A Perspectival Mirror of the Elephant

Buddhism means different things to different cultures. To Westerners, Buddhism is generally associated with spirituality, meditation, and philosophy, while many Vietnamese associate it with the lunar calendar, holidays, mother god worship, and a lifestyle capable of bringing good luck. In Nepal, people typically see Buddhism as a protector that destroys bad karma. To move beyond these local views in an attempt to see the global picture, you might type "Buddhism" in Google's search bar. Instead of helping, however, the top 50 results skew strongly toward these distinct cultural impressions depending on the language you use for your query.