Deep is this teaching, hard to see,
hard to realise, tranquil, refined,
beyond the scope of conjecture, subtle,
to be experienced by the wise.
Vacchagottasutta
   











 		 
 
   B u d d h i s m
 
       Buddhism, one of the three great world religions, originated in northern India more than 2500 years ago. The founder of Buddhism, or, in his own words, the one who only rediscovered the teaching, was Shakyamuni Buddha. Buddha is not a personal name but a title meaning the "Awakened One", the one who has awakened from the dream of life and has seen the Reality as it is. Before attaining this name through his spiritual endeavor, the future Buddha had been given the personal name Siddharta Gautama and had been born as a prince in the small kingdom of Shakya. He is therefore also referred to as Shakayamuni or the "Sage of the Shakyas".
            Buddhism, the Buddha's teaching or Buddha Dharma, as it is called by the Buddhists, is a teaching on awakening. The teaching arose from the Buddha's direct awakening experience, or his insight into the true nature of life, and it gives a detailed description of a path leading to that insight. Through diversity and abundance of schools, teachings, methods and practices within Buddhist tradition as it developed over the past ages in a variety of cultures, the message of Buddhism has remained as clear and as relevant to our experience of life as it was some 2500 years ago. Reading the Buddha's sermons or dialogues, we can see that the questions answered by the Buddha are substantially the same as the questions that are being raised today. Buddhism is considered a universal teaching, meaning a teaching that is not determined by its oriental background but instead addresses issues that are fundamental to human existence and independent of any regional, ethnical, cultural or social affiliation. Taking the state of dissatisfaction and the eternal human need for happiness and security as the common traits of human experience, the Buddha identified the causes of dissatisfaction, discovered that these causes could be eliminated and showed the way that makes it possible to do it. The Buddha's Noble path of Morality, Meditation and Wisdom had not only changed the lives of those who practiced it, but its effects had been felt in all other areas of social and cultural life in the countries where Buddhism has taken root. In each of these countries, Buddhism has spread the spirit of non-violence, tolerance, friendship, benevolence, and respect for the environment and all forms of life.

       The basic concepts of Buddha's teaching are simple and practical. Any unwholesome and non-virtuous deeds that we may do are not caused by our originally evil nature but they arise out of our ignorance. Ignorance about the nature of life leads to greed and aversion, which are further the source of all other afflictions like anger, aggression, fear, envy, jealousy, attachment, impatience or anxiety. They make human existence unsafe, difficult, and painful and bring discord into human relations. Buddhism teaches that we can find a way out of this state of being deeply immersed in the streams of life, whose currents we often do not understand and over which we have a little or no control at all. Calming the mind, developing awareness, understanding and cultivating positive emotions can help us to pull the strings of our life. In other words, in order to be able to embark on the path of spiritual development, whose ultimate goal is the attainment of Buddhahood, we must first become true human beings. This means we must build up self-esteem, consolidate our energies, raise awareness on the nature of our actions and their consequences, adopt certain moral principles, and have a clear vision of our own spiritual growth. That also means we must release unnecessary tensions and worries and start a life in which there is more freedom, harmony, meaning and happiness. This ideal is not distant or unattainable, the very first steps on the Buddha's path of Morality, Meditation and Wisdom are leading to it. There is a saying that illustrates that: "Just as the great ocean in the surface, in the middle and in the bottom has a single taste, that of salt, so also, the Dharma in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end has a single taste, the taste of freedom."

       Buddhism is not a religion in the common sense of the word. The Buddha was neither a God, nor a prophet or a messiah. Buddhism does not offer a religious creed, nor does its philosophy serve to deepen the knowledge on reality for the sake of the knowledge itself. Buddhism rather points to the course of action, enabling a real and thorough transformation. As the Buddha said, if a person is shot with an arrow, the most urgent action is not to find out who strung the bow, what is his background, or what kind of wood the bow was of. First the arrow must be taken out and the person's life must be preserved. Even though the Buddhist thought has often reached depths unfathomable to other religious and philosophical systems, it has never departed from or lost that main purpose. The means of philosophy are words, logic, and reason. Buddhism, using these means, leads to an experience which is beyond words, beyond logic and beyond reason, it leads to the truth about the nature of reality as it is, which transcends all views, even those that are deemed true by Buddhism itself. This is an experience of freedom from suffering and all forms of causality, the experience in which our true nature of infinite wisdom and compassion is revealed.