As a general rule Buddhists and other vedics do not proselytize. This is because everyone's path is their own to find and trek. But even with that metaphor it's important to see all the options available to you. I spent decades emerging from the damage done to me by the Southern Baptist mire ... and it was this sweet little man who helped me. He showed me that I can find peace while respecting ALL other beliefs and even non-beliefs. This presentation to visitors yesterday covered his views about respecting all views in a secular frame. If you have some spare time I'd highly recommend watching it.
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i can't watch it because my laptop won't let me watch videos, but based on what i have read in this post, this is pretty much how i look at things. while i do understand that most religions i can think of at some point promoted things i find repulsive, rape, genocide, killing babies, things like that, i think the first goal of most religion was to make those who followed it feel safer and to help them explain what at the time was unexplainable. i have no problem with that, i just think a lot of things got taken too far. i know that there are people out there hurting others in the name of their god/s, but i also know that not all religious folks are like that. so no, while i don't respect ALL other beliefs, i don't think that just because someone thinks differently than me that it makes them bad.
We can argue and possibly offend them, but in the end, we should respect their RIGHT to hold false beliefs. No reason to respect bad ideas.
yeah, essentially. I have a bit of skewed view here because I already possess the objectivity of seeing the beliefs as just a black box labeled "means" instead of being blinded within them. Gaining that distance and subsequent objectivity is crucial because it allows one to draw the distinction.
Anyway, I always have had a soft spot in my heart for the Dalai Lama.