His Spiritual Journey

A young Chinese undergraduate in a local university wrote about his spiritual journey in Fb. Born into a Buddhist family, he was often taken along to the temple by his mom since a tender age. Then, during his teenaged years, some evangelist friends introduced him to Christianity and he did not just became a Christian but an active evangelist as well. Later, he became an atheist for some years before finding his path in Islam. Now, if you are wondering if the young man is some sort of lost soul with blind faith, then it ought to be pointed out the guy looks great; well and happy, I mean; very pleased with his present status, and highly proficient in three languages, Chinese, English and Malay and this, I mean to say, he is bright and well read. He questioned the meaning of life as a teenager, mentioned the  Noble Truth and the Noble Eightfold Path and about his mom burning paper money and practising Chinese culture in a way which contradicted Buddhism, pointing out rather accurately I suppose that most Chinese often practise a pseudo-type of Buddhism. Buddha, I suppose encourages people to recognize the truth in anything, wherever and whenever they see them, not necessary in Buddhism alone but in other religions even; and to adopt the good and discard the bad. There is no requirement for a person to stick to the person's original religion and no such forfeits like being labelled a name or having his life taken if the person is to choose another path. In the case of the young, bright Chinese undergraduate who evidently understood all the religions that crossed his path, the world ought to be happy for him. It is not often that a person finds his own calling and in his case, too, it shows particularly from the perspective of Buddhists; for all the goodness, truth and sensibility that all Buddhists in the world might see in Buddhism, the religion is however still not every person's cup of tea. For all we know, there may be dust in our  eyes.

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