Probably the facet of Buddhism that I appreciate the most is that they wouldn't mind any of my jokes about the religion. I'm pretty sure that the lama would laugh if he saw my chart on the Buddha's caloric intake, and then he would probably shrug his shoulders.
Before each of his three (short) teachings on Buddhist philosophy, the lama told us that at any point we could ask questions. And afterwards we would have question and answer sessions where he would literally wait until the 10 or so students thought of something to say. It was like being in class when the teacher asks you about a reading on Moby Dick that clearly nobody has done. This was awesome, because they were essentially admitting that there were other viewpoints out there, and that it was OK to voice them.
Another important note is that as much as I joke about not having desires, all of that meditating and chai tea really did put me into good mood. I'm still feeling awesome a week later, although that could be the coffee talking.
This concludes my mini-series on Buddhism, but it may not be the end of my inquisition into the religion. I'm open to finding some more aspects of it to steal and apply to my own life.
