Buddhism

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tian_Tan_Buddha

I'm not sure I'll ever understand the fascism a lot of Western liberals seem to have with Buddhism.

And if you're a partisan of Mahayana Buddhism, you refer to Theravada as Hinayana.
Theravada tended to be a more philosophical, elitist branch, hence the epithet "Hinayana" applied by adherents of Mahayana, which was more of the common man's Buddhism.

[quote="Confused-Fish"
Buddha's teachings encourage people to find their own path to knowledge/Enlightenment (he does this by teaching people how to detach themselfs from the materialistic world) This conflicts greatly with Religion as a social construct which encourages people to follow paths and ideas that have been already laid out.[/quote]

This is true. My own son is a Buddhist monk in Thailand.

I think meditation is good as part of a "well balanced diet" but too much is too much.

My son came home to visit. He is not allowed to touch his two nieces because they are girls. He can pat our two dogs because they are boys, but he can't pat their cat because it is a girl.

Even in the house he grew up in I can't say "make yourself a sandwich. I must "offer" it to him. Plus I must offer him the milk and the sugar to go with his coffee.

He is not allowed to be alone with his own mother or drive with her in the car without me.
WTF! Do they think he is going to rape his own mother or something?

I wish him well in his chosen life but in my heart of hearts I think it is totally insane.

I might add that my son is an Aspie so this is his way of coping with the world.