Jay’s Learning Model Revisited

The purpose of this model is to have a tool that can be used to evaluate a faith-based approach to learning.

This model is an updated version of the one originally published on September 9, 2020. See blog post Living Polar Bears and Dead Frogs – My Learning Model.

The purpose of this model is to have a tool that can be used to evaluate a faith-based approach to learning. There are two key statements that formed the inspiration behind the model.

The first statement is:

“A position that begins with an inflexible1 conclusion and seeks ‘evidence’ to support it is impervious to reason”

Steve Cuno

This statement forms the top and bottom of the model separated by the horizontal axis, with “rigid” at the top and “flexible” at the bottom. As the statement describes, it is rather impossible to learn anything new unless one is flexible enough to receive it.

The second statement is:

“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”

D&C 88:118

This statement forms the left and right of the model separated by the vertical axis, with “faith” on the right. On the left I have placed the word “belief”. Not because “belief” is the opposite of “faith,” but because the purpose of the model is to emphasize that the preferred method of learning new truth is through “faith.” But as not everyone can easily approach learning from a place rooted in true faith, then (as the scripture indicates) the next best method is to approach it through study that can then lead to, or draw one toward, true faith.

To best comprehend what the model is communicating, it is important to understand that for the purpose of this model faith is being defined as something that is more than belief; a principle of action that requires one to act on belief in order to produce faith. Faith is being defined as a principle of power through action, in which one puts those beliefs into action and thereby acquires power. One can spend a lifetime as a “believer”2 without ever developing faith. Before belief can turn into faith, action is required. Without some action consistent with belief, a disciple cannot move along from mere belief to developing faith. It is action, obedience, and living in conformity to God’s will that yields faith.3

The movement from “belief” on the left toward “faith” on the right represents a section of points along a spectrum. Somewhere to the left of “belief” would include “doubt” and “unbelief”. To the right of “faith” would move one toward “knowledge”. Though he is not using the same vocabulary, Paul describes the process in these words:

“…suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

Rom 5:3-4. NIV
  1. The word “inflexible” has been added to the original statement so that it more correctly reflects truth. ↩︎
  2. Not in the sense used in Evangelical Christianity describing a saved brother or sister, but in the sense being described in the model. ↩︎
  3. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8-9. NIV) ↩︎

Buddhist Definition of Faith

What Does It Mean to Have “Deep Faith”?

In Nichiren Buddhism the most important of Buddha’s teachings is found in the Lotus Sutra.

The twelfth century Japanese Buddhist priest, Nichiren, taught that one can attain Buddhahood in this lifetime by chanting what is essentially the title of the Lotus Sutra, “Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.”

The Japanese title of the Lotus Sutra (daimoku) depicted in a stone inscription.

The qualifier Nichiren gives that activates the power of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is “deep faith.”:

“If you chant Myoho-renge-kyo with deep faith in this principle, you are certain to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime.”

(Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, page 4. Hereafter abbreviated “WND-1, page number.”)

What Does It Mean to Have “Deep Faith”?

To answer this question, and to avoid imposing ideas from my own culture and background, I sought to understand faith from the Buddhist point of view by turning to the Lotus Sutra. From my research I was able to identify this following definition based on a study of “faith” as found in the Lotus Sutra:

Faith is something that needs to be developed and cultivated1. It causes one to change direction.2 It is a principle of power.3 Failure to have faith is destructive,4 meaning that faith is a constructive force. The overbearing and arrogant ones lacked it.5 Doubt and perplexity are its opposite.6 It was through “faith alone”7 that Shariputra was able to gain entrance. Being able to comply with the sutra was because of faith in the Buddha’s words, not because of “any wisdom of their own”.8

