Reabsorbed

India was Hindu, then it became Buddhist, then it became Hindu again, as Hinduism reabsorbed Buddhism.

Late at night on the 23rd of July of 2022, Simar the young pizza vendor said that he was born in 2002. "Born in the 21st century!" I exclaimed. He kept enquiring why I didn't have a girlfriend or why I didn't get married. I explained that I liked being like a "Buddhist monk." I liked my freedom and independence. I didn't believe in bringing children into this world of dissatisfaction. I said that some people wanted children as a kind of "fake" immortality. Personality forms from both genes and environment, so even a clone brother would eventually have a different personality. Simar said that in the eastern part India, there were many Buddhists. I said that I knew a bit of Indian history, in that at one time, India was mostly Buddhist, but later, Hinduism reabsorbed Buddhism, and Hinduism became dominant once again. Simar was interested that I had been a software engineer in three different countries. Simar never tried the fruit durian, which I explained had a controversial odour, but was a luxury fruit of buttery texture to Orientals.