Expert: Alex Wilding - 2/28/2009

Question
Hi, my name is Brennan. I am participating in an online Virtual High School class entitles Eastern & Western Thought, in which (as you might expect) we examine, explore, and compare different schools of thought from around the globe. Currently, we are discussing Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, and I have been given an assignment to interview an expert in one of the aforementioned schools of thought, and allexperts.com was suggested as a source of experts. If you could answer these questions for me it would be most appreciated. Thank you.

What attracts you to Buddhism?
What do you feel Buddhism has to offer the world?
I think that there great similarities between Buddhism and Existentialism. While I do not expect you to be an expert in the latter, would you agree that there are similarities?
Would you consider Buddhism a philosophy or a religion?

Once again thank you very much.


Answer
> What attracts you to Buddhism?
It is a spiritual path that is inspiring but does not have to conflict with reason.

> What do you feel Buddhism has to offer the world?
A spiritual path that is inspiring but does not have to conflict with reason!!

> I think that there great similarities between Buddhism and Existentialism. While I do not expect you to be an expert in the latter, would you agree that there are similarities?
Definitely.

Would you consider Buddhism a philosophy or a religion?
Both. There are some ways of understanding the word "religion" that definitely do not fit Buddhism at all, but I think that if we ignore the religious dimension then we won't really connect to Buddhism.

I hope that helps a bit!