Religions can be divided into proselytizing religions (e.g. Mormons) who are supposed to recruit new members, and non-proselytizing religions, (e.g. Orthodox Jews) who are the opposite. Zen Buddhism is a non-proselytizing religion, which makes me a bad Buddhist, because I've dragged three other people to my Zendo so far. All three had a great experience. One has become a regular, and another will return someday.
I didn't sell them on meditation. All three were already sold on meditation. One of them was a Sam Harris Waking Up fan, and another one was really into the Bhagavad Gita.
The Sam Harris fan's name is Rowan. Rowan is gay, and grew up in a rural evangelical Christian family. I haven't pressed him for details, but that can't have gone well. You may reasonably deduce that Rowan has a bad history with religion. But he has all the human instincts [...]
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First published:
February 22nd, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/J9jj2EY6kuBRJ4CXE/proselytizing
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.