About Buddhism

There are many books available about Buddhism, so I won't try to explain Buddhism here, rather just write a bit about those things people often ask me. This section gives a short description about Buddhism, some tips about exploring Buddhism, recommendations about books you might find helpful or interesting, and links that might provide some assistance. These are all based on my own opinion or experience, and truly not an exhaustive list in any way.

Buddhism started approximately 2500 years ago with the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha. There are three main branches of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana (including Zen), and Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhism). One of the main goals common to all Buddhist lineages is working with your thoughts and emotions, and developing and practicing mindfulness in all aspects of your life. Mahayana and Vajrayana share the focus of the development of love and compassion.

Any Buddhist path you choose will focus on the importance of practice - both a formal sitting meditation practice, as well as the informal practice of watching your mind in your everyday life, and trying to be as clear, wise, and compassionate as you can be.

A wonderful resource for looking up Buddhist information is the Buddhanet Website http://www.buddhanet.net/index.html which has a great deal of information about Buddhism, as well as a wonderful directory of Buddhist centers world wide.