From the excellent Twelve Principles of Buddhism, an appendix to Mahayana Buddhism, by Beatrice Lane Suzuki (the wife of D.T. Suzuki). The twelve principles were drafted by the London Buddhist Society early in the 20th century:

(4) The Universe is the expression of the law. All effects have causes, and man's soul or character is the sum total of his previous thoughts and acts. Karma, meaning action-reaction, governs all existence, and man is the sole creator of his circumstances and his reaction to them, his future condition, and his final destiny. By right thought and action he can gradually purify his inner nature, and so by self-realization attain in time liberation from rebirth. The process covers great periods of time, involving life after life on earth, but ultimately every form of life will reach enlightenment.

There are no miracles; everything arises because of understandable causes. It is a painful idea, perhaps, since we are solely responsible for our circumstances. But hopeful in that we can better our state simply by willing it and following through with the proper effort. We are at the mercy of no one.

Entertainment. A society, like ours, that seems obsessed with seeking entertainment, will probably never find time to devote to inner progress. Cell phones, game boys, Sunday football, blogging. We have filled the nooks and crannies of our days with pleasant distractions. Ours is an age that does not seem suited for the time and energy needed to learn the dharma and put it into motion. I hate all these distractions around me, but they are very hard to resist!

I often feel that I am just playing with Buddhism, learning it at an intelletual level, but not really changing inwardly in response to what I think I am learning. I think that it will be hard to make any real progress without the time and effort needed for a serious attempt at meditation. With jobs, kids and family, that is just something I don't have the time or energy for now. But I am also often reminded of the figure of Tukten, in Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard. Matthiessen holds him up in the end as his real teacher, this humble porter who has no pretensions at all of being a spiritual guide. Near the end of the book, Matthiessen says:

In his life in the moment, in his freedom from attachments, in the simplicity of his everyday example, Tukten has taught me over and over, he is the teacher that I hoped to find.

And so, perhaps we can be quite accomplished, without even knowing it.

Came across this interesting article on Slate.
The author fails to make a good case against Buddhism, but raises some interesting issues.

Will Buddhism gain a large following in the United States only by de-emphasizing the traditional temples, dress and other trappings which clearly link it to asian cultures (at least in our minds?). I recall reading a passage by a prominent asian master, who said essentially that buddhist temples in the U.S. should be built to look like the White House, instead of importing the style of temples as found in asia. This master recognized that many Americans would never be able to get past the "foreignness" of the outward appearance of buddhism and this would be a significant barrier. Thus, it would have to be put in a package that was acceptable and familar to a U.S. audience. Now this may seem offensive to some, but hasn't the spread of buddhism throughout the many and varied cultures of asia been possible only because of its being adapted to local conditions and attitudes?

from an Edward Conze book. I think this is a nice statement of basic buddhist ethics and right-living:

Of whatever teachings, you can assure yourself that they are conducive to dispassion, and not to passion; detachment, and not to bondage; to decrease of worldly gains, and not to their increase; to frugality, and not to coveting; to content, and not to discontent; to solitude, and not to company; to energy, and not to sluggishness; to delight in good, and not to delight in evil. Of such teachings, you may with certainty affirm; this is the norm; this is the discipline; this is the master's message.