Your interesting facts of the day!

Buddhism is not a religion. It is a way of looking at the world. Buddha is not a God. He is a spiritual teacher.

Really.

In order for it to be a religion, Buddhism would have to presuppose the existence of one supreme entity that is superior to all other entities. And since Buddhism posits that we are all equal, this presupposition cannot be made. The continuous emphasis on the difference between the Supreme Being and mortal, undeserving you is not built into Buddhism. Neither is the demand for blind faith than comes with most pre-packaged religions.

Secondly, the Buddha is simply a teacher who attained true enlightenment. We - you and me - are all capable of attaining that same level of enlightenment. Whereas we all have the potential to be a Buddha, we have no hope of ever becoming Jesus. Although he's a great guy, Jesus, like Paris Hilton, was simply born into the right family. With Buddhism, pedigree doesn't count so much as your willingness to rise above the conditions you were born into.

Please feel free to use this information as an ice breaker at your 5a7 tonight.

(now if you're very lucky, next week I'll share some interesting facts about ayurveda, which I must study as part of the yoga teacher training. Take that, gunas!)