What is Buddhism
Buddhism
is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true
nature of life. Buddhist practices such as meditation are means of changing
oneself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom.
The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years
has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path —
a path which ultimately culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood.
Because
Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people do
not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of
Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or
permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. Thus Buddhism
addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, or gender. It
teaches practical methods (such as meditation) which enable people to realise
and utilise its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully
responsible for their lives and to develop the qualities of Wisdom and
Compassion.
There
are around 350 million Buddhists and a growing number of them are Westerners.
They follow many different forms of Buddhism, but all traditions are
characterised by non-violence, lack of dogma, tolerance of differences, and,
usually, by the practice of meditation.
You
can find answers to some common
questions about being a Buddhist on the Clear
Vison website