catherine, on a personal level I wish you no harm, I appreciate that you have read people in my tradition. However I have an issue overall. As short and sweet as I can, I DO know Christianity. I have read many flavors of it. I grew up in a Christian household, I was baptized and confirmed against my protests. I have handled politely the Christians who show up at my door, make billboards, put Bibles in every hotel room. It is pretty hard to be in the US without being very aware of Christianity. I ended up with family that accepted this, after 20 long years of having churches recommended to me every time I moved. My kids were questioned in school for telling people they were atheist. I would not accuse you of this, however I have experienced a lot of arrogance. Like I would be a Christian, in fact a good person, if I just really understood the Christian faith.
After years of working at interfaith attitudes I ultimately think that the core tenets of Christianity and Buddhism are incompatible. We can agree on big humanitarian issues. There are so many non-issues in Buddhism that are a constant news item because of Christians and other faiths. Buddha is not Jesus in disguise. The 8-fold path and precepts are not just a version of the 10 commandments. I say this from teaching/facilitating a meditation group for the last 3 years and practicing for the last 30 years. Experiencing and supporting others in a deep fundamental change is a profound process. It is wonderful to watch the layers of suffering drop away, a deep relaxation and focus. We grow, sometimes slowly and imperfectly, in the actual practices that support acting in the world in a way that addresses our communal suffering. The roots of things like fascism are in deep personal and collective suffering. I think a few more people should be looking into Buddhism, but I have little hope that we will get beyond making excuses for the really bad Christians.
Whew, that was a dump out huh. At least it wasn't a post about work