My first day at my university, I quickly understood why we were called freshman.
We were plucked from our comfort zones of our family homes and the people we grew up with and sent straight from the kitchen that was our last childhood summer to be devoured like the fresh meat we were.
Only a lucky few adapted quickly and found themselves easily traversing campus as they had their hometowns.
The rest of us did one of two things.
We either jumped into the deep end and really went for the college experience just to end up drowning under an excess amount of alcohol or we clung to what we knew, making baby steps exploring this place until we finally felt comfortable in exploring new ideas.
I was in the latter camp.
I clung to my faith. Going to church was the one thing I did longer than wrestling.
Before my medal was what I clutched to feel at ease, I had a cross necklace I got as a graduation present from my pastor. Knowing the whole congregation was rooting for me and God was on my side helped me get through the rough times.
One especially challenging area was being bombarded by new faiths from guests on campus.
The challenging part wasn’t the ones I could hear and know were wrong right away. It was the ones that made sense and had me questioning my own faith that shook me.
One of those was admittedly yours Banzan. I ended up talking to a monk in between classes and we had a long conversation about the noble truths.
They made a lot of sense and he seemed more at peace than many people I know.
The thing that got me the most was when I brought up my faith, he was more understanding than any of the other more fraudulent sellers of faith.
I asked him if he had read the Bible. He asked me to read a passage. I ended up reading a parable from Jesus himself. He told me he sounded enlightened and asked me to read more.
I did as he asked and the monk smiled and said he sounds close to Buddhadom. He told me he saw why I followed him and to talk to him anytime.
I did and it helped open my eyes to not only other religions but why people followed them.
It helped me expand my mind and be more open to learning about the world. It’s what really allowed me to chase experiences and seek discomfort.
He helped me learn that if we just accepted others and their faiths, it could be a more peaceful world.
Unfortunately, the gods themselves wouldn’t allow it. Because of the vitriol one pantheon had towards my god, no one was allowed to have theirs. When they all died, many people’s hope died with them.
I wanted to be open to other faiths but if we can bring back Yahweh, I can’t allow another faith to take him again.
Sorry Banzan but you need to add a fifth noble truth to your religion.
You already know that life is suffering.
Accept that I will be yours.