What would I say when someone finds out I'm Buddhist and then asks, "What do Buddhists believe?" There are certainly some common guidelines in Buddhism, but really the question points to an interesting quality of Buddhist thought and practice -- that Buddhism, while sharing an active and caring community, is really an individual quest. It is a journey that causes the person to face herself without flinching, to rely on his or her own strengths and insights. The Buddha is, after all, a kind of signpost that points, a roadmap for the trip. But this seems to me to still be only half the picture. The individual's quest remains interdependent with others, so that from the person's search and trek comes the move from the individual to the community, from the one person's liberation to the liberation of all. It is nothing that has to be followed like a checklist, but rather the unconditional love and compassion arises as a natural byproduct of the journey. While Buddhism is not known for being "evangelical" in the most minor sense of the word, perhaps in some ways it is. When a person has begun to absorb the teachings, to walk the walk, the changes brought about are often quite stunning. These are noticed by those around the person, both family members and friends, strangers and those we influence without even being aware of it. As such, as Gandhi said, our life becomes the message. If the kindness we show on the journey is passed on, the compassion we feel resonates with that of another, then whether or not the person has ever heard of Buddhism or knows of your connection to it, the Dharma is alive.