Dear World

I am tired of people telling me I'm not a Buddhist or I'm not a practicing Buddhist or that Buddhism isn't a religion.

Let me get a few things straight.

I am a practicing Buddhist. I meditate and I believe in the philosophies. You are a Christian if you believe in God and the teachings of the Bible. If I am a practicing Buddhist, I am a Buddhist, thank you very much. People do not know what goes on inside of my head and what I do to practice my religion in my free time. I only meditate when I am alone and people are not around. That might be why people don't think I practice. Well, I do.

I am actually very much like Benedict Cumberbatch in my beliefs.

It's like someone telling a person they just met over the internet who has a profile pic of a guy that they are not a girl. You have no idea who this person is and what they are like.

Also, Buddhism is  religion. It provides a set of beliefs for what happens after you die. That is the difference between a philosophy and a religion. Daoism tells you to be calm and one with nature. It tells you how to act throughout your life. Daoism is a philosophy. Buddhism tells you how to act in this life in preparation for the next. Buddhism is a religion. Granted, I might not use the religion side of Buddhism, I might just treat it as a philosophy and have my own beliefs for the afterlife but they are not atheist, christian, or anything else, They are mainly agnostic and Buddhist and since I believe in Buddhist philosophy, I lump them all into one group.

So please stop telling me that I do not have a religion or that I don not practice my religion. It is for me to decide and of no concern of yours.

Thank you,

~R