Buddhism is a spiritual belief system that originated in India. It focuses on understanding and overcoming suffering through teachings like the 4 Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
The Five Precepts are a code of ethics that were taught by the Buddha for all of us to live a morally good life.
Are you interested in Buddhist philosophy? In this article, we put together a list of best Buddhism books for beginners (with quotes).
The Wheel of Life Thangka, known as Bhavachakra, encapsulates the profound Buddhist cosmology within the mandala's intricate design. It serves as a visual sermon of the Buddha's teachings, particularly the Four Noble Truths, outlining the existence of suffering, its origins, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to its end. This artistic creation is not just a painting; it's a spiritual guide, illustrating the cyclical nature of life and the path to Nirvana, the ultimate liberation from the cycle of suffering. Symbolism and Insights At the heart of the Wheel of Life are the core principles of Buddhist philosophy, offering a deep dive into the roots of suffering and the mechanisms of karma and rebirth. The painting is a stark reminder of the personal accountability we hold over our destiny, urging introspection and moral vigilance. It's a depiction of the cyclic existence (Samsara) and the pivotal role of actions (Karma) in shaping our journey through various realms of existence. Painting Design Three Poisons: Located at the center, depicting a pig, a rooster, and a snake, symbolizing ignorance, desire, and aversion, respectively. These are the root causes of Samsara. Six Realms: Surrounding the central core, each realm represents a different aspect of Samsara: God Realm: Pleasure and attachment Demi-God Realm: Jealousy and ambition Human Realm: Desire and doubt Animal Realm: Ignorance and servitude Ghost Realm: Greed and hunger Hell Realm: Anger and aggression Outer Rim: Twelve segments illustrating the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, showcasing the interconnectedness of causes and conditions leading to suffering. Outermost Area: Depicts the Twelve Links in a more elaborate and interconnected manner, emphasizing the cyclical nature of existence. Cultural and Spiritual Significance Educational Tool: Used in monasteries and homes for teaching the principles of Buddhism, meditation, and the path to enlightenment. Meditative Aid: Serves as a focus point for meditation, helping practitioners contemplate the cycles of life and the path to liberation from Samsara. Measures approximately 20.5 x 26.5 inches
Do you love Buddhist philosophy? Keep reading to learn more about the the 3 Buddhist principles that can change your life for the better, based on the ancient scriptures of Theravada Buddhism.
Zen is a philosophy that was born out of Mahayana Buddhism in the 11th century. Zen puts less emphasis on ancient religious practices and focuses…
Buddhism and Buddhist beliefs have always been looked at as powerful ways of speaking to our souls and finding inner peace, and happiness.
Schools of Buddhism refers to a distinct tradition within the great Buddhist philosophy by its unique practices & emphasis on various aspects of Buddha's teachings.
Need resources on Buddhist philosophy? Keep reading to learn about the Four Noble Truths, key teaching of the Buddha that can improve your meditation practice.
Some of the world’s top visionaries turn to Zen Buddhism to find purpose and clarity in their work. In this article, we discuss 12 Zen Buddhist practices – inspired by how actual Zen Buddhist monks live in hermitage – that artists and entrepreneurs can incorporate to bring focus and productivity bac
The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present. Buddhism arose in the eastern part of
Advertisement The Wheel of Life Thangka, known as Bhavachakra, encapsulates the profound Buddhist cosmology within the mandala's intricate design. It serves as a visual sermon of the Buddha's teachings, particularly the Four Noble Truths, outlining the existence of suffering, its origins, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to its end. This artistic creation is not just a painting; it's a spiritual guide, illustrating the cyclical nature of life and the path to Nirvana, the ultimate liberation from the cycle of suffering. Symbolism and Insights At the heart of the Wheel of Life are the core principles of Buddhist philosophy, offering a deep dive into the roots of suffering and the mechanisms of karma and rebirth. The painting is a stark reminder of the personal accountability we hold over our destiny, urging introspection and moral vigilance. It's a depiction of the cyclic existence (Samsara) and the pivotal role of actions (Karma) in shaping our journey through various realms of existence. Painting Design Three Poisons: Located at the center, depicting a pig, a rooster, and a snake, symbolizing ignorance, desire, and aversion, respectively. These are the root causes of Samsara. Six Realms: Surrounding the central core, each realm represents a different aspect of Samsara: God Realm: Pleasure and attachment Demi-God Realm: Jealousy and ambition Human Realm: Desire and doubt Animal Realm: Ignorance and servitude Ghost Realm: Greed and hunger Hell Realm: Anger and aggression Outer Rim: Twelve segments illustrating the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, showcasing the interconnectedness of causes and conditions leading to suffering. Outermost Area: Depicts the Twelve Links in a more elaborate and interconnected manner, emphasizing the cyclical nature of existence. Cultural and Spiritual Significance Educational Tool: Used in monasteries and homes for teaching the principles of Buddhism, meditation, and the path to enlightenment. Meditative Aid: Serves as a focus point for meditation, helping