Manjushri Bodhisattva requests Worthy Leader Bodhisattva to expound upon the practice of Supreme merit and virtue.
Worthy Leader Bodhisattva says,
‘Faith is the source of the Way,
And the Mother of Merit and Virtue.
‘With Faith one will certainly arrive
At the Ground of the Thus Come One.’

Annotation
Faith is an especially important prerequisite for entering deeply into the boundless Treasury of Sutras. If one does not believe in a principle, one will not make any attempts to apply it in one’s daily life. On the other hand, if one’s faith in a certain principle is unshakable, then one will endeavor to observe and maintain it even at the cost of one’s life. Which is to say, one would rather die than do something against what one believes in.
The Buddha did not come into the world to create mere scholars, philosophers, theorists, or glib talkers. The World Honored One spoke the Avatamsaka Sutra in order to create living Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Sages. Hence, Buddhism gives prominence to actual practice. The Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua says,
“You may speak of it wonderfully,
speak of it well,
But unless you walk down it,
it’s not the Way.
Buddhism isn’t just concerned with scholarly erudition. In Buddhism, the emphasis is placed upon actual practice, the application of the principles and attainment of true skill.”
In the Shurangama Sutra, the Venerable Ananda highlighted this point. He was foremost in erudition and had a perfect photographic memory. But, he neglected the cultivation and development of samadhi-power. Hence, he was snared by a powerful artifice.
Before one can practice, one must first believe what the Buddha taught. In Buddhism, faith arises based on knowledge, investigation, and observation. Only if one’s faith or belief in the Buddha’s Teaching is like Vajra and indestructible can one reap true benefits from learning the Buddhadharma. Here is a story which was told by the Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua that illustrates the point:
“Once there were two Bhikshus (monks) in Varanasi who wanted to make the long journey to Shravasti to see the Buddha. As they walked, they grew more and more thirsty, until they could barely walk any further. They were about to die of thirst. In front of them, they found a little water that had collected in a human skull.
“One of the Bhikshus took up the skull, drank some of the water, and then turned to give some to the other Bhikshu. The other Bhikshu, seeing that the water was in a skull, and that, moreover, there were many bugs in it, didn’t drink it.
“The first Bhikshu said, ‘Why aren’t you drinking the water? We are nearly dead of thirst.’
“The other Bhikshu said, ‘Because the Buddha’s precepts say that we can’t drink water if there are bugs in it. Although I may die of thirst, I’m not going to drink water with bugs in it. I want to stick to the Buddha’s precepts in my cultivation.’
“The first Bhikshu said, ‘Oh, you’re really stupid. If you drink some of the water, you’ll be able to go and see the Buddha. If you don’t drink it, you’ll die of thirst. Don’t be so inflexible.’ Even after such a rebuke, the other Bhikshu still wouldn’t take a drink. The first Bhikshu drank all of the water, and as he walked on he felt very strong. But, the second Bhikshu, who hadn’t drunk any water, died of thirst along the way.

“Because the second Bhikshu had single-mindedly held the precepts, he was born in the Trayastrimsha Heaven and was endowed with the blessed appearance of a god. From there he went to see the Buddha, and upon hearing the Buddha speak Dharma for him, he attained the pure Dharma-Eye and realized the fruition of Arhatship. Meanwhile, the Bhikshu who had drunk the water from the skull arrived at Shravasti after three more days of traveling. The Bhikshu who had died of thirst saw the Buddha on the night of his death and then realized the fruition. Three days later, the other Bhikshu arrived and saw the Buddha.

“The Buddha asked him, ‘Where did you come from? How many people came with you? Was the trip uneventful?’ The Bhikshu told his story to the Buddha in detail: ‘We came from Varanasi, and the road was long. At one point on the way we were without water, but eventually we found some water that had collected in a skull. I drank some, but my fellow cultivator wouldn’t drink it when he saw that there were bugs in it, so he died of thirst. The fact is that he didn’t have affinities with the Buddha, and so he died instead of seeing the Buddha. His attachments were too strong.”

“After the Buddha heard the story, he told the Bhikshu who had died of thirst to come forward. The Buddha said, ‘That very day he was reborn in the heavens and was endowed with the life span of a god, which is quite long. Then he came to my Dharma assembly, and I spoke Dharma for him. He has already realized the fruition of the Way. You say that he was stupid, but in truth you are the stupid one. You didn’t keep the Buddha’s precepts and although you have come to see me, you might as well not have seen me, because your mind isn’t true. You aren’t sincere enough; you didn’t hold the precepts.’ ”

So, sometimes a person who truly has faith in the Buddha’s Teaching can appear like a dummy, a total nincompoop in the eyes of ordinary people. But, the Sages however would regard those who don’t know how to benefit themselves or exploit others as people who are wise. It all depends on who is doing the judging.

If one believes in the Dharma, one will try one’s utmost to act in accord with it regardless of how difficult it is to uphold such conduct. Therefore, the Sutra says that those with faith will definitely accomplish Buddhahood.
Faith is the first listed among the ‘Eleven Wholesome Dharmas.’ In Chinese it is            Syin. In Sanskrit it is Shraddha.

The Bhikshu Walpola Rahula explains it in the following manner,
“In Buddhist texts there is a word Saddha which is usually translated as ‘faith’ or ‘belief.’ But saddha is not ‘faith’ as such, but rather ‘confidence’ born out of conviction…
“The teaching of the Buddha is qualified as ehi-passika, inviting you to ‘come and see,’ but not to come and believe.”
In other words, ‘Faith’ in Buddhism does not mean blind faith.
Faith is having a pure mind,
            without turbidity or filth.
It destroys arrogance and is
            the root of reverence and respect.
Among the treasuries of Dharma,
            it is the foremost wealth.
It is with pure hands receiving
            the multitude of practices.
Avatamsaka Sutra
Worthy Leader Chapter