Another reddit post I responded to

Samsara relief wanted. (self.Buddhism)

submitted 1 hour ago by Nicolas_Gauge

I am fifteen years old. For my entire life, and many pastlives, my mind has been stumbling away from Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha due to non-virtuous actions. I was born a Catholic, but soon became frustrated with the ignorance, the butchering of spirituality, and the intolerance of virtually all people not rich and white. I wandered through deserts of uncertainty for years, looking for meaning in my life. Last week, around February 8th, I read an article about Buddhism. I decided to look into this "Buddhism" further, expecting a cool new hobby. I did not find a hobby. What I found, what I discovered that day was an explanation, a comfort, and a lifestyle. A new best friend. After reading several books on Buddhism, I have decided to officially start my path to liberation and enlightment. I understand the life-long commitment and the hours of meditation and reflection that must be put aside, and embrace this new lifestyle with blissful enthusiasm. I can study Buddha and Dharma here in Texas, but Sangha are in short supply. I would like to know if it is considered non-virtuous or just generally frowned upon to contact a member of Sangha over the internet, and, if not, where and how can I do this, so I may be guided.

My response:

[–]rybeardj 1 point 55 milliseconds ago

Hey man/girl, I read your post and although I'm not Buddhist and never really write on this subreddit, I kinda felt like I should write something to you. This is my attempt to give you some advice from someone further down the path of life; however, don't feel that I'm being condescending at all, as I fully acknowledge that whatever I say may be full of shit. I'm only human, after all.

So, when I changed religions, it was a pretty intense experience. The seed was planted when I was 16, and roots developed and took hold, finally blooming about 10 years later. I felt like I'd lost everything I'd been working for. My whole mindset about the world was distorted. I found that I could not make judgment calls as quickly as I was used to, and it was hard to find the meaning I'd once felt so sure of.

I retaliated. I cursed my former religion and everything to do with it - the people involved, the ideals, the texts. I firmly held onto what I'd recently embraced as if it were the truth to end all truths, and slightly despised those who could not see it for what I felt it to be.

Time passed, and I realized I was being an idiot. The same blind adherence that had caused me to hold to my first religion was what held me to my new one. I was making one of the most important choices to ever be made in my entire life, yet I was diving into it like a reckless poker player on full tilt.

I backed off the vehemence I'd held for my previous religion, and tried to salvage whatever truth I could from it. I tried to salvage whatever truth I'd come to find from my new one. I tried to salvage truth everywhere like one of those weird old guys on the beach with a metal detector.

Nowadays, that need to be part of something big, part of something that everyone else is into...I shy away from it. Numbers don't constitute truth. They just make us feel like we aren't crazy, for whatever good that does. It's not even that effective sometimes, come to think of it.

New things are shiny. Over time they lose their glitz and glamour if you use them enough. Take what you will from that; it's got a lot of applications.

Ben Franklin said, "Haste makes waste."

Davy Crockett: "Be sure your right, then go ahead."

I'm not so succinct. rybeardj says: "It's possibly the most important decision of your life. If you had worked for years and years and finally saved up enough money to buy a car, would you just go out one night, talk to a car salesman, and just buy whatever he sold you on? Sure, some idiots would. They do everyday. But the logical, smart thing to do with buying cars is that you study. You talk to people, you read things online, you search the papers. You balance how much you have vs. how much you want. You look at both sides of the issue. This is the key. Don't just read whatever supports what you want to be true. Just because you like Nissans and you're a Nissan kind of guy doesn't make them any better than anything else. Look at what the competition has to say. It's not something you just jump into. If that's such a big thing, think about how much more careful thought and consideration are needed when buying a house. How much more when finding the love of your life? How much more when finding the truth that guides you?"

p.s. Two quotes came to mind.

George Bernard Shaw: "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so sure of themselves, and wiser people are full of doubts."

Nietzsche: "“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”