An
Indian prince, Siddhartha Gautama, sat quietly in a place
known as the Deer Park at Sarnath. In this quiet place, before
a small assembly he began to offer simple teachings, based
on his own experience. These teachings, referred to as the
"dharma," meaning "truth," were practical
instructions on how to relate to one's everyday experience
of life and mind.
Because his realization was profound, he became
known as the "Buddha," which means "the awakened
one." The teachings he offered came to be known as
buddhadharma ("the teaching of the awakened one"),
and ultimately as Buddhism. The Buddhist teachings proclaim
the possibility of awakening the potential within every
human being, and they provide a practical method for doing
so. This practical method, passed down from generation to
generation, is known as meditation, which is the practice
of mindfulness and awareness.
Meditation is a natural process of allowing
oneself to examine the nature of thoughts, emotions and
physical sensations, and to discover the inherent purity
of one's being. It is a practice based on direct experience,
rather than on blind belief.
Buddhism is taking an increasingly prominent
role in contemporary western society as interest increases
in this approach to life. A unique quality of the Buddhist
teachings is that they can be expressed through existing
cultural norms, making use of them rather than destroying
or replacing them. This allows many westerners to practice
Buddhism today without renouncing their cultural heritage
or radically changing their lifestyles.
