ABSTRACT

The objective of this research is to study the principles of believing in Theravāda Buddhism  and  Christianity according to St.Augustine Sainty  to find out how they are, and whether they are the same or different.

                      From the research it was found that belief in the Theravāda Buddhism  means the firm belief in goodness which is the belief supported by reasons. It belief supervised by wisdom and leading to the state of believing according to truth. It belief which induces one to see the relationship between the cause and the effect of all things. The Theravāda Buddhism emphasizes that one must not have decision on any matter before on approves it by oneself as reasonable belief. The reasonable belief in Buddhist scripture is really The Tathāgatabodhi-saddhā. Later on the Principle of Believing in Theravāda Buddhism was confined to 4 kinds of belief namely : Kamma-saddhā (belief in the law of action), Vipāka-saddhā (belief in the result of action), Kammassakatā-saddhā (belief in the fact that one has the action of one’s own), and Tathāgatabodhi-saddhā (belief in the Buddha’s enlightenment). In conclusion, it emphasizes that one must belief in the law of nature, the law of an individual person’s action or the law of cause and effect and the belief in the Triple Gem as the example and the law to be understood and practiced for being free from all kinds of suffering.

                      In Christianity according to St.Augustine viewpoint , the same as the belief held by all the Christians, that is to say it essentially the  relation to the God. It means the mental attachment to truth above nature and the human obedience with joy to  God. It is the way of offering confidence to  God which is the permanent attitude by which the human beings acknowledge God open mindedly, because this kind of action is the grace given to all by God. Belief in Christianity according to St.Augustine  is of two types:  the belief that there is one God and the belief in Him.

                      Comparing the two views, the researcher found out  that there are both  similar and different aspects as follows: Regarding the definition, the importance, the classification and the highest aim of belief, there are similar ties and differences according to the characteristics  Religion , but the principles of believing in Theravāda Buddhism  and  Christianity according to St.Augustine  in the highest Reality are absolutely different from each other.

                      The principles of believing of wisdom (Ñānฺasampayutta  - saddhā) and the principles of believing  the existence of God are much different from each other. That is to say, the faith consisting of wisdom is the principles of believing  with wisdom and reasonability. It is the way of testing with one’s wisdom up to the realization of reasons, the confidence, the freedom from doubt and the final belief. It is in the from of belief after fully understanding. On the contrary, Christianity according to St.Augustine belief in proving the existence of God confirms that God is the supreme above  nature, and the human beings cannot really understand  God as he really. The knowledge and the understanding of the existence of God come  from the above, The principles of believing helps human beings to prepare their minds to be ready to find out the reasons to support their beliefs. So, the principles of believing  in proving the existence of God comes before the reasons and the understanding. It is in the form belief in order to understand truth.