At the End of All Belief

Scott Bradley

There is no faith deeper / than at the end of all belief.
— Chen Jen

I hope readers will forgive me for not only quoting myself, but also for quoting the same lines repeatedly. My only defense is that this particular line never ceases to inspire me. And if I say that it inspires me, it can only mean that it really has very little to do with me in terms of possession.

These words take me to the edge of a precipice. Innocent of every explanation and answer, one is invited to plunge into the wonderful, all-enveloping sea of trust.

Trust in what? One can say, trust in life, trust in things as they seem, trust in the Unknowable, or one can simply say, "just trust".

Trust may be something that we choose to do, but it is also already something that we necessarily do in every moment of our existence. To live is to trust. It is unavoidable. In this sense, to take the plunge into trust "adds nothing to life" at all. It is simple agreement with the fundamental condition of life.

What is trust? It is complete affirmation and acceptance of things as they arise. It is thankfulness. It is letting go completely. It is surrender. It is the freedom to wander without fear. It is complete non-dependence — nothing need be known, nothing need be true, no foundation or ground of being need be established. With nothing relied upon, there is nothing to lose, and therefore, there is nothing to fear.

The end of belief is a pre-condition for the ultimate plunge into trust simply because in belief one puts trust, which would otherwise be unmediated, in a ‘truth’ or a concept — one depends on something supposed to be fixed in a world utterly unfixed.

You can check out Scott's other miscellaneous writings here.