• What is Buddhism?
Buddhism is a religion to about
300 million people around the
world. The word comes from
'budhi', 'to awaken'. It has its
origins about 2,500 years ago
when Siddhartha Gotama, known
as the Buddha, was himself
awakened (enlightened) at the
age of 35.
• 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.
• How Can Buddhism Help Me?
Buddhism explains a purpose to
life, it explains apparent injustice
and inequality around the world,
and it provides a code of practice
or way of life that leads to true
happiness.
• Why is Buddhism Becoming
Popular?
Buddhism is becoming popular
in western countries for a
number of reasons, The first
good reason is Buddhism has
answers to many of the
problems in modern materialistic
societies. It also includes (for
those who are interested) a deep
understanding of the human
mind (and natural therapies)
which prominent psychologists
around the world are now
discovering to be both very
advanced and effective.
• Who Was the Buddha?
Siddhartha Gotama was born
into a royal family in Lumbini,
now located in Nepal, in 563 BC.
At 29, he realised that wealth and
luxury did not guarantee
happiness, so he explored the
different teachings religions and
philosophies of the day, to find
the key to human happiness.
After six years of study and
meditation he finally found 'the
middle path' and was
enlightened. After enlightenment,
the Buddha spent the rest of his
life teaching the principles of
Buddhism — called the Dhamma,
or Truth — until his death at the
age of 80.
• Was the Buddha a God?
He was not, nor did he claim to
be. He was a man who taught a
path to enlightenment from his
own experience.
• Do Buddhists Worship Idols?
Buddhists sometimes pay respect
to images of the Buddha, not in
worship, nor to ask for favours. A
statue of the Buddha with hands
rested gently in its lap and a
compassionate smile reminds us
to strive to develop peace and
love within ourselves. Bowing to
the statue is an expression of
gratitude for the teaching.
• Why are so Many Buddhist
Countries Poor?
One of the Buddhist teachings is
that wealth does not guarantee
happiness and also wealth is
impermanent. The people of
every country suffer whether rich
or poor, but those who
understand Buddhist teachings
can find true happiness.
• Are There Different Types of
Buddhism?
There are many different types of
Buddhism, because the emphasis
changes from country to country
due to customs and culture. What
does not vary is the essence of
the teaching — the Dhamma or
truth.
• Are Other Religions Wrong?
Buddhism is also a belief system
which is tolerant of all other
beliefs or religions. Buddhism
agrees with the moral teachings
of other religions but Buddhism
goes further by providing a long
term purpose within our
existence, through wisdom and
true understanding. Real
Buddhism is very tolerant and
not concerned with labels like
'Christian', 'Moslem', 'Hindu' or
'Buddhist'; that is why there have
never been any wars fought in
the name of Buddhism. That is
why Buddhists do not preach
and try to convert, only explain if
an explanation is sought.
• Is Buddhism Scientific?
Science is knowledge which can
be made into a system, which
depends upon seeing and
testing facts and stating general
natural laws. The core of
Buddhism fit into this definition,
because the Four Noble truths
(see below) can be tested and
proven by anyone in fact the
Buddha himself asked his
followers to test the teaching
rather than accept his word as
true. Buddhism depends more
on understanding than faith.
• What did the Buddha Teach?
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.
• What is the First Noble Truth?
The first truth is that life is
suffering i.e., life includes pain,
getting old, disease, and
ultimately death. We also endure
psychological suffering like
loneliness frustration, fear,
embarrassment, disappointment
and anger. This is an irrefutable
fact that cannot be denied. It is
realistic rather than pessimistic
because pessimism is expecting
things to be bad. lnstead,
Buddhism explains how
suffering can be avoided and
how we can be truly happy.
• What is the Second Noble
Truth?
The second truth is that suffering
is caused by craving and
aversion. We will suffer if we
expect other people to conform
to our expectation, if we want
others to like us, if we do not get
something we want,etc. In other
words, getting what you want
does not guarantee happiness.
Rather than constantly struggling
to get what you want, try to
modify your wanting. Wanting
deprives us of contentment and
happiness. A lifetime of wanting
and craving and especially the
craving to continue to exist,
creates a powerful energy which
causes the individual to be born.
So craving leads to physical
suffering because it causes us to
be reborn.
• What is the Third Noble
Truth?
The third truth is that suffering
can be overcome and happiness
can be attained; that true
happiness and contentment are
possible. lf we give up useless
craving and learn to live each day
at a time (not dwelling in the
past or the imagined future) then
we can become happy and free.
We then have more time and
energy to help others. This is
Nirvana.
• What is the Fourth Noble
Truth?
The fourth truth is that the Noble
8-fold Path is the path which
leads to the end of suffering.
• What is the Noble 8-Fold
Path?
In summary, the Noble 8-fold
Path is being moral (through
what we say, do and our
livelihood), focussing the mind
on being fully aware of our
thoughts and actions, and
developing wisdom by
understanding the Four Noble
Truths and by developing
compassion for others.
• What are the 5 Precepts?
The moral code within Buddhism
is the precepts, of which the
main five are: not to take the life
of anything living, not to take
anything not freely given, to
abstain from sexual misconduct
and sensual overindulgence, to
refrain from untrue speech, and
to avoid intoxication, that is,
losing mindfulness.
• What is Karma?
Karma is the law that every cause
has an effect, i.e., our actions
have results. This simple law
explains a number of things:
inequality in the world, why
some are born handicapped and
some gifted, why some live only a
short life. Karma underlines the
importance of all individuals
being responsible for their past
and present actions. How can we
test the karmic effect of our
actions? The answer is summed
up by looking at (1) the intention
behind the action, (2) effects of
the action on oneself, and (3) the
effects on others.
• What is Wisdom?
Buddhism teaches that wisdom
should be developed with
compassion. At one extreme, you
could be a goodhearted fool and
at the other extreme, you could
attain knowledge without any
emotion. Buddhism uses the
middle path to develop both. The
highest wisdom is seeing that in
reality, all phenomena are
incomplete, impermanent and do
no constitute a fixed entity. True
wisdom is not simply believing
what we are told but instead
experiencing and understanding
truth and reality. Wisdom
requires an open, objective,
unbigoted mind. The Buddhist
path requires courage, patience,
flexibility and intelligence.
• What is Compassion?
Compassion includes qualities of
sharing, readiness to give
comfort, sympathy, concern,
caring. In Buddhism, we can
really understand others, when
we can really understand
ourselves, through wisdom.
• How do I Become a Buddhist?
Buddhist teachings can be
understood and tested by
anyone. Buddhism teaches that
the solutions to our problems are
within ourselves not outside. The
Buddha asked all his followers
not to take his word as true, but
rather to test the teachings for
themselves. ln this way, each
person decides for themselves
and takes responsibility for their
own actions and understanding.
This makes Buddhism less of a
fixed package of beliefs which is
to be accepted in its entirety, and
more of a teaching which each
person learns and uses in their
own way.
