This short essay is intended to give a brief introduction to Buddhism. It will discuss the way Buddhists perceive the world, the four main teachings of the Buddha, the Buddhist view of the self, the relationship between this self and the various ways in which it responds to the world, the Buddhist path and the final goal.

In the year 563B.C. on the border of modern day Nepal and India, a son was born to a chieftain of the Sakya clan. His name was Siddhartha Gotama and at the age of thirty-five, he attained, after six years of struggle and through his own insight, full enlightenment or Buddhahood. The term 'Buddha' is not a name of a god or an incarnation of a god, despite later Hindu claims to the contrary, but is a title for one who has realised through good conduct, mental cultivation, and wisdom the cause of life's vicissitudes and the way to overcome them.

The following questions and answers have been especially formulated with the newcomer to Buddhism in mind.Who was the Buddha? What does the word 'Buddha' mean? What did the Buddha teach?

The role of the Sangha in politics in Asia has always been a hugely debated one.  In the light of events in recent times, the “saffron revolution” has once again dominated the headlines.

The Ten virtues and Ten vices–The cause of human stupidity is in the passions–The Five prohibitions–The Ten prohibitions–Klaproth's praise of Buddhism–But it is atheistic, and therefore this praise should be qualified–Kindness to animals based on the fiction of transmigration–Buddhism teaches compassion

The three principal “canons” of Buddhist scriptures survive today corresponding to the three main traditions of living Buddhism : the Pali or Theravada canon of the southern tradition of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia; the Chinese Tripitaka of the eastern tradition of China, Korea, and Japan; and the Tibetan Kanjur and Tenjur of the northern tradition of Tibet and Mongolia.

Bad and good depend on the individual person's interpretation. In general, if you are able to spend your life collecting more virtue and less negative karma, that's a good life. Even spending half the life this way is quite good. Spending even one quarter of the day creating good karma is better than spending the whole 24 hours creating only negative karma.

The underlying principle is non-exploitation of yourself or others. The precepts are the foundation of all Buddhist training. With a developed ethical base, much of the emotional conflict and stress that we experience is resolved, allowing commitment and more conscious choice. Free choice and intention is important. It is "I undertake" not 'Thou Shalt". Choice, not command.

Many of today’s marriages become disastrous because they lack purpose; there’s no worthwhile goal for coming together. A couple should not come together out of grasping at each other; there should be more meaning to it than that. But our craving desire and lack of wisdom work together to create an extreme situation that finishes up causing conflict: the woman agitates her man; the man agitates his woman—in either case, it ends in “goodbye.”

In its most basic sense, the Law of Karma in the moral sphere teaches that similar actions will lead to similar results. Let us take an example. If we plant a mango seed, the plant that springs up will be a mango tree, and eventually it will bear a mango fruit. Alternatively, if we plant a Pong Pong seed, the tree that will spring up will be a Pong Pong tree and the fruit a Pong Pong.