How to develop faith?

[markatex]

I practiced Soto Zen for a few years before coming to Nichiren Buddhism and I had read fairly broadly, so I already knew about the Four Noble Truths, etc. While it's good to be open-minded, adopting a cafeteria-style approach to the Dharma is something I'm deeply skeptical of. I've read a bit of Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzberg and occasionally will do a few minutes of vipassana or loving-kindness meditation, but they're mainly stress-reduction techniques for me. It seems to me, at this point, that if you've read one popular Dharma book (Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, etc.), you've read them all. Be mindful all the time, everything changes, be nice to people.

At this point, I find that I'm pretty much sticking to reading Nichiren Shonin, Zhiyi, Nagarjuna, and the sutras. The rest is mostly fluff.

Faith is an important subject. Especially in the beginning, experiencing joy in the practice of chanting the daimoku is the key. That sustained me for a long time. Faith deepens as your practice deepens and goes along through the years, but it can take time to get there. I wonder if it often takes having your practice see you through a couple of life-changing events for faith to really grow. I feel like that's been the case for me.

[Queequeg]

Faith deepens as your practice deepens and goes along through the years, but it can take time to get there. I wonder if it often takes having your practice see you through a couple of life-changing events for faith to really grow. I feel like that's been the case for me.

Yep. You can't know the efficacy of practice if its never tested.