I may not be a Buddhist but as some one who love Buddhist philosophy, I find no reason to get offended at the picture, Actually I myself love seeing pictures of Buddha at more and more places (as long as its not used in profane ways) It actually cheers me up.

As I said above, Buddhism is only a philosophy in the western world.

Buddhists may not see much of a difference between a Buddha (or a monk) and a Jesus.

It's not an issue with Buddhism only, some muslim in France eat pork and drink alcohol and don't see why it should be an issue with their faith. They wouldn't be offended to see a cute pork on a website called resumepork.com still millions other muslims may be offended and would leave the page right away.

To go even further, the western world has a very romantic view of Buddhism and strong opinion on what is and what is not Buddhism. In many Buddhist countries, you'll simply be answered "mind your own business and respect my faith."

> Trying acting less like what you think a Buddhist is and more like Buddha would.

How about you do that too?

> Buddha would not feel insulted by a cartoon of a Buddha

You seem to know a lot about Buddha's opinions on things that concern him.

Either way, the point is not Buddha but the fact that the picture is touching a sensible thing for millions of potential customers which, marketing-wise, is not a good idea.

Not too mention the fact that this potential minority of users is just not interesting if this branding results in a large share of the vastly larger (for at least the next decade) Western market

I don't want to talk anyone on this here since, this is a not a place for such. I felt this is my duty to raise my voice. I did it. Thats enough for me.

But I would like to hear from the guy who build the app for the intention to this?