I recently heard National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis relate a story of cultural exploration that I was inspired to share. As an anthropologist, he travels the world to live alongside and document indigenous cultures. He made a pointed joke that with Western science, we spend all of our lifetime trying to live to be 100 without losing our teeth, while the Buddhist spends all of their lifetime trying to understand the nature of existence. Here’s an interesting comment on beliefs and viewpoint that the Tibetan monks shared with him:
“We don’t really believe that you went to the moon, but you did. You may not believe that we achieve enlightenment in this lifetime, but we do.” ?
