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Dealing with others
For the american buddist, even though you dont like to consider my self a full buddhism yet, how do you find it dealing with your pears when you tell them about your religion. What do they say/do?
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In the end, it doesn't really matter what others think. I'm just going to do what feels right.
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My peers (20-something college students) seem ok with it. They usually say, "Cool!" They also tend to be curious, but tend to have a lot of misconceptions. It's not that they are totally off base, they just tend to over-generalize based on the little they might have seen on tv or read in an encyclopedia for a class assignment. I think they focus too much on beliefs when Buddhism, at least to me, is less about beliefs and more about a way of thinking and living. Of course, most of my peers are either Christian or ex-Christians so their experiences with religion included a lot of talk about creeds, faith, beliefs, etc.
From the older generations, I do get a sense that they think I'm just another college student going through a phase and that I'll come to my senses. It's patronizing, but no one's come out and called me a devil's spawn or anything. Still not telling the family, though.
Apparently I am the only “rebel” of a very typical Hispanic family, so when I moved across country for AmeriCorps (like the domestic Peace Corps) they were angry that I was rebelling, and when I decided to stop eating meat, I was just being spoiled and when started looking into Buddhism I was just doing it to be different. My uncles have actually taken a bet as to when I will go crawling back to the Catholic Church; imagine that!
Hispanics do not understand Buddhism that well……………………………..
I think Buddhists have a responsibility to help others. Sometimes that means talking about Buddhism to others, but it doesn't mean pressuring others to believe one way or the other or being obnoxious about one's one beliefs in other ways. I think there's a general sense that it's ok to share one's experiences if you think the other person is open to them, but respect people enough not to be rude to them. Personally, I find the idea of trying to "convert" someone to be pointless. People are either looking for answers, or they aren't. And it's not like I have any of the "answers". I can just share my experience. I guess that's the thing about Buddhism. It's more about questions than answers whereas Christianity and most other religions are all about having THE answer.