“My Religion Is Kindness” — Dalai Lama

Such a simple religion.

On or about June 5th, I saw the most curious tweet with a quote from the Dalai Lama:

The four words, “My religion is kindness”, have reverberated through my mind for weeks now since I saw that quote. I am not really religious myself. I have little faith in organized religion because they all seem to me to be needlessly complex.

The major religions have giant books to explain their respective faiths. I found them to be complicated and confusing. I am interested in simplicity because I am a human that can be easily confused. If I am to adopt any religion, it must be a simple one. Kindness as a religion is about as simple as I think I can get.

When I was a kid, I was introduced to Christianity more than once. I saw the bible. I saw the cross in the church and the statues of Jesus, Joe, and Mary. I heard them talk about God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus. I didn’t know why we needed all three of them. I didn’t see the point of morality expressed through folklore, and then being told that the folklore is God’s word.

As a younger adult, I worked the 12 Steps because they were so simple. I did that work not because I knew it would work. I did it to see if it would work. I am a happier person today because I performed a self-examination that helped me to know better, who I am.

I am married to a Buddhist. The holy books of Buddhism are many volumes. That’s too much for me. I look at the other religions, Judaism and Islam, and I see they both have many volumes of explanation, too. I am probably smart enough to comprehend the wisdom of those books. But I want something simple.

I have been exploring philosophy for many years now, looking for something that works for me. I have found a simple rule that works for me: Err on the side of peace. I didn’t read this one in a book. I learned this one from experience.

I err on the side of peace because I know that other people may be locked in a personal struggle I know nothing about. They want to get their needs met and they want to remain in peace. They have other demands set upon them and I may have no knowledge of…