Thanks for your comments. A great point! Many teachings in Buddhism would support the very point you make. The one that immediately jumps to mind is — “wisdom without love is not wisdom.” Even if what you know and believe is the truth, using it to beat other people over the head with is not the right way to go. Even the peaceful teachings of Buddhism could be misused and “preached” to harm other people by making them feel needlessly guilty, cruelly judged, misunderstood, etc.

There’s a metaphor (which I believe should be attributed to the Buddha, but I can’t recall for sure) that says wisdom and love are the two wings of a bird. Without one or the other, the bird cannot fly. Our spiritual lives are like the bird. If we simply know a lot, that’s not enough to live a good life — we have to temper the wisdom with love, and temper the love with wisdom. With those two wings at full strength, our spirituality can take flight and express itself through our actions in the world.

What may cause problems is how far the doctrinal precepts may depart from the good. This may involve the issue, for example, of Jihad. It may involve, from an Evangelical perspective, the notion that certain core values of Christianity can not be negotiated. It means views about ideals, classess, and issues to do with discriminatory practices.

In short, to practice what you preach may raise troubling, divisive views. It certainly involves a commentary on one’s faith, a faith which is open to counter truth(s). Despite all this, if we can agree on fundamentals, then the precept of ‘love thy neighbour as thyself’ can assist us in contemplative dialogue.