proud Buddhists

Buddhists
can be rightfully proud
for only they
know the ultimate Truth.

but the Truth is
those who were already very proud
even before they became Buddhists
can become Buddhists
and after having studied and known
more of Buddhism
can become overly proud
and then
hide their false pride behind
having known
the Buddhism
from the books
which is a far cry from
what Buddhism
really is
or what i call
AS IT IS.

you can see them a lot
almost everywhere
where Buddhism is discussed.

they can be very intrusive,
abrasive,
callous,
know no boundary,
and think they know all
when in fact
what they know is Buddhism
in print
not in spirit.

they can get very offensive
when their short coming is pointed out to them.
thence they go into defensive mode
showing off
more of the Buddhism
the way they know it.

Buddhism
in it's great compassion
keep these people
under It's protection
and
off them a safe refuge.

we as Buddhists
should feel compassionate
and offer them Karuna love
knowing fully well
they need more effort
to know the true Buddhism,
Buddhism
AS IT IS
with no attachment
to words.

palms together
deep bows,
des/boo-ngoh