BUDDHIS

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 What is Buddhism?
Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to
Insight into the true nature of reality.

Is Buddhism a Religion?
To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of
a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because
philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist
path can be summed up as:
(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.
 Buddhism started with the Buddha. The word ‘Buddha’ is
a title, which means ‘one who is awake’ — in the sense
Who is the of having ‘woken up to reality’. The Buddha was born as
Siddhartha Gautama in Nepal around 2,500 years ago.
Buddha? Although born a prince, he realized that conditioned
experiences could not provide lasting happiness or
protection from suffering. After a long spiritual search he
went into deep meditation, where he realized the nature
of mind. He achieved the state of unconditional and
lasting happiness: the state of enlightenment, of
buddhahood. This state of mind is free from disturbing
emotions and expresses itself through fearlessness, joy
and active compassion. For the rest of his life, the
Buddha taught anyone who asked how they could reach
the same state.
 Was the Buddha a God? Do Buddhists Worship Idols?

The Buddha was not a god and Buddhists sometimes pay respect to
he made no claim to divinity. He images rested gently in its lap and a
was a human being who compassionate smile of the Buddha,
became Enlightened,
understanding life in the not in worship, nor to ask for favours.
deepest way possible.. He A statue of the Buddha with hands
affirmed the potential of every reminds us to strive to develop peace
being to reach Buddhahood. and love within ourselves. Bowing to
Buddhists see him as an ideal the statue is an expression of
human being, and a guide who gratitude for the teaching.
can lead us all
towards Enlightenment.
 Buddha’s teachings enable us to experience
lasting happiness. By using suitable
What did meditations, our theoretical knowledge turns
Buddha teach? into direct experience; additional methods
secure attained levels of consciousness. The
goal of Buddha’s teachings is the full
development of body, speech and mind.
The Buddha taught many things, but the basic
concepts in Buddhism can be summed up by
the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold
Path.
“I teach because you and all
beings want to have
happiness and want to avoid
suffering. I teach the way
things are.”
– The Buddha
 Ordinary life is full of suffering.

This suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy ourselves.

The Four
Noble The way to end suffering is to end desire for selfish goals
Truths and to see others as extensions of ourselves.

The way to end desire is to follow the middle path.

Right understanding

Right thought
Right speech

Right action

Right livelihood

Right effort

Right mindfulness

Right concentration
The Five Moral Buddhist Precepts

Harming living things

Taking what is not given
Sexual misconduct
Lying or gossip
Taking intoxicating substances eg drugs or
drink.