The Buddha was one of the greatest spiritual mentors in history, who taught boundless compassion and mercy for all beings. He is often referred as a barge in the sea of sufferings, which ferries all the miserable sentient beings to the world of bliss.
The Enlightened One
The Buddha was neither a God nor a prophet. Rather, through tireless effort he became an enlightened one adorned with absolute purity, great compassion and perfect wisdom. His compassion encompasses all living beings. Its power helps them to separate from sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair forever. Like a brightly polished mirror, which can clearly reflect everything, his wisdom perceives all things without obstruction. Like an adamantine sword that can cut through any objects, his wisdom penetrates all ignorance, destroys all idle thoughts, and frightens away all demons.
A Great Teacher
The Buddha was a great teacher. His teachings of compassion, wisdom and liberation continue to guide and save hundreds of millions of people. He taught us that everything in this universe is nothing but conceptual. Life in this world is merely a false form and perception, which arises and vanishes incessantly because of conditions. We experience our "self" due to our ignorance or not understanding of the way things really are. This unreal "self" triggers a chain reaction of delusion, karma and misery. Our mind is entangled in greed, hatred and foolishness. Through countless lifetimes we are sucked into a turbulent sea of afflicted emotions which gives rise to suffering.
Serenity, Happiness and Salvation
The Buddha imparted to us the principle of causality relating to ignorance. He taught us the way of salvation thus releasing us from the never-ending cycle of birth and death. He told us that the path to serenity, happiness and salvation comes through a true understanding of life and nature. Only through diligent cultivation, we can become truly liberated and enlightened.
First Step of Cultivation
The Buddha's great compassion encompasses all sentient beings. According to the Buddha, all sentient beings are equal as far as their true nature is concerned. He was an advocate of vegetarianism. Refraining from killing of any sentient beings is the first step of cultivation. It becomes evident when practicing the Buddha's teachings that respect for life and well-being of others cannot help but create inner peace.
The teachings of the Buddha are a scripture of wisdom which teaches us how to live a happy and fulfilling life. He offered to all of us a full and clear picture of life and nature. The Buddha stressed that it is our own mind that creates heaven and hell. Hells are created by our worldly attachments, which give rise to egoism and afflictions. On the other hand, if we put away our false thinking of self and worldly phenomena, heavens come to light before our eyes. Our destiny is in our own hands and we are the sole architect of it.
Faster Than the Speed of Light
Light travels at a speed of over 300,000 kilometers per second. Theoretically, nothing is faster than light. According to the Buddha, however, the speed of mind is faster than the speed of light. In a split of second, the mind can travel and reach up to three thousand of galaxies of worlds. Not only that the mind is fast and far-reaching, its karmic effect are extensive and profound. Always busy is the mind which runs into the past, the present, the future, and back and forth. It grasps at anything it comes across. The mind is constantly loaded with creations made of images, odors, tastes, sounds, touch contacts and discriminating thoughts. As a result, we are trapped in a fast-moving, non-stop, elusive and karmic mental stream. It hinders us from seeing our original nature. That is why we need to control and purify our mind.
The Buddha's Teachings are for Everyone
The Buddha provided us with a wide range of tools to control and purify our mind. The most famous of all is meditation, including concentration meditation and insight meditation. No matter which religious belief or creed we profess, we can follow the Buddha's teachings of compassion and wisdom, thus attaining a wider and deeper dimension of internal purification and peace.
World Peace and Harmony
In the wake of the practice, the harmful forces of hatred, jealousy and cruelty will be dissipated and the beneficial forces of tolerance, humility and kindness will prevail. We become respectful and kind to people regardless of their religion, race, color, nationality, gender, social status, age and handicap. A genuine peace and harmony for the world is possible only if we have cultivated an inner peace of mind.