BUDDHIST INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIS ONE IS NOT REALLY QUALIFIED TO WRITE THIS INTRODUCTION. WE SEEK A KNOWLEDGEABLE PRACTICING BUDDHIST TO WRITE AN APPROPRIATE INTRODUCTION.THE FOLLOWING ARE EXCERPTS FROM A BOOK ON BUDDHISM. THIS FILE WILL BE REPLACED WHEN A "BETTER" ONE BECOMES AVAILABLE. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OWING TO INADEQUATE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE ENLIGHTENED ONE,NUMEROUS ERRONEOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING IT ARE AT PRESENT CURRENT AMONG EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN PEOPLES. UNFORTUNATELY,TOO, THERE HAS BEEN,ON THE PART OF OPPOSING RELIGIONS,MUCH MISREPRESENTATION,SOME DELIBERATE,SOME ARISING FROM IGNORANCE OF THE SUBTLE TRANSCENDENTALISM WHICH MAKES BUDDHISM MORE A PHILOSOPHY THAN A RELIGION, ALTHOUGH IT CAN BE CONSIDERED BOTH FROM CERTAIN PERCEPTUALLY VIEWS. AS A PHILOSOPHY, AND ALSO AS A SCIENCE OF LIFE,BUDDHISM IS MORE COMPREHENSIVE THAN ANY PHILOSOPHICAL OR SCIENTIFIC SYSTEM YET DEVELOPED IN THE WEST; FOR IT EMBRACES LIFE IN ALL ITS MULTITUDINOUS MANIFESTATIONS THROUGHOUT INNUMERABLE STATES OF EXISTENCE, FROM THE LOWEST OF SUB-HUMAN CREATURES TO BEINGS FAR IN EVOLUTIONARY ADVANCE OF MAN. IN OTHER WORDS,BUDDHISM VIEWS LIFE AS AN INSEPARABLE WHOLE,BEGINNING LESS AND ENDLESS.