What Is Meditation? Since the Buddha’s enlightenment during deep meditation under the Bodhi tree, meditation has been part of the practice all Buddhist followers. Meditation in Buddhism is not sitting and daydreaming, or contemplating the day’s events. It is not staring into space, hoping that some spiritual hammer will land on the mind and suddenly…

Karma and Intention An early Buddhist teaching says: “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow. Our life is the creation of our mind”. Karma means intended action, and is a dynamic concept. It is not fate or predestination, but a consequence of what…

The Three Jewels Despite the differences in the varieties of Buddhism, there are always the same three cornerstones which are called the Three Jewels. These are the Buddha, the Dharma which is the teaching of the Buddha, and the Sangha, which is the community who follow the teaching. When a person accepts the Buddhist philosophy…

The Noble Eightfold Path, although referred to as steps on a path, is not meant as a sequential learning process, but as eight aspects of life, all of which are to be integrated in everyday life. Thus the environment is created to move closer to the Buddhist path. The Eightfold Path is at the heart…

After the Enlightenment, the Buddha walked over one hundred miles to India’s holy city of Benares. In a deer park near the city, he preached his first sermon to the five followers who had previously renounced him. This sermon formed the basis of his teaching from then on. He spoke about The Four Noble Truths.…