>>Charles,
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>>To my knowledge there has never been a war fought in the name of Buddhism. That is not to say that a Buddhist has never fought in a war, but that they have not done so in the name of Buddhism. I believe of the major religions only Buddhism can claim this.
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>I believe you're right. Ironic, in that you would think the followers of Jesus would have been able to say that. I remember a bumper-sticker popular in the 60s - "Kill a Commie for Christ".
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>But the real difference is, again, the idea of exclusionary, prophetic religions vs philosophies that do not feel a need to convert or compel. With Christianity and Islam you are on the bus or you're off the bus, you're saved or you're damned and it hinges on your acceptance of a set of doctrines and dogmas. Whether it is the shahādatān or the Apostles' Creed it is required and it is what separates the chosen from the infidel.
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>And, of course, for all the People of the Book there is a great anthropomorphic God, who seems to resemble an ancient Babylonian despot more than a cosmic force or a Great Ground of Being. And this God is vengeful and angry and jealous and requires a lot of ego-stroking.
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>Buddhist find all that very odd. The universe is as it is and what you believe about it doesn't change that or your place in it.
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>Gravity isn't just a good idea ... it's the law <s>

Exactly. Could not have said it better.