Lead a Good Life

Whether you believe in God or not does not matter so much, whether you believe in Buddha or not does not matter so much. You must lead a good life.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

James: I thought that this was a good quote to wrap up the discussion from the last post on Buddhism and Atheism.

It reminds me of another thing that the Dalai Lama said. He said that one does not have to be a Buddhist to understand and receive benefits from the Dharma. Just as we do not have to be a Christian to benefit from the teachings of Jesus or a Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Atheist, etc.

My parents are devoted Mormons yet find parts of the Dharma that ring true to them and thus adopt them into their path. I do the same with the teachings of Jesus--especially the beattitudes that Tim brought up in a comment on the last post.

There is so much that we can learn from each other.

And yet, at many times I find myself playing that game of us vs. them--especially being apart of a minority faith in a very fundamental and loud Christian country that does not have much respect for other traditions. Such energy makes me want to fight the Christians--defend my faith. The self (lower case "s") feels bruised by not being respected and even feels that its religion might be stamped out--and what if it does? Do not the teachings live on in ourselves? In our actions, words and deeds?? Good always has a way of surviving any attempted eradication.

One does not need the structure of an organized religion to do what is right and be compassionate, loving and tolerant.

Sometimes I see religions to be similar to universities (this is a bit of a complicated comparison but stick with me. It should make sense)--they can bring one an advantage in obtaining a good job (peace and happiness) but that is not always the case. No amount of classes or degrees (prayers, dogma, rituals, titles, mantras) can replace diligence, street smarts and real world experience (living a good life--including tolerance and respect for other people different from ourselves for example).

Many people (Atheists for one) avoid college (religion) altogether and still succeed in finding a good life (finding peace and happiness--knowing right from wrong). We must remind ourselves on a regular basis that we never have a monopoly upon Truth.

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO: A mystical fog surrounds Po Lin monastery on Lantau island in Hong Kong, China.