The Great Later On Con

Some food for thought...

The Good

The Buddha was an ancient Indian prince who gave up his life of luxury to find the cause of human suffering and conflict. Seven years of mystical exploration later he found it, it wasn't mystical but metaphysical, philosophical and scientific. From his understanding of this  discovery he determined the  mental, moral and philosophical path of practice which, when followed, would lead to a reduction of suffering and an increase in truth, peace and happiness.

The Bad

Sadly, like all religious messages, The Buddha's teaching became changed. In part this is due to to the lack of written Buddhist scriptures, translation issues and human errors but also, I believe,  it became corrupted by the dominant masculine hegemony of Asia. This is not a rare thing for religions, it seems all extant world religions have twisted their original doctrine to suit these masculine social conditionings. The engine of this domination are the doctrines that  control people by forcing a compromise between behaviour (think,act, worship, want...) in this life in return for a benefit in some future life. Rebirth, Heaven, Valhalla... every religion relies on this absurd trade off, on this  immeasurable compromise that I call,  "The Great Later On Con."

These are merely my beliefs.

I think The Buddha saw The Great Later On Con and the Middle Path was his suggestion as how to avoid it, but don't take my word for this, as The Buddha says, "Doubt everything, be your own light..."