Religion, Buddhism

In the news this weekend (via Cursor): the Dalai Lama addressed a group of scientists in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, and declared that "science and Buddhism share a quest of open investigation into the nature of reality, and science can be a pathway to discovering well-being and happiness."

While I don't consider myself a member of any one religious group, I have found that some of the ideas in Buddhism (and really Eastern philosophy in general) lend clarity and perspective to questions of reality that, in our society, become impossibly bogged down with fanatical Christian dogma. These days, the "fair and balanced" mainstream media is so absolutely terrified of condemning this movement of fanatics as a bad thing, that we the viewing public are endlessly subjected to their exclusionary rantings. For some reason, as Americans, it is automatically presumed that we will afford credibility to fire-breathing maniacs simply because they claim to speak in the name of Christianity.

Right now, I'm reading Zen and the Art of Insight by Thomas Cleary:

For us in the West, who have been exposed to some of the worst religious persecutions in the history of the world, and even today hear of violence for and against all around the globe, it may be emotionally and intellectually difficult even to conceive of religion that is not based on dogma, belief, or worship. Yet that is precisely what we find within Buddhism, which aims for direct perception of truth and reality, not defense of doctrine or destruction of dissenters. (Introduction, IX)

Great book so far... recommended.