practitioners contemplate the cycles of life and the path to liberation from Samsara. Measures approximately 21.5 x 25.5 inches Do you love Buddhist philosophy? Keep reading to learn more about the the 3 Buddhist principles that can change your life for the better, based on the ancient scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. The Wheel of Life Thangka, known as Bhavachakra, encapsulates the profound Buddhist cosmology within the mandala's intricate design. It serves as a visual sermon of the Buddha's teachings, particularly the Four Noble Truths, outlining the existence of suffering, its origins, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to its end. This artistic creation is not just a painting; it's a spiritual guide, illustrating the cyclical nature of life and the path to Nirvana, the ultimate liberation from the cycle of suffering. Symbolism and Insights At the heart of the Wheel of Life are the core principles of Buddhist philosophy, offering a deep dive into the roots of suffering and the mechanisms of karma and rebirth. The painting is a stark reminder of the personal accountability we hold over our destiny, urging introspection and moral vigilance. It's a depiction of the cyclic existence (Samsara) and the pivotal role of actions (Karma) in shaping our journey through various realms of existence. Painting Design Three Poisons: Located at the center, depicting a pig, a rooster, and a snake, symbolizing ignorance, desire, and aversion, respectively. These are the root causes of Samsara. Six Realms: Surrounding the central core, each realm represents a different aspect of Samsara: God Realm: Pleasure and attachment Demi-God Realm: Jealousy and ambition Human Realm: Desire and doubt Animal Realm: Ignorance and servitude Ghost Realm: Greed and hunger Hell Realm: Anger and aggression Outer Rim: Twelve segments illustrating the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, showcasing the interconnectedness of causes and conditions leading to suffering. Outermost Area: Depicts the Twelve Links in a more elaborate and interconnected manner, emphasizing the cyclical nature of existence. Cultural and Spiritual Significance Educational Tool: Used in monasteries and homes for teaching the principles of Buddhism, meditation, and the path to enlightenment. Meditative Aid: Serves as a focus point for meditation, helping practitioners contemplate the cycles of life and the path to liberation from Samsara. Measures approximately 20.5 x 26.5 inches The Wheel of Life Thangka, known as Bhavachakra, encapsulates the profound Buddhist cosmology within the mandala's intricate design. It serves as a visual sermon of the Buddha's teachings, particularly the Four Noble Truths, outlining the existence of suffering, its origins, the cessation of suffering, and the path leading to its end. This artistic creation is not just a painting; it's a spiritual guide, illustrating the cyclical nature of life and the path to Nirvana, the ultimate liberation from the cycle of suffering. Symbolism and Insights At the heart of the Wheel of Life are the core principles of Buddhist philosophy, offering a deep dive into the roots of suffering and the mechanisms of karma and rebirth. The painting is a stark reminder of the personal accountability we hold over our destiny, urging introspection and moral vigilance. It's a depiction of the cyclic existence (Samsara) and the pivotal role of actions (Karma) in shaping our journey through various realms of existence. Painting Design Three Poisons: Located at the center, depicting a pig, a rooster, and a snake, symbolizing ignorance, desire, and aversion, respectively. These are the root causes of Samsara. Six Realms: Surrounding the central core, each realm represents a different aspect of Samsara: God Realm: Pleasure and attachment Demi-God Realm: Jealousy and ambition Human Realm: Desire and doubt Animal Realm: Ignorance and servitude Ghost Realm: Greed and hunger Hell Realm: Anger and aggression Outer Rim: Twelve segments illustrating the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination, showcasing the interconnectedness of causes and conditions leading to suffering. Outermost Area: Depicts the Twelve Links in a more elaborate and interconnected manner, emphasizing the cyclical nature of existence. Cultural and Spiritual Significance Educational Tool: Used in monasteries and homes for teaching the principles of Buddhism, meditation, and the path to enlightenment. Meditative Aid: Serves as a focus point for meditation, helping practitioners contemplate the cycles of life and the path to liberation from Samsara. Measures approximately 21.5 x 25.5 inches Nirvana is considered the ultimate goal of Buddhism. But what is Nirvana exactly? If you love Buddhist philosophy, read on to learn the answer in our article. Learn Buddhism through the very helpful graphics created by Alan Peto! Zen Buddhism is a form of Mahāyāna Buddhism that originated in China and is strongly focused on meditation. It is characteristically sceptical towards language and distrustful of conceptual thought, which explains why Zen Buddhist sayings are so enigmatic and succinct. But despite Zen Buddhism’s hostility towards theory and discourse, it is possible to reflect philosophically on Zen Buddhism and bring out its philosophical insights. In this short book, Byung-Chul Han seeks to unfold the philosophical force inherent in Zen Buddhism, delving into the foundations of Far Eastern thought to which Zen Buddhism is indebted. Han does this comparatively by confronting and contrasting the insights of Zen Buddhism with the philosophies of Plato, Leibniz, Fichte, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Heidegger and others, showing that Zen Buddhism and Western philosophy have very different ways of understanding religion, subjectivity, emptiness, friendliness