Buddhism is a faith that was founded more than 2,500 years ago in India by Siddhartha Guatama, also called The Buddha. Buddhism is non-theistic, which means it doesn’t rely on a belief in a god or gods.  A person could be a Buddhist and also an agnostic or atheist, with no conflict.

Buddhism centers on the search for enlightenment, wisdom, and inner peace, leading to the spiritual achievement of nirvana.

The leading monk in Tibetan Buddhism is the Dalai Lama, believed to be a reincarnation of a past lama who has agreed to be born again to help humanity.

Holy Books

The holy books and writings of Buddhism include:

· Tripitaka, also called Tipitaka, the “three baskets,” probably the oldest collection of Buddhist texts.

· Sutras, sacred teachings of Mahayana Buddhists

· Book of the Dead, a Tibetan text describing the stages of death.

Noble Truths

The 4 Noble Truths of Buddhism which explain why people hurt and teach us how to overcome suffering, are:

· The Truth of Suffering

· The Truth of the Cause of Suffering

· The Truth of the End of Suffering, and

· The Truth of the Path that Frees us from Suffering

The Buddha’s teachings about the right way of living or the path of rightness to overcome suffering are called dharma and include 5 virtues and 5 moral precepts.

Buddhist Virtues

The 5 virtues Buddhists aspire to are:

· Compassion

· Generosity

· Kindness

· Patience

· Wisdom

Moral Precepts

The 5 moral precepts or things to avoid are:

· Killing any living things

· Taking what is not given

· Sexual misconduct

· Using drugs or alcohol

· Lying.

The Eightfold Path

There is an Eightfold Path to the end of suffering with 8 ideals for mental discipline, achieving wisdom, and ethical conduct:

· Right Mindfulness

· Right Concentration

· Right Thought

· Right Understanding

· Right Speech

· Right Effort

· Right Action

· Right Livelihood

There is so much more to Buddhism than I can cover here. You can learn more online or at your local library.

Whether you follow Buddhism, or a different belief, or none at all, you are welcome here. We love you just the way you are, no mask required.