Found this in the dev log

[lch]

Originally Posted by Epaminondas

As a former Buddhist monk myself, the one lacuna in the game's coverage of the great Asian religious traditions seems to be its neglect of the Buddhist element.

How does one become a former Buddhist monk? Found God? On a related note, how does one become a Buddhist monk in the first place? I had this weird situation when I visited the Himachal Pradesh area, that I wanted to buy those functional and good looking robes that the Buddhist monks were wearing, in a shop in McLeod Ganj where they were manufactured. The color composition (ruby and orange) looked fine and the material seemed to be quite good to be comfortable. The price they asked was very cheap, even for India. So (to paraphrase) when I asked "I can really buy those clothes like that? Even if I'm not a Buddhist monk?" the tibetian woman replied "No, those are only for priests." - "But I am not one." - "Maybe you should become one." - "Huh? Errm, err, no, thank you." That was weird. I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't get to buy those cool clothes.

[Epaminondas]

Originally Posted by lch

How does one become a former Buddhist monk? Found God? On a related note, how does one become a Buddhist monk in the first place? I had this weird situation when I visited the Himachal Pradesh area, that I wanted to buy those functional and good looking robes that the Buddhist monks were wearing, in a shop in McLeod Ganj where they were manufactured. The color composition (ruby and orange) looked fine and the material seemed to be quite good to be comfortable. The price they asked was very cheap, even for India. So (to paraphrase) when I asked "I can really buy those clothes like that? Even if I'm not a Buddhist monk?" the tibetian woman replied "No, those are only for priests." - "But I am not one." - "Maybe you should become one." - "Huh? Errm, err, no, thank you." That was weird. I'm still a little disappointed that I didn't get to buy those cool clothes.

I became a "former Buddhist monk," because I no longer accepted the ideas and practices associated with the particular Buddhist "school" with which I was affiliated. I do not want to get into too much details, but there were two factors at work here. First, I saw too much corruption and sexual debauchery going on among supposedly "enlightened" folks. So that turned off the young idealist in me. Second, given that these men were some of the most renowned Buddhist figures of the last century, I began to doubt whether there was such a thing as "satori" or enlightenment or whatever you may wish to call that exalted state that seekers throughout history have been hankering after. Relatedly, given that I am a rationalist by nature, I was wondering whether I would ever achieve the said state even if it existed.

In terms of loosening ties, a Buddhist precept-taking is not an irrevocable contract with the Devil--at least among the schools with which I am familiar. You can get out, if you don't like it.

[VedalkenBear]

Something else that I was given to believe regarding Buddhism in its various forms (and I'm fairly sure that KO can back me up on this) is that the Buddhism practiced in Eastern Asia (i.e., China and Japan) has a fundamental difference from the Buddhism practiced in Southeast Asia and, I believe, India. That fundamental difference would be the ability of others to help the believer towards enlightenment. (The answer to the question is 'yes' for East Asia and 'no' for Southeast Asia.)

I am not surprised at all that the tradition found in Thailand (Theravada, I believe it's called, or alternately Inhayana) has no issue with individuals entering and leaving their 'faith'. The Mahayana tradition, as found in China and Japan, would probably be more likely to have issues, but neither probably have the issues that 'leaving the faith' does with almost any Western religion.