Bukkyo Desu
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 04:54PM When I was a missionary serving in Japan (way back in the day) from 1988 to 1990, door-to-door proselytizing was the main way we contacted people. One of the most common replies after we introduced ourselves was "Kekko desu. Bukkyo desu kara." Translated: "No thank you, because we are Buddhist."
I've been thinking about my missionary days a lot recently because of all the door knocking I've been doing in Pearl City as part of my political campaign. Except today, it's not "bukkyo desu" that I'm hearing but instead, "Sorry, I'm a Democrat."
I've realized long ago that when someone immediately responds with a reason why they cannot/do not want to continue a conversation with you, it's always best to politely leave them be. Trying to convince the Buddhist to listen to a discourse about Christ or trying to get a lifelong Democrat to support a Republican candidate will more times than not end badly.
Instead of bashing points of views and manipulating an unwilling stranger to listen, it's better to leave a good impression-- to plant a seed so that one day, under different circumstances, there might be a chance that that same person may be willing to listen to at least a little bit of the message.
Reader Comments (2)
Excellent Reed - love your example/experience from your Japan missionary days. Very applicable to all encounters with folks who don't always agree. As always, simple but profoundly insightful. Best of luck to you, the folks of PC, and the state of HI. We all need you!
Well said Reed! We believe in you.