  1. “Persons will be able to develop minds of faith, abruptly changing their direction.” (The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, p.27. Hereafter abbreviated “LSOC, page number.”) ↩︎
  2. Ibid. ↩︎
  3. “Among the other kinds of living beings there are none who can comprehend it, except the many bodhisattvas who are firm in the power of faith. (LSOC, 58)
    “These people will possess the power of great faith, the power of aspiration, the power of good roots.”
    (LSOC, 204)
    “If the thus come one knows that the time has come to enter nirvana, and knows that the members of the assembly are pure and clean, firm in faith and understanding…”
    (LSOC, 173)
    “Shariputra, you should know that the words of the various buddhas never differ. Toward the Law preached by the buddhas you must cultivate a great power of faith.”
    (LSOC, 59)
    From these above passages we learn that faith is a principle of power. It requires firmness and is associated with understanding. ↩︎
  4. “If a person fails to have faith but instead slanders this sutra, immediately he will destroy all the seeds for becoming a buddha in any world.” (LSOC, 110) ↩︎
  5. “There are monks and nuns who behave with overbearing arrogance, laymen full of self-esteem, laywomen who are lacking in faith.” (LSOC, 67) ↩︎
  6. “When the buddha preached this sutra, the sixteen bodhisattva shramaneras all took faith in it and accepted it, and among the multitude of voice-hearers there were also those who believed in it and understood it. But the other thousand ten thousand million types of living beings all gave way to doubt and perplexity.” (LSOC, 171) ↩︎
  7. From the Simile and Parable (chapter three) we learn from the Buddha’s words to Shariputra:
    “Even you, Shariputra, in the case of this sutra were able to gain entrance through faith alone. How much more so, then, the other voice-hearers. Those other voice-hearers—it is because they have faith in the Buddha’s words that they can comply with this sutra, not because of any wisdom of their own.” (LSOC, 109-10)
    Nichiren explains this passage:
    “This passage is saying that even Shāriputra, who was known for his great wisdom, was, with respect to the Lotus Sutra, able to gain entrance through faith and not through the power of his wisdom. How much more so, therefore, does this hold true with the other voice-hearers!” (WND-1, 132)  ↩︎
  8. Ibid. ↩︎

Well Behaved Women and Transgenderism

My prayer is that no matter where our political beliefs tend to draw us, individually we can still choose kindness and tolerance.

Some months ago someone shared with me a video. I couldn’t decide if I agreed with the idea being presented:

“Feminism has been one of the loudest advocates for the transgender minority. Miss magazine which is a U.S.-based feminist publication, has a yearly list of top feminists. Multiple women on this list were added simply for being transgender. As an ideology feminists aim to break the patriarchy and reinforce equality between men and women often citing things like the gender pay gap or tearing down stereotypes. But trans people fight for the exact opposite. They want the stereotype. They want the heels the long styled hair and the dresses. These are two groups that couldn’t be fighting for more opposite goals, but yet feminist groups continue to celebrate trans victories. [It] seems very strange that feminist organizations like Miss magazine, which fought for the eradication of female stereotypes like staying at home, or their place is the kitchen, would accept these stereotypes when it comes to transgender. Feminist movements can’t both support and not support female stereotypes at the same time. Now I will say that unlike the 2021 list of top feminists which had several trans women on it, the Miss magazine 2022 list of top feminists has none. So it appears that the wokeness is starting to wake up to some of its logic fallacies.” (5 Woke Contradictions, The Think Report, Jan 14, 2023)

I paused to reconsider the presenter’s conclusion about female stereotypes. There are harmful stereotypes and less harmful stereotypes. The example of a toddler that I relate below, seems to be a less harmful stereotype. Stereotypes of women, like staying at home, or their place is the kitchen, can be more harmful stereotypes. On the other hand, the stereotype that women are feminine and beautiful could be argued is a less harmful stereotype (acknowledging, of course, that any of these ideas are subject to abuse and can be more or less harmful in given circumstances).

“When I think of, say, a toddler, I think of a toddler as throwing tantrums, not eating what you give them to eat, being demanding and irrational. Those are all stereotypes about toddlers. Individual toddlers may behave differently.

A stereotype is a commonly held mental image, as our definition puts it, that represents an over-simplified opinion, a prejudiced attitude, or an unconsidered judgment about someone or something.” (A Totally Original History of ‘Stereotype’, emphasis mine.)

