I hung out with Laura and Lauren tonite and we went to Underground at the Wesley Foundation. Remembering the last time I went to Paradigm I was afraid I was going to get all confused and messed up on the whole religion thing again. But to my surprise I did not. I walked in there with a pretty open mind and I learned a lot. Mainly that you can go to a Christian praise and worship even if you are a Buddhist and still get a lot out of it. I probably won't do it every Thursday but going every so often to Underground or Paradigm might be a really good thing. Yes, there were quite a few things I disagreed with and that strengthened my belief in Buddhism even more but it helped me understand Christianity a little bit better as well. I also realized that praying is not just a Christian thing. Yes, I might not pray to God but I can still pray. Praying that my mom will have the strength to get better and quit smoking so she doesn't get pneumomia anymore and praying that my awesome roomie is going to be able to make her decision and be happy with that decision and the place she is going to end up at and praying that I will be able to find true and complete happiness, because that is the purpose of our lives....to be happy. :)

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

We have to adopt a wider perspective, and always find common things between the people of north, east, south, and west. Conflict comes from the basis of differencs.

Freedom is the real source of human happiness and creativity. Irrespective of whether you are a believer or nonbeliever, whether Buddhist, Christian, or Jew, the important thing is to be a good human being.

His Holiness
the Dalai Lama