Common Sense morality / Teachings of Buddhism

I typed this as a reply before but it was so long I felt like I wanted to get some others' opinions on this. Please feel free to share your own experiences whether you feel similar or disagree.


I have a short story to tell and I feel as though the teachings of Buddhism are achievable by anyone regardless of their upbringing. This is because they are eternal universal laws that are the result of perfect rationality and selfless insight.

When I was young, I was raised by my parents (mother was strict baptist, father was agnostic but totally let my mother handle it) as a traditional baptist and enjoyed going to church as well as the sense of belonging. I was baptized when I was about 10 years old, and felt very proud about it. It seems as though within the next year or 2 I acquired the ability to think for myself because by the time I was 12 I had made up my mind that it all seemed very foolish.

I am currently 20 years old and have held unwavering to my belief that there is likely no humanistic God who cares about our daily troubles and selfish desires. I always hear religious or spiritual people, often christians, stating that one needs to believe in a God (or inherently be fearful of punishment) in order to observe the commandments which in turn keeps society civilized. I do not believe that a religion or commandments are necessary at all for a perfectly peaceful world.

Even though I believe no God is watching me and making judgements, I have much stronger moral fiber than 99% of the religious people I have met. I have never knowingly (maybe a few honest accidents) stolen anything in my life simply because it seems wrong when I think if I would want everyone acting how I am. I have always also felt very liberal and for the rights and equality of all. I have also always felt consciously bad for harming any other forms of life, even to the extent that I will not crush a bug as I would prefer to put it outside. I played football and lifted weights all through up through highschool and have always been made fun of for my "big heart". I feel bad even when I see fish in a tank, trapped.

All of these ideas that I have carried throughout my life, which I have developed and adopted through personal research and experience, mirror those taught by Buddhism nearly exactly. I also have smoked marijuana nearly daily starting when I turned 16 but have always had very high test scores even while often going to school high, even finishing in the top 20 of my class. I do not know if the marijuana may have helped me or inhibited me in the process of developing my outlook on life. I do feel that Buddhism is a very common sense way to deal with life and is the most beneficial philosophy to humanity.