I'm a Buddhist and have been for quite a time. I think taht in any religion, or even sports, you get people who do things just so they can say they do them. I did Aikido for a while and there were people who'd just want to tell everybody else they were going, but they weren't actually interested in practising. Same with Buddhists, we have bad ones and good ones.

Is it lazy? Hmmm....Well, saying that we dont have any dietary laws or things to do isn't quite right. We're vegetarian and if we're meditators then we have to avoid certian foods and meditate regularly. I'd say that being self-satisfied doesn't come easy

A good Buddhist is someone who observes a strong moral code, but more than anythng else tries to understand the true nature of reality through meditation. The 'goodness' part of Buddhism, our morality, is second to our search for a direct experience of reality, as reality itself, to become enlightened. Too much emphasis is placed on the idea that we're just about doing good things and being non-violent, that's a part of meditation practise as much as it is a moral goal.

I don't have a car, mobile phone, dvd player, etc, etc. I'm a veggie', I don't drink. I spend a lot of time alone and in meditational retreat. Meditation is pretty much all I do apart from writing. Am I a good Buddhist though? No, not really, I'm still an amateur compared to real monks and those who devote their entire lives to it. It's all relative I think. Good post though, good question.

MelT