and death. This important work by one of the most widely read philosophers and cultural theorists of our time will be of great value to anyone interested in comparative philosophy and religion. Product DetailsISBN-13: 9781509545100 Media Type: Paperback Publisher: Polity Press Publication Date: 11-15-2022 Pages: 120 Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.40(d)About the Author Byung-Chul Han is a full-time writer and the author of more than 20 books including The Scent of Time, Saving Beauty and The Burnout Society.Table of Contents Table of ContentsPreface A Religion without God Emptiness No one Dwelling nowhere Death Friendliness Notes Show More As it turns out, philosophy is a lot more useful when you’re out in the real world rather than in a classroom. How beginners can start a daily Buddhist practice. Learn why practice is important, how to create an altar, and more! 11 Best books on Zen Buddhism, to learn Zen Buddhist meditation, Zazen and Koan explanation from Zen masters as well as books about history of Zen Buddhism The Phyang Monastery was established in 1515. The current head ‘Lama’ or teacher is His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche. Drikung Kagyu is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The distinguishing factors of the Kagyu from other forms of Himalayan Buddhism are the esoteric instructions and tantra’s that are underlined along with lineages of transmission that they follow. The monastery has been recently refurbished and over 80 craftsmen and painters have put their skills into it. The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, which Gautama Buddha taught as its cornerstone, are at the core of Buddhism. Suffering, its origin, and the path to liberation. Buddhism is full of numbered lists, but what does it all mean? Find out in this article along with a a 'Buddhism cheat sheet' of many important items! What is the Noble Eightfold Path in Buddhism? Learn how this important teaching can help free you from suffering, and help guide you as a Buddhist! Do you love Buddhist philosophy? Keep reading to learn more about the the 3 Buddhist principles that can change your life for the better, based on the ancient scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. (Click on the image to see the whole thing) I found it on the web. Wasn't sure of the source, although I believe it is a simplified black and white From one of America's most brilliant writers, a New York Times bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The reason we suffer--and the reason we make other people suffer--is that we don't see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world, including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally valid happiness. In this "sublime" (The New Yorker), pathbreaking book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can change your life--how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright's landmark book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some of the world's most skilled meditators. The result is a story that is "provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding" (The New York Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating. Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from ourselves, both as individuals and as a species. Product DetailsISBN-13: 9781439195468 Media Type: Paperback Publisher: Simon & Schuster Publication Date: 05-08-2018 Pages: 336 Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)About the Author Robert Wright is the New York Times bestselling author of The Evolution of God (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Nonzero, The Moral Animal, Three Scientists and their Gods (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), and Why Buddhism Is True. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the widely respected Bloggingheads.tv and MeaningofLife.tv. He has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Time, Slate, and The New Republic. He has taught at the University of Pennsylvania and at Princeton University, where he also created the popular online course “Buddhism and Modern Psychology.” He is currently Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York.Read an Excerpt Read an Excerpt Why Buddhism is True At the risk of overdramatizing the human condition: Have you ever seen the movie The Matrix? It’s about a guy named Neo (played by Keanu Reeves), who discovers that he’s been inhabiting a dream world. The life he thought he was living is actually an elaborate hallucination. He’s having that hallucination while, unbeknownst to him, his actual physical body is inside a gooey, coffin-size pod—one among many pods, rows and rows of pods, each pod containing a human being absorbed in a dream. These people have been put in their pods by robot overlords and given dream lives as pacifiers. The choice faced by Neo—to keep living a delusion or wake up to reality—is famously captured in the movie’s “red pill” scene. Neo has been contacted by rebels who have entered his dream (or, strictly speaking, whose avatars have entered his dream). Their leader, Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne), explains the situation to Neo: “You are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch—a prison for your mind.” The prison is called the Matrix, but there’s no way to explain to Neo what the Matrix ultimately is. The only way to get the whole picture, says Morpheus, is “to see it for yourself.” He offers Neo two pills, a red one and a blue one. Neo can take the blue pill and return to his dream world, or take the red pill and break through the shroud of delusion. Neo chooses the red pill. That’s a pretty stark choice: a life of delusion and bondage or a life of insight and freedom. In fact, it’s a choice so dramatic that you’d