Timber Hawkeye

To make a long story short...I sat there in front of the Tibetan Lama, wearing my maroon robes after years of studying Buddhism and said, "With all due respect, I don't believe the Buddha ever intended for his teachings to get THIS complicated!"My teacher looked around at all the statues of deities with multiple arms and said, "The Buddha didn't do this!" he chuckled, "The Tibetan culture did; this is their way. Why don't you try Zen? I think you'd like it!"So I bowed-out of the temple, took off my robes, and moved into a Zen monastery far from home. I was determined to find a simpler depiction of the Buddha's valuable teachings.My teacher was right; Zen was simpler (the walls were blank and I loved it), but the teachings were still filled with all the dogma that sent me running from religion in the first place.There are many incredible books out there that cover all aspects of religion, philosophy, psychology, and physics, but I was looking for something less "academic", so to speak. I was looking for something inspirational that people today would not only have the attention span to read all the way through, but actually understand and also implement in their daily lives. I pictured a book called "A guide to being a Buddha" with only two words in it: "Be kind."Some have even claimed that the short chapters in this little book are "too long". So to all of you who want to stop right here, let me leave you with one important message: Be kind.As for the rest of you soldiers of peace in the army of love, welcome to Buddhist Boot Camp!