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@Jundo said:
But I do not believe that the mission and Vow to rescue all sentient beings, though numberless, is yet done. Do not only look "internally," but outwardly too ... beyond in or out.

I think you can’t rescue those who don’t want to be rescued. The most you can do is make sure they know of the possibility of inner peace and freedom. Many people are too busy living the lives that society sets out for them — partner, house, children, career — and they don’t even know of the Dharma.

Certainly it’s always going to be the case that some portion of the population is going to choose not to engage with the Dharma, and so you could say that the mission to rescue all sentient beings is a never ending treadmill. If you look at the Christians they have a long history with proselytising and missionary work, and they work on the desire for pleasure (“heaven”) and the fear of pain (“hell”), and many of those people aren’t necessarily benefitted by a new religion.

The Dalai Lama once said, “don’t become a Buddhist, but become a better whatever-you-are”. He doesn’t feel that the only path to inner peace and freedom is through the Dharma. People becoming Buddhist may separate them from their family who think they are no longer ‘saved’. The whole impulse to rescue people is suspect.

I watched the whole video. The premise here seems to be that there aren't enough Buddhists in the world, despite all those centuries of vigorous bead twirling, so Buddhism is a failure. But it's going to be OK, maybe, because now there are iPhones, and also we can buy this new book.

$

Whether selling your book on this site is appropriate is for others to determine, but I do have a few questions. Let's say there are some 500 million Buddhists inhabiting the planet. Maybe that's not enough. But there are fewer than 1 million physicists. Is physics therefore a failure? Is it failing 500 times worse than Buddhism is? Should we try to sell more physics books?

Is spreading to more and more people the measure of success? I think it might be a more useful metric of "success" for cancer than for Buddhism.

Lest this sound flippant, I am actually perfectly sincere in the perspective I'm presenting. Our amazing world is rich rich rich in ideas, the ideas within Buddhism being among them. To me, success is ACCESS to those ideas. Think about it: Buddhism has been preserved and amplified over the centuries. Centuries! Seriously, that's a miracle to me. We don't have to all adopt Buddhism. But if we'd never heard of it and couldn't explore it and think about it and incorporate the parts we find inspiring or useful, then THAT would be a failure.

Peace, brother.

After some years away, I come back to see a statement the "Buddhism has failed". As far as I can tell, failure can only arise when some sort of success is aimed at. What, I wonder, is the "successful outcome" enshrined in the Dharma? As far as I can see - and my vision is, admittedly, limited, any such outcome is personal. It cannot "fail", it can only carry on from here until rebirth ends.
I hope that an image from Christian iconography does not offend but I am reminded of the Stations of the Cross where Jesus falls over and over. The point is that he gets up again.

I actually watched and listened to you @Jundo I have a few thoughts....

Buddhism is not a proselytising religion. And as I have experienced in my life, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. Also the Buddha said himself not to take him at his word but to test his teachings for ourselves. That in itself highlights that Buddhism is NOT a salvation based path and let's face it, a huge chunk of society want the easy way out. Many people just don't want to do the work. We can't force them to.

And let's face it monotheism has been around a lot longer and they still can't figure it out. Monotheism started with Judaism 5875 years ago, followed a few thousand years later by Christianity and then Islam about 1600 years later. One only has to look at the current war to see how that's going.

I hear the frustration in your voice, I GET IT. I really do. Even HH The Dalai Lama has said if science proves something wrong about Buddhism, then Buddhism has to change. It sounds like you want Buddhism to start proselytising and I don't think that would work at all.

Maybe I've misunderstood you and if so I'm willing to be corrected.

Dukkha has 3 levels. The gross level is what I think most people think of when they think of suffering. So hearing the term suffering without an understanding of what a Buddhist means by the term will lead to a wrong view.

1. The suffering of suffering
   This is the one we’re all familiar with: the pain of birth, old age, sickness, and death, as the Buddha described it.

2. The suffering of change
   When you do get what you want, you can’t hold onto it. Even if things are going great now, it’s just a matter of time. The richest, most successful person in the world will eventually lose it all (see 1).

3. All-pervasive suffering
   This is the type of suffering we are most likely not to recognize, yet the most instructive when we do. It’s the general background of anxiety and insecurity that colors even our happiest moments. Deep down, we fear that life doesn’t offer us solid ground and that our very existence is questionable. From a Buddhist point of view, these doubts are well-founded, and exploring them offers us glimpses of wisdom.

https://www.lionsroar.com/buddhism-by-the-numbers-the-three-kinds-of-suffering/

@Shoshin1 said:
Well I was on jury duty for two and half weeks and at the beginning of the trial the judge provided the 3 key points to look out for when assessing the evidence and testimonies given by the complainant and the defendant ...

Credibility, reliability, and plausibility the key considerations in weighing the evidence presented by both the complainant and the defendant.

We (the jurors) had to evaluate the trustworthiness, consistency, and reasonableness of the evidence and testimony to determine the facts of the case and reach a fair and just decision.
At times it was tough going, working our way through all the evidence, the mind would chop and change between guilty, not guilty and unsure ...

After two and half days of brain gymnastic deliberation ...we finally came to a unanimous agreement...

Which got me thinking...

Credibility, reliability, and plausibility also applies when approaching the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path...

Credible: In the context of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, credibility refers to the believability or trustworthiness of these teachings. Are they based on sound reasoning, empirical evidence, or authoritative sources within the Buddhist tradition? The credibility of these teachings may be assessed based on their consistency with other Buddhist scriptures, the teachings of respected Buddhist teachers, and their ability to address the existential concerns and experiences of practitioners.

Reliable: Reliability pertains to the consistency and dependability of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path in producing desired outcomes or transformations in individuals who practice them. Can these teachings be relied upon to lead to the cessation of suffering and the attainment of enlightenment, as promised in Buddhist doctrine? The reliability of these teachings may be evaluated through personal experience, as well as the experiences of other practitioners over time.

Plausible: Plausibility refers to the degree to which the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are reasonable and sensible within the context of Buddhist philosophy and psychology. Do these teachings resonate with human nature and the observable phenomena of suffering and its causes? Are they coherent and compatible with other aspects of Buddhist doctrine, such as the law of karma and the nature of reality? The plausibility of these teachings may be assessed through logical analysis, philosophical inquiry, and introspective reflection.

I guess, one would have to see for themselves "Ehipassiko" ...

If only we could apply that to life in general - it would be a much better world.