think a Hollywood movie is exactly where it belongs—that the choices we really get to make about how to live our lives are less momentous than this, more pedestrian. Yet when that movie came out, a number of people saw it as mirroring a choice they had actually made. The people I’m thinking about are what you might call Western Buddhists, people in the United States and other Western countries who, for the most part, didn’t grow up Buddhist but at some point adopted Buddhism. At least they adopted a version of Buddhism, a version that had been stripped of some supernatural elements typically found in Asian Buddhism, such as belief in reincarnation and in various deities. This Western Buddhism centers on a part of Buddhist practice that in Asia is more common among monks than among laypeople: meditation, along with immersion in Buddhist philosophy. (Two of the most common Western conceptions of Buddhism—that it’s atheistic and that it revolves around meditation—are wrong; most Asian Buddhists do believe in gods, though not an omnipotent creator God, and don’t meditate.) These Western Buddhists, long before they watched The Matrix, had become convinced that the world as they had once seen it was a kind of illusion—not an out-and-out hallucination but a seriously warped picture of reality that in turn warped their approach to life, with bad consequences for them and the people around them. Now they felt that, thanks to meditation and Buddhist philosophy, they were seeing things more clearly. Among these people, The Matrix seemed an apt allegory of the transition they’d undergone, and so became known as a “dharma movie.” The word dharma has several meanings, including the Buddha’s teachings and the path that Buddhists should tread in response to those teachings. In the wake of The Matrix, a new shorthand for “I follow the dharma” came into currency: “I took the red pill.” I saw The Matrix in 1999, right after it came out, and some months later I learned that I had a kind of connection to it. The movie’s directors, the Wachowski siblings, had given Keanu Reeves three books to read in preparation for playing Neo. One of them was a book I had written a few years earlier, The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life. I’m not sure what kind of link the directors saw between my book and The Matrix. But I know what kind of link I see. Evolutionary psychology can be described in various ways, and here’s one way I had described it in my book: It is the study of how the human brain was designed—by natural selection—to mislead us, even enslave us. Don’t get me wrong: natural selection has its virtues, and I’d rather be created by it than not be created at all—which, so far as I can tell, are the two options this universe offers. Being a product of evolution is by no means entirely a story of enslavement and delusion. Our evolved brains empower us in many ways, and they often bless us with a basically accurate view of reality. Still, ultimately, natural selection cares about only one thing (or, I should say, “cares”—in quotes—about only one thing, since natural selection is just a blind process, not a conscious designer). And that one thing is getting genes into the next generation. Genetically based traits that in the past contributed to genetic proliferation have flourished, while traits that didn’t have fallen by the wayside. And the traits that have survived this test include mental traits—structures and algorithms that are built into the brain and shape our everyday experience. So if you ask the question “What kinds of perceptions and thoughts and feelings guide us through life each day?” the answer, at the most basic level, isn’t “The kinds of thoughts and feelings and perceptions that give us an accurate picture of reality.” No, at the most basic level the answer is “The kinds of thoughts and feelings and perceptions that helped our ancestors get genes into the next generation.” Whether those thoughts and feelings and perceptions give us a true view of reality is, strictly speaking, beside the point. As a result, they sometimes don’t. Our brains are designed to, among other things, delude us. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Some of my happiest moments have come from delusion—believing, for example, that the Tooth Fairy would pay me a visit after I lost a tooth. But delusion can also produce bad moments. And I don’t just mean moments that, in retrospect, are obviously delusional, like horrible nightmares. I also mean moments that you might not think of as delusional, such as lying awake at night with anxiety. Or feeling hopeless, even depressed, for days on end. Or feeling bursts of hatred toward people, bursts that may actually feel good for a moment but slowly corrode your character. Or feeling bursts of hatred toward yourself. Or feeling greedy, feeling a compulsion to buy things or eat things or drink things well beyond the point where your well-being is served. Though these feelings—anxiety, despair, hatred, greed—aren’t delusional the way a nightmare is delusional, if you examine them closely, you’ll see that they have elements of delusion, elements you’d be better off without. And if you think you would be better off, imagine how the whole world would be. After all, feelings like despair and hatred and greed can foster wars and atrocities. So if what I’m saying is true—if these basic sources of human suffering and human cruelty are indeed in large part the product of delusion—there is value in exposing this delusion to the light. Sounds logical, right? But here’s a problem that I started to appreciate shortly after I wrote my book about evolutionary psychology: the exact value of exposing a delusion to the light depends o How beginners can start a daily Buddhist practice. Learn why practice is important, how to create an altar, and more!