I am a Jew. I attended Hebrew school for about six years between the ages of seven and thirteen. I was Bar Mitzvahed and still regularly attend a Jewish summer camp every year. Still, I do not consider myself to be a very religious person at all. I consider myself to be spiritual, but not religious.

Rather than a belief in one specific omniscient God, I focus my beliefs more on people, and on my interactions with them. I try to uphold only three things: truth, love, and respect. Each of these is a prime teaching in Judaism, both directly in the torah and in the Rabbis' indirect teachings. I try never to do anything that I wouldn't want the whole world to know and try to tell the world of even things I am not proud of, if only as a deterant to myself. I try to keep an open outlook on everything and everyone and even after being proved wrong, I'll keep trying to like another person. Its very hard to get my to dislike someone long term.

The part of Taoism I liked the most was the "going with the flow" aspect. No one should get stressed out over the trivial things in life or suffer for worrying about other people's affairs. One can only live rightly on his end and encourage others to do the same; he cannot in any way force someone else to change. One should not worry too much when he finds someone who does something against his own beliefs or ways. Part of being able to enjoy life is the ability to just let these things go by and tolerate them; try and see at least some good in them and allow them to exist. To allow things to go on around you is not to be uninvolved. It is just to avoid being too raveled up in the negativity of others. Rather than hating or altering another person's way of life, it is much easier to simply respect it, and allow it to be.

The part of Buddhism I liked was quite similar. The aspect of reincarnation and karma really allows for a much happier existence. One can live knowing that his own good deeds will be rewarded some day, even if overlooked right now. No one needs to go out of their way to hurt someone or get revenge, as that is taken care of as well. If a person does wrong, karma will get them back in the end, not the victim. The victim has no need to soil himself by doing evil as well and no need to damage himself by putting the retribution on his conscience. He does not need to add to the hurtfulness in the world. This makes it much easier to tolerate the harmful and unkindly actions of others. Though I do not believe in the reality of reincarnation, I do believe that there is some type of cosmic force reenforcing right and wrong. Either in the afterlife or during his life, a man who does something wrong will be wronged in turn, if only in that their own foul attitude brings worse judgement upon them by others. A person who never does any good will never be awarded any favors, and a very bad man will never feel really happy or loved. He will always be suspicious that someone equally evil will be trying to wrong him in turn.

Confucianism I liked because of its holding of superiors accountable. Despite their superior status, a leader is still expected to be a moral and upstanding citizen. In that respect, all people are equal. The only person who should get outstanding treatment is a parent or ancestor. I like the fact that the closer family members and parents are treated with more esteem than an elected leader. They are closer to you, have more influence, and are more responsible for your coming out the way you did. They deserve it.

Mostly, what I liked overall about all these Asian religions was the focus on morals and proper behavior. There is less focus on God and the abstract than there is on the concrete relationships with other people. There is more of a concentration on moral actions. It all revolves around the way in which one should live to maintain a happy life and surroundings. There are no arbitrary ceremonies or traditions without cause. Its about respect and tolerance. These are ideas that I could abide by easily and adopt to be my own. Perhaps a combination of all these ideas is what I would like best. To pick and chose what already fits myself and construct my own "religion". No one set of ideas would really be best for me.

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---Danny