Buddhism is an enormously diverse faith. Western preconceptions of Buddhism are wholly inaccurate, giving Buddhists both too much and too little credit. Buddhi

Buddhism is an enormously diverse faith. Western preconceptions of Buddhism are wholly inaccurate, giving Buddhists both too much and too little credit. Buddhism as a whole isn't the liberal, laissez-faire faith that many western seekers would like to believe. Many schools of Buddhism are highly dogmatic and hierarchical. By the same token, Buddhist thought is far more substantive than just being nice to people and doing a bit of meditation. For instance, most westerners would be very surprised to read the Devadūta Sutta, which describes numerous realms of hell. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.130.than.html http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.130.than.html As nananonymous suggests, Buddhism tends to absorb ideas from whatever culture it encounters. There are influences from Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism and a multitude of traditional belief systems. For better and for worse, the western understanding of Buddhism is filtered through the lens of our dominant ideologies. Buddhism isn't better or worse than any other religion, just different. Buddhist monks are much more than just jovial caricatures in orange robes. Buddhism has a history of intolerance, oppression, discrimination and abuse, just like any other religion. Buddhism has odd sects, cults of personality and bitter divisions over issues like homosexuality and the status of women. Trying to define "real" Buddhism is just as futile as trying to define "real" Christianity or "real" Islam.