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Learn the basics

These short introductions are a starting point. Buddhist traditions explain the teachings in different ways, so we encourage you to read the sources and to bring your questions to our discussions.

The Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama (in Pali, Siddhattha Gotama) was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, and taught across northern India about 2,500 years ago. He is known as the Buddha, a title that means “the awakened one”. What he taught is called the Dharma.

The Three Jewels

Buddhists of every tradition “go for refuge” to three things, known as the Three Jewels: the Buddha, who found the path and taught it; the Dharma, his teaching; and the Sangha, the community of those who practise it. Many Buddhists recite the refuges at the start of a gathering, repeating each one three times. You can read the text on SuttaCentral: Khuddakapāṭha 1, The Three Refuges.

The Four Noble Truths

The first discourse of the Buddha sets out four truths:

  1. Suffering. Life involves suffering and dissatisfaction, called dukkha in Pali.
  2. The origin of suffering. Suffering arises from craving.
  3. The end of suffering. Suffering ceases when craving ceases.
  4. The path. There is a path of practice that leads to the end of suffering.

You can read that discourse on SuttaCentral: Saṁyutta Nikāya 56.11.

The Noble Eightfold Path

The fourth truth is a path with eight parts, which are practised together:

  1. Right view
  2. Right intention
  3. Right speech
  4. Right action
  5. Right livelihood
  6. Right effort
  7. Right mindfulness
  8. Right concentration

The eight spokes of the Dharma wheel, which we use as our symbol, stand for this path.

Karma

The Buddha taught that our actions have results, and that what makes an action count is the intention behind it. In one discourse he puts it simply: “It is intention that I call deeds.” Actions of body, speech and mind that come from kindness, generosity and understanding lead towards happiness; actions that come from greed, hatred and delusion lead towards suffering. You can read that discourse on SuttaCentral: Aṅguttara Nikāya 6.63.

The Five Precepts

Ethical conduct is the foundation of the path. In many traditions, lay Buddhists undertake five training rules, called precepts:

  1. To refrain from killing living creatures.
  2. To refrain from stealing.
  3. To refrain from sexual misconduct.
  4. To refrain from lying.
  5. To refrain from beer, wine, liquor and other intoxicants.

The precepts are commitments a person takes on willingly, not commandments. In one discourse the Buddha calls them “five gifts”, because someone who keeps them gives countless beings freedom from fear, enmity and ill will: Aṅguttara Nikāya 8.39.

Three characteristics of experience

The Buddha taught that everything we experience shares three characteristics:

In his second discourse he leads his listeners through each part of experience in turn, asking whether it is permanent or impermanent: Saṁyutta Nikāya 22.59, The Characteristic of Not-Self.

Meditation

Meditation is part of the path the Buddha taught. Two practices shared by many traditions are mindfulness of breathing and the cultivation of loving-kindness (metta in Pali, maitri in Sanskrit) towards all beings. The Discourse on Love describes it this way:

Even as a mother would protect with her life
her child, her only child,
so too for all creatures
unfold a boundless heart.

Sutta Nipāta 1.8, The Discourse on Love, translated by Bhikkhu Sujato (SuttaCentral)

The four immeasurables

Loving-kindness is the first of four qualities of heart that are cultivated in meditation, known as the four immeasurables or brahmavihāras:

  1. Loving-kindness (mettā): goodwill towards all beings.
  2. Compassion (karuṇā): the wish for beings to be released from suffering.
  3. Rejoicing (muditā): gladness at the happiness and success of others.
  4. Equanimity (upekkhā): a balanced mind that meets every being without favour or aversion.

In the discourses, a meditator spreads each of these qualities in every direction until it fills the whole world: Majjhima Nikāya 7, The Simile of the Cloth.

Trying meditation yourself

Mindfulness of breathing is a simple place to begin:

  1. Sit comfortably and upright, on a chair or on a cushion on the floor.
  2. Close your eyes, or rest your gaze on the floor in front of you.
  3. Breathe naturally, and notice the breath where you feel it most clearly, such as at the nostrils or in the belly.
  4. When your mind wanders, as it will, notice where it went, and gently bring your attention back to the breath.
  5. Start with a few minutes, and sit for longer as your practice grows.

The Buddha’s full teaching on this practice is in Majjhima Nikāya 118, Mindfulness of Breathing. Our meditation sessions introduce this and other techniques, and practising with others can help you keep going.

A verse to keep in mind

For never is hatred
laid to rest by hate,
it’s laid to rest by love:
this is an ancient teaching.

Dhammapada 5, translated by Bhikkhu Sujato (SuttaCentral)

Explore the teachings with us

Reading is a good start, and the teachings come alive when they are discussed and practised. Our Dharma discussions take up these topics in an open, conversational way, and everyone is welcome.

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The verses on this site are from translations by Bhikkhu Sujato, published by SuttaCentral and dedicated to the public domain.