The Question (ID Number 28)...

As a long time Tibetan Buddhist, I have a problem with you tarring Buddhism with the same brush as other religions. The reasons are many. A. the Tibetans are or were a leaver people at least until the invasion of the Taker Chinese. Their culture speaks often of spirits of place, and of the interconnectedness of all life. One of the strong points of a reincarnation system whether you believe or not, is the idea that if we screw this place up, we will be back, to deal with it, not gone to some heaven or hell, but right here. It also insists that we are one with animals, have been and will be part of that kingdom.

...and the response:

It may seem to YOU that being included with Christianity and Islam is to be "tarred," but that's your word, not mine. The fact that Tibet has a local variety of Buddhism doesn't change Buddhism any more than the fact that Haiti has a local variety of Christianity changes Christianity. To say that we are "one with" animals is like saying that mice are "one with" rodents---it's nonsense. We're not one with animals, we ARE animals.