some observations

these following are some observations i made...

• much as i'd like my friends to know more about the dharma, i somehow feel a little more sensitive and careful when my christian friends ask me about it. and i would be very very careful not to sound pushy if i ever ask whether they are keen to attend dharma talks with me. while i feel very very happy that they are open enough to want to ask me more about dharma and buddhism, i certainly don't want them to feel like as though i am imposing on them by suggesting for them to attend lessons or dharma talks with me.

• i had observed that whenever i posted anything that reflects a reference to anything buddhist in my facebook, only my buddhist friends would "like" or comment on my status update. but if i were to simply write a quote from a buddhist text/ lesson but not credit the author or state where i got it from, i would get lots of my christain friends who would readily agree with it, or click "like" it. 

i am not trying to make any judgment about what i saw. rather, i am reflecting this as it reminded me of something i read about when i did a search in the net about the great zen master. he said something along this line - that perhaps it is better to just focus on the teachings. the names, be it buddhism, christainity, islam, etc etc etc are simply, names. yes, they can unite people, but most of the time, they divert people's focus from the most important thing - the truth and the values, which are, ultimately, the same. buddha-nature, god, son, holy spirit... does it matter after all...

:-)