I am one who walks the ancient pathways: the blessings Of Earth And Sky, Of Moon And Sun". Myths are important because they contain the spiritual wisdom not of one individual, but of many people over great periods of time. They are not the religious revelation of one man which has been worked and reworked to become so far from the original as to have lost all truth. They are the living breathing dreams of the Gods, sent to show us the way to our true destiny, which is to rest once more in unity and harmony with the Devine forces of Heaven and Earth. We do not heed to be taught these things, though some of us are. As we grow up, many of us forget the sense of sacred presence in tree or stream or by the sea, but some of us do not. Many of us find that we turn our prayers spontaneously to the Goddess or the the Great Spirit: that the Gods we find in our city temples and churches are not the Gods that speak to us in our dreams and visions! Yes, it is true, we often feel lonely, believing no one else shares our sense of mystery and wonder. I like to refer my religion as a 'path',and not a religion at all., it's a way of understanding life. I am quite spiritual.The sun which shines everyday, the moon that watches over me as I sleep, covering me with a blanket of stars, the trees, the water, the air which I breathe, this is my religion, this is what I honour. I am currently meditating with a Buddhist Thai Monk weekly. Buddhism has many beautiful teachings. I read that it is said soon after the Buddha's enlightenment a man passing by on the road was struck by the Buddha's extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence. The man stopped and asked, "My friend, what are you? Are you a celestial being or a god?" "No," said the Buddha."Well, then, are you some kind of magician or wizard?"Again the Buddha answered,"No." "Are you a man?""No.""Well, my friend, then what are you?"The Buddha replied,"I am awake." The word buddha means "one who is awake." It is the experience of awakening to the truth of life that is offered in the Buddhist tradition. For twenty-five hundred years the practices and teachings of Buddhism have offered a systematic way to see clearly and live wisely. They h ave offered a way to discover liberation within our own bodies and minds, in the midst of this very world. Put away all hindrances, let your mind full of love pervade one quarter of the world, and so too the second quarter, and so the third, and so the fourth. And thus the wole wide world, above, below, around and everywhere, altogether continue to pervadewith love-filled thought, abounding, sublime, beyond measure, free from hatred and ill-will. ~Adapted from the Digha Nikaya~ Buddhism is not a set of beliefs, but is a way of practice and spiritual development leading to insight into the true nature of life. Those who practice Buddhism basically are trying to change themselves in order to develop qualities of awareness, kindness and wisdom. In Buddhism comes the practice of meditation. Meditation helps develop concentration, clarity in thought and emotional positivity which when practiced in the correct way could lead to a new understanding in life. Did you know that there are over 350 million Buddhists? This makes it the fourth practiced 'religion' in the world.Wonder what the word Buddha means? It means "the enlightened one" or one could say "discoverer of the truth of the nature of reality" or it could be simply "the one who is awake to realities of life". It's not really a name but a given title to Prince Siddhartha Gautama. It is from this title, that Buddhism came to be. 2500 years ago (around 480 bc) at the foothills of the Himalayas on the Indo-Nepal border existed a small Shakya kingdom. The birth of a Prince brought immense joy to the people of this kingdom. The prince was named Siddhartha Gautama. He led a very happy and luxourious life within the walls of the Palace. As time went and the prince grew older he got restless and hewanted to see the world that was existing on the other side of the walls. Finally a day dawned when he was able to get out from his palace to see his kingdom. It was here that Prince Siddhartha saw things that he never imagined could happen in the real world. Frist he saw a very old man, then another man severely stricken with illness, next a dead mand and finally a sadhu. He was distrubed by what he saw. He was thus jolted out of compliancy on understanding that life included the harsh facts of old age, illness and death. Prince Siddhartha gave up his family and princely luxuries to find out the answers to these sufferings. First he followed the Indian path of a wandering holy man, who believed in tatally renouncing the world and worldly things and thus foregoing their basic need of food to survive. Siddhartha practiced meditation with them under different teachers. He practiced austerities very severely, however hard he tried his goal seemed nowhere in sight. It soon dawned upon him that neither physical torture nor the luxuries in life could take one on the path to enlightment, he listened to his heart and mind and concluded that the path to enlightment had to be somewhere in between them (thus he called it the Middle Path). He sat down beneath the papal tree (fig tree) and vowed "flesh may wither, blood may dry up, but I shall not rise from this spot until enlightment has been won." After 40 days of meditation Siddhartha finally attained enlightment (Nirvana). Since it happened in Bodh Gaya he was titled "Buddha". Buddha then began to preach for the betterment of the human race. According to Buddha life is a long suffering, this suffering is caused because of the passions people desire to accomplish and when these desires are not accomplished there is more suffering. However the cycle of desire is never fulfilled as people keep wanting one or the other thing and if the accomplishments fall short of their desires then the suffering increases four folds. Thus it is never ending process because of which people distant themselves from the world of no suffering - Nirvana. There are the three Jewels in Buddhism: The Buddha.. it means that one should follow in the steps of Buddha our ultimate teacher and place him as a model before us as to what we too can achieve. The Dharma.. it basically refers to the teaching of Buddha or rather the truth, which Buddha understood. Within the Dharma, which is in its own sense a path through which we can fore it only has a meaning when it is embodied in people. Buddhists place great value on those who are treading the same path and embody its goals. Thus in the broadest sense Sangha means all the Buddhists in the world and all those from the past and the future. To have faith in Buddha, one must exercise the Dharma. The people of the community offer