Monday, September 19, 2011

About Buddhism - the teachings of Buddha

About Buddhism - the teachings of Buddha

The founder of Buddhism in this world was Buddha Shakyamuni who lived and gave teachings in India some two and a half thousand years ago. Since then millions of people around world have followed the spiritual path he revealed.

The Buddhist way of life of peace, loving kindness and wisdom can be just as relevant today as it was in ancient India.

Buddha explained that all our problems and suffering arise from confused and negative states of mind, and that all our happiness and good fortune arise from peaceful and positive states of mind.
Buddha meditating
In this section
 
Related websites
About Buddhism
 

Modern Buddhism - Free eBook download

He taught methods for gradually overcoming our negative minds such as anger, jealousy and ignorance, and developing our positive minds such as love, compassion and wisdom. Through this we can come to experience lasting peace and happiness.

These methods can work for anyone, in any country, in any age. Once we have gained experience of them for ourselves we can pass them on to others so they too can enjoy the same benefits.

Meditation is at the heart of the Buddhist way of life. It is essentially a method for understanding and working on our own mind. We first learn to identify our different negative mental states known as ‘delusions’, and learn how to develop peaceful and positive mental states or ‘virtuous minds’.

Then in meditation we overcome our delusions by becoming familiar with virtuous minds. Out of meditation we try to maintain the virtuous minds we have developed and use our wisdom to solve the problems of daily life.

As our mind becomes more positive our actions become more constructive, and our experience of life becomes more satisfying and beneficial to others.

Anyone can learn basic meditation techniques and experience great benefits, but to progress beyond basic meditation requires faith in the Three Jewels – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Usually people find this develops naturally as they experience the benefits of their meditation practice.

Spiritual path

The teachings of Buddha reveal a step by step path to lasting happiness. By following this path anyone can gradually transform his or her mind from its present confused and self-centred state into the blissful mind of a Buddha.In his popular book Eight Steps to Happiness, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the Founder of the New Kadampa Tradition, explains:
"Every living being has the potential to become a Buddha, someone who has completely purified his or her mind of all faults and limitations and has brought all good qualities to perfection. Our mind is like a cloudy sky, in essence clear and pure but overcast by the clouds of delusions.

Just as the thickest clouds eventually disperse, so too even the heaviest delusions can be removed from our mind. Delusions such as hatred, greed, and ignorance are not an intrinsic part of the mind. If we apply the appropriate methods they can be completely eliminated, and we shall experience the supreme happiness of full enlightenment."
Eight Steps to Happiness by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Having attained enlightenment we shall have all the necessary qualities to lead all living beings to the same blissful state. This is the ultimate aim of Mahayana Buddhism.
More information about Buddhism and the teachings of Buddha can be found in Geshe Kelsang's books, Introduction to Buddhism or Eight Steps to Happiness.


Modern Buddhism - Free eBook download
If you would like to attend meditation classes near you and learn about Buddhism, visit the main website for Kadampa Buddhism which has details of Buddhist Centres around the world.
top of page
   

No comments:

Post a Comment

We highly admire your helpful comments on our posts.