A claim is a statement that is either true or false. A belief is the acceptance of a claim as true, which then becomes a rule of action. Beliefs are inevitable. We all have them—no exceptions.
If you say that beliefs are not important, that itself is a belief. Clearly, the belief that beliefs are not important is important. If you say you can have Buddhism without beliefs, then you hold a belief about Buddhism—namely, that beliefs are unnecessary. Yet they clearly are.
The first factor of the Eightfold Path is usually translated as “Right View,” but the Pali term actually refers to beliefs. The first factor of Buddhism is right belief. This is because beliefs, whether acknowledged or not, direct our actions.
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