I can’t say that “an over-simplified opinion” is necessarily a bad thing, but “a prejudiced attitude or unconsidered judgment about someone” seems to approach something more clearly harmful or dangerous.

I wonder if the focus on stereotypes misses the more important point in this discussion.

Consider Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s work. She wrote a book titled Well Behaved Women Don’t Make History, which has since been turned into a slogan. The title was taken from an earlier article she wrote about funerals in the Puritan era and the behavior of women. The article makes this sobering observation:

“In ministerial literature, as in public records, women became legitimately visible in only three ways: they married, they gave birth, they died.”

As demeaning as that sentence sounds, I think we should not be too quick to dismiss the significance of what is sandwiched between ‘they married’ and ‘they died’. Women alone carry within them the power to create life.

The Always ad campaign #LikeAGirl, focused on the female stereotype of ‘running like a girl‘. But the point extends beyond simply a message about the stereotype.

“What advice do you have to young girls who are told they run like a girl, kick like a girl, hit like a girl, swing like a girl?

Keep doing it cuz it’s working. If somebody else says that running like a girl or kicking like a girl or shooting like a girl is something that you shouldn’t be doing, that’s their problem. Because if you’re still scoring and you’re still getting to the ball on time, and you’re still being first, you’re doing it right. Doesn’t matter what they say. I mean yes I kick like a girl and I swim like a girl and I walk like a girl and I wake up in the morning like a girl, because I AM a girl.”

Being aquatinted with some friends and family who describe their experience with being transgender as a struggle, has drawn me to wonder. Whatever words you may use to describe femininity, it must include the kind of things that, if you are a male engaged in this struggle, you feel trapped in a body that is opposite of those traits and attributes. I can’t imagine the contradiction of living inside a body, complete with all the physical paraphernalia that makes up the male, feeling sexually confused and uncomfortable inside my own skin. It would stand to reason how the experience of depression and self loathing (words that have been used by those I know struggling with their transgenderism) would accompany living such a contradiction.

In their book A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century, Brett and Heather make a distinction between ‘hotness’ and ‘beauty’ and the roles these play in the evolutionary process. “Hotness fades fast with reproductive potential. Beauty fades far more slowly.” (See Heying, Heather; Weinstein, Bret. A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century (p. 119). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.) For some, there is little that can be done to create what could be considered attractive ‘hotness’, given the package within which they have to work. Depending on how much physical appearance is a factor in how one identifies and feels, this could additionally contribute to the challenges of depression and self-contempt.

There is a lot of attention given to those who would abuse transgenderism in order to serve a selfish or politicly motivated agenda. One obvious example is Avi Silverberg, the head coach for Team Canada Powerlifting for more than 10 years, entered Hero’s Classic tournament in Lethbridge, Alberta, after identifying as a female, and then winning the women’s competition.

This exemplifies the valid concern I raised recently at work when I posed the following question (directed to the women’s ally resource group):

“I’m honestly confused. How do women feel at the possibility of being taken advantage of by some man capitalizing on a system where he can claim to be a woman for the purpose of exploiting a situation? This is not asked from a perspective with any specific person or situation in mind, but I’m genuinely curious how women may feel at the potentiality of those who might be inclined to take advantage of and manipulate or abuse women in any environment that facilitates such exploitation.”

For those legitimately trying to navigate the complexity of their own trans identity, I believe it only adds tension to the situation they find themselves in when these issues get abused by those with selfish intentions or politically motivated agendas.

Rarely have I encountered someone where it was not evident the person was male or female. In these cases, if they don’t have their pronoun broadcast clearly on a T-shirt they may be wearing, or I have not seen their email signature that identifies it, then, should I choose to engage a conversation where I don’t want to offend, I may find myself in the awkward position of having to carefully navigating the social situation. Perhaps I will listen in on conversations and wait to see how others who know the person address them.

