There’s some statistics showing that 33% of the world’s population are Christians and only 5% and Buddhists.
You know why?
It’s the music.
Would you rather sing and praise the lord or sit and chant/meditate?
Christians have rock bands (e.g. the Planetshakers) that attracts thousands of youth.
What do Buddhists have? A venerable one that teaches you the proper way to sit, breath and meditate
Obviously the youth will prefer to rock out to wonderful music!
Why Buddhists don’t have such things? Well it will be a contrast to what the Buddha teaches, to release oneself from sensual pleasures, and ultimately, released from any desires.
This is just my shallow theory.
And let me let you in on why I don’t have close friends, and how I don’t get very close to any friend in the first place.
*arranged in chronological order*
Step 1: I get to know you, I talk to you, ask you stuff, I respect your views, I think you’re so funny and smart. I like you J
Step 2: As I get to know you, my uber-critical nature identify your flaws and register them in my head under your name. This fellar has so and so flaws that I don’t like (my selfishness), and that person has so and so.
Step 3: The next time I meet you, I take you for granted, I belittle you in my mind, I look down upon you. What we think in our mind reflect ourselves. Even though I don’t let you know that, but my attitude towards you tells you.
Step 4: You realize, hey this dude here has no respect for me, he thinks I’m insignificant, why am I even spending my time with him?
Step 5: Then that person I just knew looks for his other friends. Usually he/she may call me to go out for a drink in the beginning, because I often say I’m busy or give excuses, they stop calling. Because my mind will go, why go out with them, when they are of no benefit to me. See my evilness? But if they have no flaws, then my mind will turn jealous, ahh, this fellar, is so happy always and so positive always, why go with them and feel intimidated and inferior, I better stay at home and correct the people who make wrong statements on the internet to feed my ego and pride.
Step 6: Distance grow between us. Then I start to feel lonely, and then after a long time of loneliness and desperation, I start to miss you. Then when I meet you again, I’m all nice and funny to you again. And then my mind tells me I’m wasting my time and effort because I think you’re insignificant. And the vicious cycle begins.
Step 7: What could be a meaningful relationship in the end is often destroyed and my chances are lost. It’s easier to lose trust than to gain one.
This explains why I have no best friends, or close friends. This explains why my relationships with people are short, and often time’s people think I’m insincere or fake. And distance grows.
That’s also why I always wonder how do people treat everyone they know without discrimination, you know, they don’t talk bad stuff about others and are always positive, looking at the bright side of things. I wish I could be like that.
So if you think you are one of them people in my vicious cycle, I deeply and sincerely apologize to you. I try to change. I respect all of you really, but I’m very critical, negative, sensitive and gets jealous easily.
So I’m sorry if you think you’re insignificant in my life. You’re not! This applies to mr.anonymous, I wouldn’t be humbled without him (or her? O.o)