WHAT THE?!?! Buddha...

So, as a Religious Studies major I get to study some pretty fun things. One of them is Buddhism. But, after 5 weeks and countless times pulling my hair out of my head - I have given up... It frustrates me.

Here is the main reason why - THE BUDDHA RAN OUT ON HIS WIFE AND NEW BORN CHILD when he began to question life and discovered the "Middle Path"! And yet, this man is supposed to be some spiritually great person we should listen to? All I know is if Jesus did that people would never not bring it up - but no one even blinks an eye because the Buddha did this. I just don't understand how he can be heralded as such a great man for running out on his wife and kid when he suffered his own version of a mid-life crisis!

If any of us were to do that today, regardless of whether we would come up with a cure for cancer - we would be the lowest of the lows in society and not be remembered for curing cancer, but for being a horrible, despicable person! Yet, the Buddha, gets a free pass.

As you can tell, this annoys me... If the middle path and the way to end suffering is to leave your wife and new born kid - then maybe Americans are a lot more righteous and holy then we all think... And well, if that's the case then we should start applauding all the men who do that - because after all, they truly have reached enlightenment and are the examples of how us men should live our lives. Or maybe, secretly, many American men have quietly become Buddhist and have decided to start saying "WWBD?" (What would Buddha do?).

All I know is that any religion that is based upon a man who RAN OUT ON HIS WIFE AND NEW BORN CHILD, probably should not be held up with such esteem - or at the very least, don't hold the Buddha up as the supreme example for humans to follow... O, and just a side note... You never see Jesus running anywhere - not from the cross, not from temptation, not from his friends, not from his mother - no where...

So I guess my point is this: when Jesus and the Buddha get into a debate about the right path, Jesus has a trump card. Mind you, I'm sure that even Jesus would show the Buddha love. And that even the Buddha is worth saving. Heck, he'd show the Buddha that He died for him on the Cross...

Just a thought from "The Wonderful World of Chubbs"...
Until Next Time