I imagine that if I were a female with enough masculine features that could confuse people as to my gender, and I would prefer not to be identified as a boy, then what I would do is choose more feminine style clothing and accentuate my more feminine characteristics in some way, or do other things that would make it more evident who I am. With this idea in mind, if I’m a transgender woman and I don’t have all the characteristics of a beautiful or ‘hot’ female, then I could understand dressing up to indicate to the outside world and make it evident how I choose to identify. When I encounter someone who appears to be clearly male, dressed in a way so as to broadcast femininity, which is the better approach? Should I assume 1), they are choosing to be a human billboard promoting a woke agenda, or rather should I take the position that 2), the statement they are publishing has no other agenda than their sincere best effort to reflect their own authentic self in the best way they know how? For me, my own personal truth is that to the best that I am able to judge impartially, I choose to take others at their word. I acknowledge that this takes practice, and I don’t always get it right. To the extent that the statement being broadcast by the way someone chooses to present themselves to the world is in essence, their “word,” how is the best way for me to judge? Can I take them at their word without compromising my belief that there are those with harmful agendas that undermine a very real struggle being experienced by those who are simply trying to circumnavigate this otherwise difficult terrain they find themselves in?

My prayer is that no matter where our political beliefs tend to draw us, individually we can still choose kindness and tolerance as we strive for unity in a world that otherwise seems to increasingly be pushing toward polarizing us into camps of “us” vs “them”.

Politically Motivated Agenda?

As a peacemaker at heart, I have some questions in reference to the idea of those with politically motivated agendas.

In their book Three Laws of Performance, the authors layout three laws that I find quite profound. They are worthy of reflection:

  • First – How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them.
  • Second – How a situation occurs arises in language.
  • Third – Future based language transforms how situations occur to people.

(See Zaffron, Steve; Logan, Dave. The Three Laws of Performance (J-B Warren Bennis Series), Wiley, 2009.)

As a peacemaker at heart, I have some questions in reference to the idea of those with politically motivated agendas.

The resourcefulness of the language we use serves us. It is important to understand the role language serves in shaping how things occur to people, and thereby transforming how people perform as a result. The constructive application of the three laws benefits us.

Can these laws be used destructively as well? Movements that seek to re-define the language we use should be carefully examined. Does the agenda and motive behind such causes serve the best interest of humanity? Does the result of such attempts serve to unite or polarize the culture into which the endeavor is being introduced?

Buddhism and My Perspective of Who I Am

Jay’s Experience with Buddhism – Jay’s 5-minute sharing at Wasatch chapter meeting on 28 Jan 2024

One of the most significant things that I have learned in my experience since encountering Nichiren Buddhism, is how it has enriched my identity – a deeper sense of who I am.

“In the Lotus Sutra’s eighth and ninth chapters, the “Prophecy of Enlightenment for Five Hundred Disciples” and “Prophecies Conferred on Learners and Adepts,” the voice-hearer disciples awaken to their true identities.”1 (Living Buddhism, Jan 2024, p.40)

In April of last year, along with Clete in the panel of presenters was a student from India (Tanu?). I was impressed with her comments. She talked about how anyone who chants and shares Buddhism with others will attain enlightenment. Those who attain it in this life will be given a choice to stay in the happy land after they die, or to go to the impure land – world of endurance (that would be this world) and endure suffering again. Why would anyone want to? Because we voluntarily came to earth to help others attain the same. We are Buddhas in past life and have chosen to come here. We are “supremely noble” she said.2 (See JJournal 23 Apr 2023)

Her comment left an impression on me. I did not expect to find the things that I’ve discovered in my study of Buddhism. It is, as it were, (in the words of the Lotus Sutra), like a cluster of jewels that have come to me unexpectedly, it’s come to me, unsought. (See The Lotus Sutra and Its Opening and Closing Sutras, 2009, translated by Burton Watson, Soka Gakkai. Translation from Kumarajiva (Chinese), abbreviated as “LSOC,” p.124)
Nichiren writes:

“It is rare to be born a human being. The number of those endowed with human life is as small as the amount of earth one can place on a fingernail. Life as a human being is hard to sustain—as hard as it is for the dew to remain on the grass.” (Writings of Nichiren Daishonin, Volume 1, abbreviated as WND-1,” p.851)

