Letter 4: Letters to Will: What Is Buddhism?

Everyone struggles at times to answer important life questions. What is right and wrong? What is the meaning of life? Why do people believe different things? Professor Leonard Swidler, author of more than 100 books has explored these questions with many other professors across the world. Now, with his 15-year old granddaughter, Will, he explores deep human issues, not with heavy language, but with thoughts and words from an experienced grandpa to his open-eyed, open-hearted granddaughter. In this fourth letter, Len explores one of Will’s new interests: Buddhism. By thinking deeply for a long period of time, the Buddha had clarified many fundamental puzzles of life — ones which are still being discussed to this day. For Will, who knew very little about Buddhism, this introduction helped her look at her own life and its ups and downs. Professor Leonard Swidler is a global theologian who has pioneered and contributed to the field of interfaith dialogue for more than 50 years. He is a professor of religion at Temple University since 1966 and is the Editor of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies and the founder of the Dialogue Institute. The Dialogue Decalogue, his proposed interfaith dialogue has been translated into many languages and is described as the most convincing theoretical basis for conducting Dialogue