gifts; cultivate morality and strife for wisdom through meditation. Prayers, offerings and ritual incarnations perfect Sangha. One must relay on the power of these three and realize that they are the source of universal prosperity as well as the achievement of nirvana. The foundations of the Dharma are the Four Noble Truths, which are as follows: 1st Noble Truth... Its states that there exists none who has not experienced some kind of dissatisfaction, discontent, suffering or sorrow (dukkha in Pali) in their life. Buddha pointed out through this truth that all could realize that suffering exists in life no matter what is the cause of it. Thus, the existence of dukkha has to be made real or conscious in ones mind, as it is not something that people would consciously reflect on or recognize it. 2nd Noble Truth...Buddha said every dukkha has an origin and on a closer look it is concluded that the cause of suffering is "desire". There are three kinds of desire - kamma tanha is the desire for sensual pleasures, it is the delights of the senses. Bhava tanha is the desire to become something and vighavatanha is the desire to get rid of something. All these desires can be seen in our daily life. Even if one desire is unfulfilled it leads to dukkha. When we are aware of this aspect we see the beginning of suffering and will also be able to see our attachment to the desire, which is ultimately causing the suffering. 3rd Noble Truth...This truth states that since we know the origin of suffering is through desire we slowly let them become insignificant and they will cease naturally. Hence a release from desire, results in the release from suffering. Buddha believed that in this stage one gets wiser and begins to note and understand what is happening in his life and is at peace with it. 4th Noble Truth...This noble truth says that following distinct paths lead to the release from desire. These are the eight rules laid down by Buddha. The Eight Fold Path . right view (samma ditthi) . right attitude/intention (samma sankappa . right speech (samma vaca) . right conduct/action (samma kammanta) . right means of livelihood (samma ajiva) . right effort (samma sati) . right midfulness (samma sati) . right concentration (samma samadhi) Buddha discovered these Four Noble Truths of Buddhisms through experience, moral discipline and meditation. Another formulation of the path is through the Three Fold Way of Ethics, Meditation and Wisdom. This is a progressive path, as ethics and a clear conscience provides an indispensable basis for meditation and meditation is the ground on which wisdom can develop. Ethics During our life span the deeds we do or our actions could be harmful or beneficial for others as well as ourselves. However the Buddhist ethics are concerned with the principle and practices that helps one to act in a proper manner and harm none. Thus the 5 precepts or the principles of training have been formed. They are: .not killing or causing harm to other living beings. It implies non-violence. .stealing is an act that harms others thus refrain from it and at no times what is not given to you out of free will. .avoiding sexual misconduct as it canbe harmful to one's self and to others. .always speak the truth, as this is a crucial element in building relations with people. When we lie we are often deceiving ourselves as well as the other person. .do not indulge in drinks and drugs as it clouds the mind, and there is no clarity of thoughts. This can be harmful for one as others also. Meditation According to Buddhism meditation is the most important thing. They believe that it is the only antidote to anxiety, hatred, discontentedness, sleepiness and confusion that beset the human condition. With discipline and patience the mind can deepen into insightful, tranquil and energized states. This could bring about a transformation and thus lead to a new understanding of life.There are two basic types of meditation. "The Mindfulness of Breathing" and "Loving-Kindness Meditation" or "Mettabhavana". Wisdom The aim of Buddhist practice is prajna or wisdom. Prajna means setting aside the pleasant illusions that we believe in, for our convenience and comfort in life and accepting the fact that nothing lasts forever. Once this truth is accepted a change begins to take place in ones life. Also the realization seeps into the mind that everything in life is interconnected and no individual is entirely separate from other individuals, giving rise to the feelings of compassion for everything around us. Buddhist New Year In Theravada countries, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Lao, the new year is celebrated for three days from the first full moon day in April. In Mahayana countries the new year starts on the first full moon day in January. Depending on the ethnic backgrounds. Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese celebrate late January or early February according to the lunar calendar, whilst the Tibetans usually celebrate about one month later. Vesak or Visakah Puja (Buddha Day) Traditionally, Buddha's Birthday is known as Vesak or Visakah Puja. Vesak is the major Buddhist festival of the year as it celebrates the birth, enlightement and death of the Buddha on one day, the first full moon day in May, except in a leap year when the festival is held in June. A typical way to celebrate this day is people go to the local temple or monastery and offer food to the monks and take the Five Precepts and listen to a Dharma talk. In the afternoon, they distribute food to the poor to make merit and in the evening join perhaps in a ceremony of circumambulation of a stupa thrice as a sign of respect to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The day will conclude with an evening of chanting of the Buddha's teachings and meditation. Thus to conclude we should remember that the Buddha was not God and he made no claims on divinity..... He was a great human being who through tremendous efforts changed himself. What he achieved he felt could be taught to others. So he decided to teach. All his teachings could be viewed as attempts to fulfill a vision... to help people to grow towards "Enlightment." Catechism For A Child by J.L. Stanley When they ask to see your Gods your book of prayers show them lines drawn delicately with veins on the underside of a bird's wing tell them you believe in giant sycamores mottled and stark against a winter sky and in nights so frozen stars crack open spilling streams of molten ice to earth and tell them how you drank the holy wine of honeysuckle on a warm spring day and of the softness of your mother who never taught you death was life's reward but who believed in the earth and the sun and a million, million light years of being. ~More to come~ last update May 5th,2004.