[Maymayfor]

Hi mystic! Nice to meet you!

Personally I see that there is a difference between Religion and "being religious".
Surely these are two different things! Any Religion is usually strongly organized and governed by strict rules and regulations. Cultural and geographic bonds add to it that its followers must obey an external authority that rewards and punishes.

Being religious on the other hand means nothing else than recognizing that all humans have a spiritual mind. That spiritual mind of ours can be found on a scale of very tiny, or moderate, or very strong..even excessive for those we call fanatics or fundamentalists.

The difference between the very complex and confusing - contradicting stories of the Bible and the simplicity of the Dharma is well known by the audience here. No need to explain why one chooses to believe in Buddhism rather than in what the Bible presents.

Of course there is always some value found in any Holy Book of any religion. The problem we have with it is that we seek leadership externally and are scared to accept the fact that we are absolutely alone when it comes to the ultimate reality of birth & dead. Call it the "Parental factor" that we so often seek an external God-Mother or God-Father instead of accepting that we are growing up and must become self supporting until the moment of our dead. There is great freedom in the realization that we all have a chance to mature and become our own parents and protectors of our destiny. This is life in action. This is the true meaning of Sangha too...having our own children, having friends and students and passing on to them the gift of the Three Jewels. All for free...without preconditions.