Questions to a Buddhist...?

Question

I am currently doing a paper for my Humanities Course in Religions of the World and in my final project, I have to interview someone of the faith I picked and of course I picked Buddhism... so I have a couple of questions...
1. Why do you practice Buddhism?
2. What holidays do you celebrate?
3. What are the different traditions that go with each holiday?
4. How has Buddhism shaped who you are?
5. What challenges, if any, do you with practicing Buddhism?
6. Are there aspects of Buddhism that you would rather not practice?
7. If you had a choice would you practice another religion?
8. What division of Buddhism do you practice?
9. (If male) How do you feel about women in the teaching aspect of Buddhism? (If female) How do you feel about the constraints placed on women in Buddhism?
10. Have you or would you ever make an expedition to the homeland of Buddhism?

Thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

Answer 1

1. It helps
2. All
3. N/A
4. It's like a sculpter chipping away gradually to reveal the truth
5. Letting go is resisted
6. No
7. N/A
8. Soto Zen
9. No problem
10. Yes

Answer 2

I'm not sure I can answer all of these but I will to the best of my ability - maybe someone from a country with more temples will be able to assist you further (not too many temples near where I live!!)
1. Because I find the tenets more plausible and the lack of a singluar god as such also draws me
2. I respect all holidays of every religion
3. Being a westerner - especially where I live, none that I know of
4. Given me an entirely different perspective and has certainly opened my eyes to the senseless materialism and greed and instant gratification that giverns our world.
5. Being a westerner, I find it difficult to find a temple as well as Lamas who speak fluent enough English to learn (other than books of course)
6. No, I don't find it restrictive or tiresome
7. No. I have no inclination to do so
8. Zen Buddhism
9. I don't really feel this applies as it's not so ritualised in a gender specific sense.
10. To India - or to Japan/China? I have been mesmorised by India for a long time but to visit Japan would be sensational too!!!

Answer 3

This is waaaay too much stuff for this forum, and quite frankly, you're asking someone else to do your work for you. Call your local buddhist temple, student group, or someone from the Asian-American campus group (just on the off chance that they may have more Buddhists in membership).

These are very important questions that are worth exploring in depth, not in this shallow forum.

Answer 4

Please ask on

www.beliefnet.com

You'll get better answers.