Reply To: Questions From a Beginner

#52221
taryal
Participant

Hi y not,

Sorry for responding late. I’ve been busy looking for a job but the tech market hasn’t been so generous towards early grads like me. But I also wish you well and hope to see you soon!

I agree with what you said above. Humans generally seem to have a propensity to latch onto the “easy” routes. Why bother spending multiple lives straining your mind in search of the truth when you can “choose” to have faith that guarantees ticket to heaven? So it doesn’t seem unusual to think that Buddha’s prediction that Dhamma will flourish only for about 5 centuries became true.

In my country of Nepal, there is always a buzz regarding Buddha’s birthplace. If you go there and say “Buddha was born in India”, you could be abused. But if you ask them, “What did Buddha teach?”, then I can assure you that 99.9% wouldn’t have a clue. Growing up, I used to be a “believer” of divine like everyone else but after I was old enough to think for myself, I understood that worshipping an imaginary “sugar daddy” won’t bring any lasting peace. While your family and friends are headed to temple, worshipping statues and bathing in water alleged to be “sacred”, it was tough being the only one who didn’t (willingly) follow such hoax. I used to think that being an Atheist is hard. But now guess what I’ve realized, being a Buddhist is harder!