Ever since I took a class on world religions in my early 30’s, I have been interested in Buddhism and have done more research through the years. I find myself more and more connected to many of the tenets and drawn to the beliefs of compassion and love for all people.

I want to explore this more and develop my own meditation practice. While I don’t necessarily aspire to become a buddha, I feel like I could benefit from exploring this more closely.

In my studies, I have found so much hypocrisy in most religions, and a sense of elitism. I believe in a higher power, but I don’t agree that there is one singular path or one “right” religion. And I would rather follow a path that believes all people are worthy than one that seeks to eliminate all others or wages wars with those that don’t agree with them.

This line from Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron pretty much sums it up for me. “We are seeking truth and happiness, not promotion of a religion because it happens to be ours. In addition, questioning the teachings is reasonable. The Buddha himself said we should check his teachings and not just believe in them blindly.”