I mean, I wanted to take it. It's not required. At first I figured: "Well, this will be useful if I end up as an undertaker." And then I thought: "Well, I don't know anything about other religions and I should. Everyone should know something about other religions." And now it's like: "Oh my goodness, I can't even freaking wait to learn about this stuff!!!"
And it's not like I'm looking to adopt another religion as my own, but perhaps the philosophies of other religions. So far, I've had a tiny, cursory look at both Buddhism and Sikhism, and I already really like some of their teachings. Mainly, Sikhism's view that God is infinite and occupies and manifests himself in everything. I'm not sure I can agree that he does not have a finite form, but it really doesn't matter. I just love their views on suffering as well. That it isn't created by God, but tolerated so we can learn from it.
And Buddhism? I love the garb, the beads, and the concept of nirvana. I wish I could obtain such a state of being. That would be awesome. I also admire a lot of the teachings of Buddha. He doesn't say: "control your feelings" like a lot of idiots do, but "control your thoughts" - which is much more difficult, but also much more important as thoughts can often exacerbate or even initiate sad, angry, and hurtful feelings. And it's not like feelings are inherently bad, it's what you do with them and what you let them do to you.
I wish I could have such selflessness in my life and I would really like to adopt some of these philosophies to better myself. Also, I'm really excited to visit their temples and have a small taste of what's up with the world around me. It seems so small right now and definitely self-centric. I have hope for change, I guess :)
“Many of the world’s problems, conflicts and fears arise because we have lost sight of the common experience that binds us all together as a human family.”
~ HH, the Dalai Lama
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