BUDDHISM

Buddhism
it is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhrtha Gautama (Sanskrit; in Pli, Siddhattha Gotama), who lived between approximately 563 and 483 BCE. Originating in India, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia to Central Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, as well as the East Asian countries of China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan.

The aim of buddhism practices is to become free of suffering, dukkha

The Four Noble Truths

The Buddha taught that life was dissatisfactory because of craving, but that this condition was curable by following the eightfold path. This teaching is called the four noble truths:

Dukkha: All worldly life is unsatisfactory, disjointed,

containing suffering. Samudaya: There is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or desire (tanha) rooted in ignorance. Nirodha: There is an end of suffering, which is Nirvana. Marga: There is a path that leads out of suffering, known as the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold Path

In order to fully understand the noble truths and investigate whether they were in fact true, Buddha recommended that a certain lifestyle or path be followed which consists of: Right Understanding Right Thought Right Speech Right Action Right Livelihood Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Concentration

The Noble Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path essentially consists of meditation, following the precepts, and cultivating the positive converse of the precepts (e.g. benefiting living beings is the converse of the first precept of harmlessness). The Path may also be thought of as a the way of developing la, meaning mental and moral discipline.

Beliefs

Reincarnation -- the concept that people are reborn after dying Buddhist differentiates between the concepts of rebirth and reincarnation. In reincarnation, the individual may recur repeatedly. In rebirth, a person does not necessarily return to Earth as the same entity ever again.

Meditation

Meditation is at the heart of the Buddhist way of life. It basically helps you in to attain a higher level of consciousness. We first learn to identify our negative mental state known as 'delusion', and then develop peaceful and positive mental state or 'virtuous mind'.

Mantras

sacred sounds that are believed to possess supernatural powers. The word "mantra" is a Sanskrit word, which probably means "that which protects (tra) the mind (man)."