Reflections on Buddhism

As someone whose former religion was atheism – the atheism remains but it is no longer my religion. I once said that religion—any religion—could never be the compass by which I lived. Quite a reversal. Buddhism is so vastly encompassing—so utterly logically compassionate—that to live within its strictures is a privilege. The strictures: be kind and be open. Who could jibe at that? My goal is to be an expression of those strictures as I interact with relatives, salespeople, workmen, friends, colleagues, authority figures, and strangers. The prospects continually enthuse and entice me. I once lived in a small but comfy cardboard box. The Lamas continue to hand me—ever so kindly—bigger boxes; ones I never could have seen myself inhabiting. Almost imperceptibly, each one becomes comfortable and describes my latest boundaries before once more being replaced. At some point the boxes will fall apart and I will become at home everywhere.