I am doing a paper on Buddhism in america for one of my classes.

If you practice Buddhism, why did you decide on this religion over all the other religions in America? What about it first interested you to find out about it?
you can PM me with answers if you don't want to post here.
Thanks

that I can use, to round up a couple different parts of my paper.:)

because B. has such a nice calming effect. It is as opposite as anything i could find, to the aggressive , overexcited religions.

plus, it was modest. B never claimed to be divine, just a seeker.
Today, many commentators say B is not a religion, but a philosophy.

I havent actually chosen B over christianity, i have just added B to christianity. This adoption of several religions is common in many areas of the world.
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"first attracted"... well, the mood called "profound" is often present in their books. I liked the mood, and also the mood of peace. Then, reading of the life of B was attractive. Such a gentle being.
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the above re mentions Naropa. It had a role, but be aware that it had a flawed leader. IIRC, he was the head of some lineage and also a provincial political feudal ruler, quite rich even by US standards, and in my opinion his writings were brash, not at all buddhist.
Later, he was mired in a sex and booze scandal.

Seems even B has flawed clergy.. like the S.Korean monks who fought with staves over ownership of a monastery, about ... umm five to fifteen years ago. Or the Japanese monastery directors who force all to live in cold heatless cells, where many get pneumonia.

Or the tibetans who have the three year wall-up meditation practice.. walled up in a cave.. and if the monk gets sick, they wait till he just dies, not bringing him out for any treatment. To me that is stupid and cruel.

I forget which , but one really topnotch historian said
"the most important event of the twentieth century is the coming of Buddhism to the West."

PS i find Zen unattractive, and like the Tibetan strain, and also the SE asia strain known as Hinayana, IIRC.

==iirc means if i recall correctly.

ODD facts about buddhism... one topmost high lama stayed in tibet.
Those now in dharmasala india, are in bad poverty and have disease problems. The old kings of tibet, before england invaded and killed to conquer tibet {true brit history is really disgusting and disgraceful} , were not all kindly kings.

In my opinion, the buddhists have probably done more than any other culture to explore the calm human mind, and their writings are a great treasure trove.

Tibet's core scriptures , tanjur and kanjur, fill hundreds of books. Who knows what great meditative practices are in there? Perhaps a way into the eleventh {a full dimension, not curled IIRC} dimension.

on similarities of Tibetans and Navajo beliefs, since your paper is on Buddhism and America.
"Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom: The Circle of the Spirit" by Peter Gold.

the more information the better..:)

Tibetan Buddhist monks visit the Lama Foundation near Taos NM from time to time. In the late 80s, an arrangement was made for them to meet with the elders of the Taos Pueblo. Took a lot of doing, finding translators....but when the two groups got together, they spoke to each other without having to use the translators.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama once told a group of visiting American Sufis the difference between Buddhism and Sufism:
"In Buddhism, nothing is. In Sufism, everything is. Same thing, no difference."

I find out so much from people here, I love seeing different views and different ways to look at situations, some I agree with, some i don't, and some I can at least see where they are coming from even if I don't necessarily agree....

1. That brought over by Asian immigrants. Especially evident in Hawaii and on the West Coast, not surprisingly. These are usually ethnically-oriented temples that serve as gathering spots for immigrants, although some American converts join. Some of the temples in Hawaii have adopted customs that are typical of Christian churches, such as having scheduled weekly worship services (there is no equivalent to "remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" in Buddhism, and in Asia, most people go to temples only on feast days or when they have a private concern), Sunday schools, temple picnics, and temple tag sales.

2. That adopted by usually middle to upper class Americans after a philosophical search. Zen and Tibetan Buddhism are the varieties that attract the most converts, although you will find the occasional Nichiren Shoshu or Soka Gakkai temple in large cities, which attracts a mixed congregation of Japanese immigrants and Americans.

I get so confused with all the information some times. I have never tried to write two research papers at the same time:)

No dogma

It's a modest religion, with no fundamental dogma that must be accepted. You can believe in God or not; it's agnostic. I liked that, since I was agnostic myself at the time. It's about spiritual searching, without the "believe this dogma or die" attitude that is common to many other religions. It's all about selfless love; as you eradicate your selfish desires, you get closer to enlightenment. Enlightenment is the destruction of the sense of "self," so you live in complete selfless love and in harmony with the interconnected world around us. I still hold to a great deal of Buddhist philosophy, though I am now Christian.

it seems to go well with modern science, so more scientifically-minded, skeptical, yet spiritual people are drawn to it. That was certainly the case with me.

If you practice Buddhism, why did you decide on this religion over all the other religions in America?
I'm a Deist but Buddhism helps me deal with intermittant explosive disorder. Been medication free for 2 years.

What about it first interested you to find out about it?
Oddly enough, Star Wars, the statues, and how peaceful Buddhists appear to be.

or what you believe, Buddhism fits. If you believe that Jesus is the son of God--fine. If you believe he was a great philosopher--fine. If you believe in heaven--fine. If you believe in reincarnation--fine. If you believe that life ends at your death--fine. Whatever you believe that brings you comfort and guidence for your life is Buddhism. Compassion, ethics, science, and nature are your guide.