[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
=Suburbanite,

That’s a valid question. I'm not a Christian if you got that impression I am truly sorry...for myself. I just don't like to see people try so hard to be what they aren't instead of just realizing who they really are. I don't think salvation for a Westerner comes from the East, and I would have to say nearly every "Buddhist" who starts off as a Westernized Christian, or Jew is simply lying to their selves once again. And I have to wonder why they would want to no just leave their religion, but then go to another one. I would have to imagine it is usually because people just like to be different and Buddhism is a way to do that... perhaps like Communism or Fascism. People who hate themselves can't accept anything about themselves, even the things that are good, and I think that is why you find so many Latte Drinking Blonde Haired Buddhists. Not because the religion holds any truth to them.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Actually I did not assume you were Christian, but your response was close to the view many Christians have of eastern religions. People from western religions are often very offended by those that 'cross over to the other side', If your not a Christian, I will assume your taking a synical view towards Buddhism and possibly other religions. Your assumtion of the reasons why people from the west embrace and study Buddhism or become Buddhist probably are not valid. I left Christianity long ago, studied Buddhism and Arts of the Way for five years and then became a Baha'i. Most of the people I know who left western religions to become Buddhist or Baha'i, they do so mainly because they felt alienated by narrowness of the religious beliefs and the history of bloodshed between the western religions that still goes on today.

I chose Baha'i, because the reality of today's world is that to remain isolated in your own religion like Jews, Christians, Moslems and Buddhism leaves the world divided against itself and as a result humans are the only species on earth that make war on itself. I also felt the religious scriptures and beliefs of the western religions were to old to be remotely relavent to the modern world, this was part of the reason I never became Buddhist.

You also appear to assume that people of the west cannot honestly believe in eastern religions, though many people from the east also believe that the east cannot embace the west and the west cannot embrace the east. I do not believe such a barrier exists.

I don't think the people who chose religions like Unitarian, Baha'i and Buddhism do so because they hate themselves, they do so because Jews, Christians and Moslems hate each other.