As rare as it is to be born a human being, the Lotus Sutra tells us that rarer still, is as a human, to hear the Mystic Law3. Rarest of all, as a human who has been fortunate enough to hear the Mystic Law, is to encounter a Buddha.4

It is an incredible experience to recognize that my true identity ties me back to something so ancient that it not only predates my life in this sahā world, but extends back many kulpas.5

Nichiren taught that you must never think that Shakyamuni’s teachings are outside yourself. If you seek enlightenment outside yourself then even performing ten thousand practices and good deeds will be in vain.6 This is true because we are connected with and part of a greater cosmic truth within which we live and move and have our being.7

In his presentation at the Unity in Humanity conference (14 Oct 2023), Danny Hall (Director of Public Affairs for SGI) described our identity as waves on an ocean. Though a wave may have a distinct form, size, shape, height, etc., it is part of a greater thing. That thing is the ocean itself. You can’t separate them. They are connected. And so when I talk about Buddhism is connecting me with something greater than what I am, what fascinates me is not just the wave, which is who I am, but the ocean itself to which I am connected is also who I am. By myself I am nothing.8 Put another way, I could say that I know more than all the world put together. The universal intelligence that connects all things together does anyhow, and I will associate myself with it.9

Thank you.

  1. The article continued with, “They realize that they have always been bodhisattvas striving alongside their mentor.” My thought is that they have always been bodhisattvas in the same sense that the father recognized his son in the parable of the wealthy man and his poor son from the “Belief and Understanding” (fourth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra. To the father, the son had always been his son, even though the son did not awaken to this realization until the very end. The question is, was the son his son before he even existed? The question of “existence” I have started to address in JJournal 22 Jan 2024. ↩︎
  2. Compare Abraham 3:22: “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones. And God saw these souls, that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them and he said, These I will make my rulers. For he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good. And he said unto me, Abraham, you are one of them; you were chosen before you were born.” ↩︎
  3. “The times when the buddhas appear in the world are far apart and difficult to encounter. And even when they appear in the world it is difficult for them to preach this Law. Throughout incalculable, innumerable kalpas it is rare that one may hear this Law, and a person capable of listening to this Law, such a person is likewise rare. It is like the udumbara flower, which all the world loves and delights in, which heavenly and human beings look on as something rare, but which appears only once in many many ages. If a person hears this Law, delights in and praises it, even if he utters just one word, then he has made offerings to all the buddhas of the three existences.” (LSOC p. 79-80) ↩︎
  4. “It is very difficult to encounter a buddha — you meet one once in a million kalpas.” (LSOC, 52)
    “Because encountering the buddha is as difficult as encountering the udumbara flower. Or as difficult as it is for a one-eyed turtle to encounter a floating log with a hole in it. We have been blessed with great good fortune from past existences and so have been born in an age where we can encounter the buddha’s Law.” (LSOC, 356) ↩︎
  5. “And this is the manner after which they were ordained: being called and prepared from the foundation of the world, according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works in the first place, being left to choose good or evil; therefore they, having chosen good, and exercising exceeding great faith, are called with a holy calling — yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.” (Alma 13:3. See also Jeremiah 1:5) ↩︎
  6. “You must never think that any of the eighty thousand sacred teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime or any of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions and three existences are outside yourself. Your practice of the Buddhist teachings will not relieve you of the sufferings of birth and death in the least unless you perceive the true nature of your life. If you seek enlightenment outside yourself, then your performing even ten thousand practices and ten thousand good deeds will be in vain.” (WND-1, 3) ↩︎
  7. See Acts 17:28. Compare also with Mosiah 2:21. ↩︎
  8. What do I mean by that? It is described in the Lotus Sutra in “Peaceful Practices” chapter (14, p.237), but that takes me outside the scope and time limit of today’s topic. See JJournal entries for 21 and 22 Jan 2024. (See also John 5:30, “I can of mine own self do nothing.”) ↩︎
  9. Borrowing language from Joseph Smith, “But I am learned, and know more than all the world put together. The Holy Ghost does, anyhow, and He is within me, and comprehends more than all the world: and I will associate myself with Him.” (TPJS, p. 350) ↩︎