大乘起信論義疏 1.4

1.4

Question: Why must one first exhort the awakening of faith? This faith is the very entry point into the Buddha-Dharma. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: "Faith is the source of the path and the mother of merits." Moreover, a treatise says: "The faithful mind is like hands. A person with hands who enters the ocean can pick up treasures at will; a person without hands, although encountering a treasure trove, cannot pick them up." The faithful mind is also like this. If there is a person of faith who enters the treasures of the Buddha-Dharma, cultivating according to their capacity, they will attain the joy of liberation; if there is a person without faith, although they encounter the Buddha-Dharma, they will obtain nothing in vain. Therefore one must awaken faith.