Last night I went with my dad to see a Buddhist monk from Tibet speak at Evergreen. He was, at first, really difficult for me to listen to; he was so relaxed with his speaking and manner, I was having difficulty focusing on him. I guess that means I had all the symptoms of being bored, but was not truly bored. But his message was simple: "Drop your mind." By realizing that our whole world exists in our head, and that our minds are our perception one can learn through meditation how to become at peace with ourselves. Once I relaxed, I then got more into it, his talk was rhythmic, and became "looser." He was not a natural born sales man, which brings me to my next idea:
Buddhism (even though it is growing in the US) will never be a major religion in the US, because of our ingrained capitalistic nature. Buddhist think less is more, while Americans think more is more. I had a discussion with my dad, who I went to the talk with, and I said that the religion is pretty contradictory to what I like about myself: my drive and dreams. Ambition is worthless to a Buddhist....
But the fact that they're so relaxed, and content with themselves it seems makes me wish I could swap all the crazy evangelists and fundamentalists of other religions for more Buddhists.
That would make the world a quieter place- Imagine a Buddhist Fox News Channel! Wait, you can't!
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