The Mormon Buddhist

Freedom is the basic desire of man. Whether it be in politics, religion, or love, people want the joy that comes with freedom. We lose freedom when we refuse to accept the reality of the situation that we're in. Real freedom is living life as it is, not as how you are attached to how you want it to be. That's not to say that you can't want things, just don't be attached to them. If you're unhappy with a situation, put in the effect and action to change it. Our happiness is our own responsibility. Others can assist in making us happy, but ultimately it's up to us to get the ball rolling. One thing that I've come to learn is what happiness actually is. Many see money as the ultimate sign of happiness. Granted, it brings a level of comfort, but it in no way guarantees happiness, and in many cases it does the opposite. True happiness is doing what you love because you love doing it. If you love being a McDonald's worker and find unparalleled enjoyment in ...

The CTR shield is a symbol for most Mormons growing up. I definitely agree with it's message to "Choose The Right". The 8-fold Path suggests what we should choose the right in. Many Mormons jokingly take it in a more literal sense when they need to randomly choose something, and pick whichever one is at the most right. I thought it would be fun to change it up a bit and make a "CTM" shield, with CTM standing for "Choose The Middle". Buddha's life is a good example of avoiding extremes. he was born in a life of extreme luxury, and then lived a life of extreme asceticism. He eventually came to realize that enlightenment is found in the middle between these 2 great extremes. He would go on to often call his teachings "The Middle Way".

In Buddhism there is a concept known as "buddhadhātu" in Sanskrit, which translates to "Buddha-Nature". This is the belief that all humans have the ability to recognize right from wrong. This is almost a universal believe among religions. The Muslims call it "Taqwa", the Chinese call it "Ren", the Quakers call it "Inner Light", the Freemasons represent it with the square and compass, Mormons call it "The Light of Christ", in everyday language we would simply call it "conscience". Some say that we were created by a god with this sense and some say we evolved it for better survival. Regardless of how we got it, we have it now, and that's what matters. Let's focus on this concept in the Buddhist context for now. Buddhists believe that we inherently have the ability to realize their enlightenment. There are many that believe we are naturally enlightened, and over time we lose sight of that. By following our Bud...