So yesterday I was on my way to see the largest Buddhist temple in New Zealand. I had to take bus 500. I am waiting by the bus for a while. I see bus 500 on the other side of the street. I look both ways and there are no cars, so I am running trying to make this bus. But then the bus starts to leave as I was about to hit the sidewalk. It was the wrong 500 and I was on the right side to begin with. This old Kiwi lady in her late 60's gets off the bus and tells me how I almost died and then follows me to the other side of the street. The real 500 was now there so as I am running to make it, I trip and fall.
The old lady tells me this is a sign I shouldn't be going to the Buddhist temple. I barely make it on--and she follows me on the bus and decides to sit next to me and have a "talk".
Well, she asks me about my religious background and I tell her I grew up Catholic, but now consider myself agnostic. She then has an idea: I should check out this Catholic church in Auckland instead! Note: we did pass it and it was no where near as "beautiful" as the Buddhist temple because the Buddhist temple are for those who are deemed "devil worshippers". As Buddha is a "false prophet", I shouldn't be going there and my near death experiences were, according to her, reasons why I needed to find Jesus again and get back to my Catholic roots. I told her I am just a bit clumsy to say the least, but it didn't matter. This old woman did everything in her power so I wouldn't go to the temple. She sat next to me for over an hour: talking to me trying to convert me back to Catholicism. She was supposed to get off the next stop, but she was "worried" about my sanctity, thus she stayed on. I even tried telling her my dad was Jewish, so she would leave me alone but it just made matters worse and she began telling me how great the Jews are and then began starting to quote the Bible and asked me if I knew x, y, and z passages. She even invited me for a birthday party at this Catholic Church in Auckland that evening and asked for my e-mail address. I am very anxious to what she will say in her e-mail!
I left the Catholic Church for a clear reason: because of people like this nut case. She was obviously worried I was on the wrong path and deemed for Hell! Because Buddhism is such a terrible religion, I shouldn't go no where near Buddhist temples, right!? I told her it was more for the culture experience than religious one, yet it didn't matter since it's all the Devil's work. I even stated how in some parts in Asia, people do not even know who Jesus is and she corrected me and told me there are missionaries everywhere. I have to say as someone who has been to Thailand and various parts of Asia: Buddhism is one of the most peaceful and respectable religions.
I feel as though everyone is entitled to their religious beliefs, but I will never understand why people have to try and "convert" others. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. As I was also an "atheist", it was her duty to help me find Jesus or even if that didn't work: Judaism was the better alternative than Buddhism as she would never "step foot" into a Buddhist temple. So there are nut cases all across the globe and I will always be interested in other cultures rather than just my own and no one can do anything about it.
