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This is something that happened to me recently. Despite not being a Christian, I attended a Christian college in Iowa, USA. My friend’s host parents are missionaries who have travelled to many countries in Asia for their mission trips. They often invited me for supper and hanging out in general. They were usually pretty nice towards me and my friend. But this wasn’t going to last as one day, they asked me “What religion do you follow? Do you believe in God?” I politely responded saying, “I don’t believe in a personal God but I have been studying Gautam Buddha’s teachings.” They asked me why I’m interested in Buddhism and I told them that I want to learn about how our minds work and the conscious experience in general, and Buddha seems like a guy who knows what he’s talking about. I also mentioned some strange effects of meditation I have experienced like almost reaching a state where one can astral travel. As soon as I said this, they freaked out and the following are some of the statements they made:
“Indulging in such things can be really dangerous for you. There are demons in spiritual realm who can attack you.”
“Buddhism is demonic. When we were in Asia, some westerners came to practice Tibetan Buddhism and lost their touch of reality.”
“I have been studying the Bible for many decades. It is not a religion to me. I need to improve in life which means there IS a God.”
“I challenge you to read a Bible book, either Luke or Matthew. I’m sure it will change your mind if you are deeply engaged.”
“I’m sorry the stuff they are teaching you in school is so shallow. Many people here have shallow beliefs. They are just like those Muslims.”
“If (Christian) God revealed himself to the world, they (atheists) will all bow down.”
This is not an exhaustive list but they basically did their best to make me feel like there is something wrong with me for not being a Christian. My response hurt their ego so bad that they started vomiting their insecurities out. It really surprised me because they were almost always really nice. My friend told me that they are nice until religion is the talking point. This made me quite angry and a couple days after they invited me again, I told them to f themselves after which they said, “Wow Taryal. That is a really inappropriate thing to say to someone older. I will honor your demand but please know I will pray for you.” They basically said they hate me now but will pray for me. Now they are in India continuing their mission of screwing with other people’s lives. It is quite unfortunate that such people exist and there are so many of them in this world. It doesn’t look like these Christians will ever stop being so selfish and abandon their useless missionary work which only create more problems.
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I too when was unaware of the Buddha Dhamma used to go to a church, and I asked some questions. That pastor looked so calm but when he couldn’t answer my questions, anger was evident on his face.
When I asked related questions to the Muslims online recently, they said that I am mad, and Allah knows everything.
They couldn’t really answer my questions without contradictions, and called me stupid instead!
That too caused a lot of disturbance in my mind, but now I have realised that it’s a waste of time. I no longer argue with people on such matters, even if someone asks me what religion do I follow, I try to change the topic.
If someone has the merits, he/she will automatically come across the true Buddha Dhamma.
Every religion claims they know everything, yet their believers suffer mentally and are unhappy. What an irony!
The Highly Religious people could be the Highly immoral people as well!
It’s better not to generate hateful thoughts towards such people, rather have sympathy towards them. Have kindness towards them. And stay away from them. Otherwise they might even harm us.
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Thanks for your reply, Yash. I have always struggled with building compassion towards people who like to spew their insecurities out on others. I guess I need to work on myself there.
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From their point of view, they are correct and have your best interests and heart. They likely think that you are misguided and want to point you in the right direction. Seeing things from other people’s perspectives can be challenging but goes a long way.
The best thing to do in those kinds of situations is to shrug your shoulders and agree to disagree before things turn sour.
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1. Buddha Dhamma is not a religion in the sense that there is no “savior” who can save anyone from future suffering or promise eternal happiness.
- It is a “previously unheard worldview.”
- If one can grasp that worldview, one can see that sensory pleasures and mental/physical suffering arise from one’s actions. Some actions lead to a “good future with mostly sensory pleasures,” and others lead to a “bad future filled with suffering.”
- But because of the craving for sensory pleasures, most end up in realms/existences with more suffering than pleasures.
2. The astonishing aspect is that any sensory pleasure experienced is due to the “distorted sanna” built into each existence.
- It makes a huge impact if one can understand this issue.
- For example, one can enjoy a good magic show. A good magic show is when one cannot figure out what the “trick is.”
- But the Buddha exposed nature’s magic show. But it takes an effort to understand that.
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From their point of view, they are correct and have your best interests and heart. They likely think that you are misguided and want to point you in the right direction. Seeing things from other people’s perspectives can be challenging but goes a long way.
You may be right. But they did try to force their beliefs on to me. I consider that a harassment.
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Hi Taryal! I had an experience with my family. My father is a pastor so imagine the anger and shame my family must have felt when I became a Buddhist. I hid my faith until I was 21 (I started at 17). 2 years ago I was even told “You are only 21 years old, you don’t yet know anything about life”, “please my son come back and pray with us, you have fallen into a foreign religion, and contrary to God”. Regardless of their comments, I was firm on my decision to follow the Buddha Dhamma. This kind of situation is a good breeding ground for the development of adhiṭṭhāna pāramī (perfection of determination). We will face situations that test our desire to follow the Dhamma. We must be able to resist the pressure that others put on us to abandon the Dhamma. This is one of the aspects of this paramis. The best thing we can do is to leave them alone without arguing. Perhaps one day, or billions of lives later, they will change. They are simply not ready. It is the nature of this world to prevent those who want to break free from this prison of 31 realms. Lord Buddha himself encountered strong opposition from his family and friends when he began to seek the Dhamma. His family used all kinds of means to discourage him. The harassment that we will suffer from others for our faith in the Dhamma is inevitable (anatta). It is part of the journey towards Nibbāna. Let us not forget that countless times we have defended erroneous beliefs(Micchādiṭṭhi) and prevented beings from seeing the Dhamma. We can only develop Metta towards them. I encourage you to read about the 4 types of learners. Those who have no interest in Dhamma can be classified into 5 types. We’ve all been like this for eons. May you achieve the supreme bliss of Nibbāna. 🙏🏿
- Also, read the 10 Paramis that are necessary to achieve Nibbāna. Pāramitā and Niyata Vivarana – Myths or Realities? Difference between a Wish and a Determination (Pāramitā)
1. Generosity (dana)
2. Moral conduct (sila)
3. Renunciation (nekkhamma)
4. Wisdom (paññā)
5. Effort (viriya)
6. Patience (khanti)
7. Truthfulness (sacca)
8. Determination (adhitthana)
9. Loving-kindness (metta)
10. Equanimity (upekkha)
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