The basic principles of Buddhism

• The Buddha is our teacher and guide.
• We take refuge in the Buddha, his teachings and the Buddhist community.
• We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by a god.
• The purpose of life is to develop compassion for all living beings without discrimination and to work for their good, happiness and peace; and to develop wisdom leading to the realization of the ultimate truth.
• The 4 noble truths:
  • Life, by its nature, is difficult, flawed, imperfect, unsatisfactory, impermanent and full of conflict. ? Updated 2024-12-28
  • This is caused by our egoistic selfishness (ignorance, hate, greed) based on the false idea of a self. ?
  • It is possible to be liberated from this predicament by the total eradication of our egoistic selfishness.
  • This liberation can be achieved by following the 8-fold path which leads to the abandonment of delusion, hatred, greed and and eventually leads to Nirvana.

    3-fold partition	8-fold path	Method of practice
    VIRTUE Do not lie. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not fuck around. Do not get drunk or drugged.	Right speech	No lying. No rude speech. No gossiping. Only speaking that which leads to salvation.
    	Right action	No killing or injurying. No taking what is not given. No sensual misconduct.
    	Right livelihood	Earn your living in an ethical way.
    MIND Mind over matter. The mind is the principal area of taming and control.	Right Effort	Guard against sensual thoughts; aim at preventing unwholesome states that disrupt meditation.
    	Right mindfulness	Be conscious of what you are doing. Keep in mind the 4 Noble Truths, the 5 skandhas, the 5 hindrances and the 7 factors of awakening.
    	Right concentration	and meditation
    WISDOM	Right view	The belief that there is an afterlife and not everything ends with death. The belief in the principles of karma and rebirth. Knowledge of the 4 Noble Truths.
    	Right intention	Give up the causes of suffering (Put to rest and eradicate stupidity, hatred and greed) Give up ill-will and adopt harmlessness. Live an ascetic lifestyle. (As opposed to craving for wealth, sex, power)

    This 8-fold path can be summarized as: "Live in moderation" (the middle path).
• There is a universal law of cause and effect. It also implies that everything is relative, interdependent, interrelated and that nothing is absolute, permanent or everlasting.
• There are 3 ways of attaining enlightenment. Although the last is the highest and noblest, they are on the same path.
  • as a private/silent buddha (pratyekabuddha)
  • as a disciple
  • as a priest (samyaksambuddha, Bodhisattva)
• Although Buddhism is expressed in different ways in different cultures, those external forms and expressions should not be confused with these essential teachings of the Buddha.

     

This page has been updated on the 2026-07-05.