Buddhism

Studying Buddhism has shown me that there are so many people who believe in world peace and being decent towards each other. I think the worst thing I found was that for being peaceful people they were so easily overpowered. I don't see the reason for trying to take over land where there is no threat. Obviously if China didn't, sooner or later another power would have dominated Tibet. I just feel that these people were secluded and not interfering with the troubles of the world, there was no point or benefit in adding them to another country. I was surprised that some of the Tibetans chose to fight for their country although this goes directly against their religious beliefs. I would have thought they although they are proud people and wanted to keep their way of life the same, they would be committing an action that would already disturb their lifestyle. If they did survive the battle how could they live with the thoughts of the crimes against their moral basis that they had committed. I would have thought that they would have just let China take over with an agreement that would have maintained their practices the best they could.
As for Buddhism in general, I believe strongly in most of their beliefs. Treating every living thing as if it were your mother in a former life is a little hard to accept. In America we give everything a place to determine its value. Just from being brought up this way I could never treat a plant with the same respect I give a stranger. Everything with human characteristics is given a moral obligation in my culture and everything else isn't. I admire the Buddhist way of treating nature with respect but I also believe in wellness for mankind which usually results in the destruction of nature. Its hard to balance, which is more important. I think a Buddhist in our society would have a hard time surviving, my fear is that they would be constantly stepped on. When those around you don't reciprocate the amount of respect you show them it makes them hard to deal with. This religion would be very successful in a culture of everyone sharing the same beliefs. Being an individual Buddhist would be so difficult, full of hardships on viewing how poorly the rest of society treats each other and the environment.