I think I know why so many people believe in god; it certainly makes things easier. Buddhism, true Buddhism, is hard work. Having to take responsibility for my own fate, advancing myself purely upon my own effort, not having the comfort of someone else who is watching over me and will make everything all right in the end. I think of monotheism as a child's view of the world, and Buddhism for adults.

Now to really make it anywhere in the U.S., your religion has to appeal to the military mindset (forget about the pacifist nature of real Christianity). So perhaps we should view the mind as an arrow, being trained to pierce. Buddhism as a way of sharpening the mind, intellect. The Buddhist as a mind soldier?

An interesting article about the relation between religion and morality:
http://magic-city-news.com/article_2566.shtml

The quote from Harry Truman in the article is astounding. Imagine the reasoning (or lack thereof) of persons who believe their God would sanction wholesale destruction of other persons. Monotheism seems to pave the way, or at least "open the door," for all sorts of horrors.

Just how serious do we take the concept of karma and rebirth? I recall a striking article from a few years ago, where an inquisitive American was granted a few moments with the Dalai Lama. He probed the D.L. with several questions about karma, to see just how far he could go with it. After a few minutes, the D.L. was asked about disabled children. Was their condition the result of bad actions in the past? "Of course" replied the D.L., as if this was a terribly obvious answer. The American noted that at this point the D.L.'s handlers quickly intervened and explained that this was "only for Buddhists," as if an American should not be exposed to such ideas.

And surely the D.L.'s handlers were right. If the laws of karma and rebirth really do apply, then indeed "we can't handle the truth." Is this a concept that the West has outgrown, since science has so many explanations for things unknown in the past?

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