Buddhism & Goddess Of Mercy

My parents are Buddhists all their lives. Between the two of them, my dad was more devoted since he learned the religion through lots of reading and was a 100% vegetarian for 30 odd years before he passed away. He tried to convince me on many occasions to practice Buddhism but to little avail.

There are more commandments in Buddhism than in say, Christianity. The reason why I can't be a Buddhist is because I can't follow those "rules". I see no point in calling myself a Buddhist just for the sake pleasing my dad or anyone else for that matter.

Based on Buddhism teaching, I already have violated some of the most basic rules for instance, drinking alcoholic beverages, engaging in premarital sex and what have you. I don't gamble, which is forbidden in Buddhism, and I am a semi-vegetarian.

On and off since I was a teenager, I have been reading quite a bit on Buddhism and looking back at human history, I think Buddhism is the most peaceful, tolerant and benevolent religion in the world comparing to religion like Islam. No offense intended to Muslims out there.

On a side note, my mom got 2 gold-coated Goddess of Mercy from a Buddhist lodge recently. It's worth RM 1,000 each. Those were the gifts given to senior citizens who were devoted Buddhists once a while randomly. This is how it looks like in a box: