[AlexDatig]

I haven't had much success with this- about 9 years ago I was leaning toward Buddhism and sort of shared that with my boss in a round about way but it did not go over well.

My parents and my brother are both Christians and my parents are fundamentalists. I can't really tell them. They would not understand and I would rather not discuss religion in any form with them because for them there is only one way, and its Jesus.

[antonyandruleit]

No offence meant Traveler, it was more a personal choice, I will only talk to those about Buddhism who ask about it, or if in a conversation it is completely relevant...

On that , relevance, point, I spoke to a friend who lost a grandad and she seemed to find allot of comfort in my words and also in some of the Buddhism points I made. she was very grateful, it also made me feel good knowing that I had lestened someone elses suffering, I suppose that would be considered Karma to, by comforting her I made her feel better and suffer less and in turn i felt better.

[snislarne]

Its cool Justen, I wasn't offended, I was at my friends house and I asked if I could use his grown up daughters lap top to check BWB - someone made a comment about Justin (me Justin not you Justen!) turning up wearing a Sari! I patiently explained why monks where only robes and the reason for it. There eyes soon glazed over and they went back to discussing what was on telly but at least they learned something.

[bMc8F9ZI]

Ah I see, I misunderstood, I thought you meant that you regailed them with one of the stories such as Siddatha and The Exulted One.

Out of curiosity, other than for ease of movement or meditation, why do they wear robes, I know in many cultures its considered offensive for a lady to show her shoulders in a temple of chapel and some Ialian churches do not allow men in shorts inside, but I never truly understood why monks of all kinds wear full robes.

[wiweimeli]

There's some information about Buddhist monks robes at the link:

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/...d/faqmonks.htm

[buIf6yoW]

Thankyou very much, most informative.

I would have simply googled the topic but you never know when your getting the truth.

[ThomasMannfanny]

I never really announced it to anyone. Only a couple family members even know, and that's only because a conversation directly led to it. Otherwise, it's not really anyone's business. I don't mean that in a disrespectful way, I just mean religion, spiritual beliefs, etc are of a deeply personal nature and so I tend to keep it personal unless someone has a genuine interest or asks.

My mother doesn't know and I have no interest in discussing it with her either. But in fairness, we are not in touch anyway. My father does know, but probably already forgot. He and I sat ONCE and chatted about religion. He told me how he started believing in God after his second marriage (his wife is a devout Christian). I said I was happy for him and then in turn shared my beliefs and practices in Buddhism. To my surprise he showed a fair amount of interest, and he gave me some nice feedback about how logical it sounds. Another relative who knows is a cousin with whom I am very close, and he has never passed any judgment nor shown any interest, and the third living relative who knows is my Aunt who I am also very close with.

We have much in common, but religion is NOT one of them. We only debated about Buddhism once, because she kept claiming that I "worship a God named Buddha". In an attempt to prove her point, she pulled out some of HER religions' printed books, which sure enough, has The Buddha listed as a god, and a false one at that of course. Not knowing of a polite way of telling her that her religion's book was just plain wrong in that regard, I suggested we agree to disagree and we have never discussed it since. We each make *occasional* references to our own religions if a discussion really calls for it, otherwise we don't approach the subject at all. Fortunately, we love and respect each other despite it and find plenty of other things to chat about.

Then there is my beloved Uncle, now deceased, who is the one who introduced me to Buddhism as a child. He was a Zen Buddhist and I took an unlikely interest in his meditation as a little girl. He was my first (and only) teacher, and was a wonderful mentor. Ironically, now that he has passed, I continue to practice (and struggle with) the transient nature of all things, including the loss of him. He was the one person who I could truly relate to, in regard to Buddhism and many other aspects of life.

Other than that, the rest of my family doesn't know, or care, I suspect. The bottom line for me, is how I feel about Buddhism, not what my family or anyone else thinks of it. I feel for anyone who tries to share their beliefs with a discouraging family, that must be very frustrating.

[Rellshare]

Dear Justen,

I live in a small town of 4500 people,where everything you say or do becomes public knowledge.
I was in A.A. and told them that I had adhered to Buddhism.I was instantly ostracised.The last meeting I went,as soon as I started talking 6 persons got up and left .Am sober 35 years,and yet was rejected by the groups.

. ..Now the whole village knows.Compassion plays an important
part in my life.Yet when an A.A. member has a spiritual problem,comes to me ,hoping not being seen with me.
.I wanted to start an initiation group to Buddhism ,was refused everywhere.
No one wanted to rent me a small local.Compassion and Loving Kindness are my two weapons I use against rejection.

a simple buddhist named
loong