Test

I attended a class titled "Skeptical Buddhism: Everyday Buddhists on the Path" on Second Life. The discussion was about how easy is it for a regular Buddhist to reach enlightenment and how the person can sustain existence at the enlightened level. The topic was interesting and the discussions were structured and civilized. I found Second Life breathtaking in terms of richness and realism of the elaborate virtual world. The class was conducted in a virtual monastery complete with serene surroundings and soothing music.

In my opinion, the class offered several advantages. Firstly, Second Life registration and class enrollment were free of cost. The second advantage is that timing was very convenient and did not affect my other plans for the day. I took the class at 3 pm on a Saturday after getting done with several household chores - gardening, garage cleaning, etc. The third advantage is that I could participate in a crowd that I didn't have to gauge (and form perceptions) by race and color of skin. I think this promoted a truly unbiased, free of stereotypes, platform for discussions. I won't deny that I tried to read into the avatar names to form opinions. In a real world setting, I would have exhibited relatively more warmth and affinity towards participants of similar cultural and ethnic background. The fourth advantage is that I had the choice to select the medium of communication - verbal or written. In certain instances, I was more comfortable expressing myself through written communication. I could be more precise and to the point in this form. A real world setting may not provide this flexibility. The real world setting works better and flows smoothly only if there is verbal communication.

Based on my Second Life experience, the following are the drawbacks of a virtual world. I think that eye to eye contact is very important in discussions. My supervisor at previous employer worked remote and communicated