Josh joins Buddhism

It's official. Josh is Buddhist.

Josh was talking to one of his friends at school who naturally assumed that he was a member of the majority faith in our region. Without missing a beat, Josh corrected his friend and let her know that he is in fact a Buddhist. She was shocked, and began questioning him about his beliefs. Of course, not being an active Buddhist, he didn't know the answers. That didn't bother him much, though, because he is exceptionally good at making stuff up. She believed every word that came out of his mouth. I'm sure she thought it exciting and refreshing to have a Buddhist friend.

But then things got a little awkward. You see, after pondering the situation for a week or two, his friend finally realized that she had a wonderful missionary opportunity. She started inviting him to church. He refused the first time, saying that he had to go to the Buddhist church on Sunday. She asked him how often he went, and without really thinking it through, he said he went about once a month. So then she began to work on him to come to her church on one of the other Sundays of the month. He finally got tired of trying to put her off and instead told her that he actually was a member of her faith after all. This was an extremely effective ploy, and she hasn't invited him to church since. I think his ruse will work as long as she never sees him in Buddhist robes. And since he's still too short to wear his brothers' hand-me-down robes, I think he's safe--at least for another year or two.