Australia.

The native tribes of central / northern Australia have peculiar religious cults. For one particular tribe, the Witchetty Grub initiation rights are tremendously scary. Whereas the Christian religion requires dousing an infant in a font, and Judaism requires circumcision; this tribe leads the inductee naked in complete silence into the middle of the wilderness. Here he is left to lie still for days. A chant is sung to allow for proliferative kangaroo reproductivity. Next, the leader strikes a rock, the pieces of rock that flake off are said to become seeds. Then bloodletting ensues from the inductee until the sacred quartzite rock is covered with blood. The inductee is then left in the wilderness for days to lie still with minimal food and water, naked and alone.

The ceremony continues, with increasingly obscure rituals; one of which being the gathering, frying and eating of caterpillars.

Who thinks up this stuff?

I understand the concept of suffering, making one bond more strongly to the concepts and ideals brought fourth through religion. However, I think this sort of influence can be brought to the surface in different ways that are less physically abrasive.

Another concept brought to mind in my reading which I had never considered before, is the use of eating as religious rites. I always took communion in church, but didn't ever realize the immortality it produces theoretically. I always thought communion was offered because Christ died for our sins. That was the answer given to all questions in the pastoral ideology. I never really questioned it. The fact that we eat Christ, it makes him alive in us. Just like how worms eat our bodies after we pass away, they become a part of us as well. Then from there, other animals eat them and then we eat those animals somewhere along the line. So essentially, to refer to the Buddhist religion, we are all interconnected. Brahman is in everything and everything is Brahman.

Regardless if we want to believe it or not, we have all eaten our ancestors or ancestor bi-product through the consumption of vegetation, and especially meat. YUM!

I am coming closer and closer to becoming a full fledged Buddhist. The only guidelines are to abide by the 4 holy truths.

1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering in one way or the other.
2. The cause of this suffering is attachment to, or craving for worldly pleasures of all kinds and clinging to this very existence, our self and the things or people we deem the cause of our respective happiness or unhappiness.
3. The suffering ends when the craving ends, or one is freed from all desires by eliminating the delusions, reaches Enlightenment.
4. The way to reach that liberated state is by following the the path Buddha has laid out.

This religion seems capable of comprehension. However, I can't let go of the belief that everything happens for a reason. In order for me to believe that, I must believe there is a God. Therefore, I cannot be Buddhist. I will exist simply as a spiritual being. That is all.