Believe Within

Tana Gustin-Carrillo

Professor Bristol

English 122/Paper #1

September 18, 2009

Believe Within

I believe that each individual should embark upon a spiritual path that is best suited to his or her mental disposition, natural inclination, temperament, belief, family, and cultural background. (Dalai Lama 132)

As I began my reading of the Dalai Lama, his words brought me to reflect on my own spirituality, my search for happiness and contentment in my life. I was raised to believe in God, to be a good person, but was not brought up to believe in a particular denomination. The man I would marry was a "cradle Catholic." His religion was very important to him and to his family. I knew his mother would want him married in the Catholic Church, and because I was not partial to any denomination, I did not mind being married in their church.

11th Dalai Lama http://www.simhas.org/files/11Dala...

2nd Dalai Lama http://www.simhas.org/files/2Dalai....

English: The Seventh Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso

As we began the process of the wedding, I was told by my soon to be husband's sister-in-law, I would have to sign an agreement with the church that I would raise my children Catholic. This statement caused me great concern. How could I agree to something I was not sure of myself? How did I know what church I would be attending when we finally had children? I could agree to raise them spiritually, believe in God and Jesus Christ, but I could not agree to Catholicism. "I agree that there are five billion human beings and in a certain way I think we need five billion different religions, because there is such a large variety of dispositions." (Dalai Lama 132). The Dalai Lama spoke straight to my heart with those words, which reminded me of the discussion I had with the Catholic Priest who married us. I...