I was raised Episcapalian and have long considered myself Christian- though I had not been to Church in a while
This summer my BF and I decided to find a church together- well we had a time! He was raised Methodist and although we both considered ourselves Christian- we couldn't agree on a place to share faith! That got us to thinking something was wrong- Here we are the same faith-but dif religions- and it made us doubt the beliefs of our own hearts and history
So we decided to branch out a bit.
Last month we started taking Kaddampa Buddhism classes and it just felt right for both of us. Kaddampa Buddhism CAN be used w/other religions (from their view though the other religions may disagree) or as a person who is Buddhist. It made us see that faith affects are actions here and now and that is what should be important. Most religions have the same "guidelines" (I don't know how to word that... criteria for sin perhaps) and as long as you live your life w/love and compassion- then you will reach a higher realm.
Is that realm w/God? Is it a state of enlightenment? Could it be peace and joy on Earth? Whatever your religion calls it- or however they describe it- it all means Nirvana- a place of supreme happiness. To me it just makes sense to remove the labels and live the life w/Nirvana as the goal.
|