Reply #19: I'm not a Buddhist but...

[bookfreak]

I actually began studying it just a week ago. I've read:

Buddhism for Dummies
The Accidental Buddhist (Dinty W. Moore)
Buddhism for Beginners (Thubten Chodron)
I'm also in the process of reading "The Heart of the Buddha's Path" by The Dalai Lama

Being an atheist (ex-Christian) I'm leery of "religion" in the strict sense, but Buddhism strikes me as less of a religion and more of a philosophy. there's not a lot of dogma (that I've seen thus far). I especially like that you don't have this directive that Budddhism is the "one true path" and that you "must follow it" and blah blah blah.

One quote I especially like from the Buddha is "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense". You just don't get that from Christianity...there you are told that the Bible is law, God's word is in stone, and who are you to question it?

Anyway, I don't know yet if Buddhism is a path I am going to follow. I understand though that one does not actually have to become a Buddhist to apply it's precepts, in part or in whole, to one's life. So, at this point I will continue to learn and will decide in the future.

Good luck in your journey...:-)