about Buddhism
Buddhism is a way of finding peace within oneself, for our own benefit and for the benefit of others. It is a religion that helps us to find the happiness and contentment we seek. Buddhists develop inner peace, kindness and wisdom through their daily practice; and then share their experience with others bringing real benefit to this world. They try not to harm others and to live peacefully and purely, working towards the ultimate goal of pure and lasting happiness for all living beings.
Buddha Shakyamuni
The founder of Buddhism was Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived and taught in India some two and a half thousand years ago. Since then millions of people around the world have followed the pure spiritual path he revealed. The Buddhist way of life of peace, loving kindness and wisdom is just as relevant in the world 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's Teachings
Buddha 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 will come to experience lasting peace and happiness. These methods 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.
We offer Buddhist teachings at the Centre and at our meditation classes throughout the area - please see the menu to the left for your nearest class.
To find out more about Buddhism, visit the Learning Zone at kadampa.org.