Buddhism

Buddha and Buddhism

The founder of Buddhism in this world was Buddha Shakyamuni who lived and taught in India over two and a half thousand years ago. Since then millions of people around the world have followed and taken advice from the spiritual path that he revealed. Buddha explained that all our problems and suffering arise from confused and negative states of mind, and all our happiness and good fortune arise from peaceful and positive states of mind.

Lasting peace and happiness

Buddha taught methods for gradually overcoming negative states of mind such as anger, jealousy and ignorance and developing positive states of mind such as love, compassion and wisdom. Through following these methods we will come to experience lasting peace and happiness. These methods work for anyone, of any age, in any country. Once we have gained experience of them for ourselves we can pass them on to others so they too can enjoy the same benefits; either by our good example or by giving good advice. The Buddhist way of life – peace, loving kindness and wisdom – is just as relevant today as it was when Buddha appeared in ancient India.

Meditation

The purpose of meditation

The purpose of meditation is to cultivate positive states of mind. In today’s modern world, we are constantly pulled in many directions, from one distraction to another like a candle flame in the wind. We spontaneously engage in unhelpful actions out of the force of habit, and experience problems and suffering as a result.

By mixing our mind with positive mental attitudes such as patience, we slowly loosen the control our negative habits currently have over us, increasing our ability to concentrate and to experience the true inner peace that positive states of mind induce.