeniable to us mankind.From The Four Facts of Change, the Buddha set it as the basic concept of Buddist Doctrine. He stated that all things are uncertain to us and especially us mankind.

By: Mr. Sia, Seattle. (tthattho@ix.netcom.com)