Dear Anita,

Thank you so much for your time and your kind and wise thoughts. It is nice to have a different point of view, to compare with your own thoughts. I grew up as a Christian and part of the Christian thought, the original sin, Christ as the only path to salvation, etc, etc, did not appeal to me.
One of the first books I ever read was a biography on Buddha’s life called “Siddhartha” by Hermann Hesse. It is not a religious scripture by any means but it is one of the best biographies on Buddha just by the fact that is not written by a religious follower. What most attracted me to Buddhism was the search for ending human suffering, of attaining enlightenment not after death but in this life. It is very clear to me that “desire” is the source of all human suffering but my interpretation and understanding of that percept is that looking for fulfillment, happiness and success in the material world, outside of yourself is bad. Looking for inner happiness and peace is good. After all didn’t Buddha desire to end suffering? Didn’t he desire “enlightenment”? Didn’t he rejected the “ascetic” teachings of suppression of joy and pleasure?

I think my problem is not seeking “joy” in the material world. I think my problem is being too judgmental.  Not being able to accept everything and everyone with absolute compassion. I guess I still have a lot to learn J  What do you think?

Namaste

BoH