Essential Buddhism

" Understanding Buddhism is one of the most beautiful and least-known books on Buddhism in English, a series of fresh, often stunningly original, essays." (Huston Smith and Philip Novak, Buddhism: A Concise Introduction)

What is the secret to happiness? That’s a difficult question to answer. But if you listen to mainstream or social media, you might think it’s money or fame. We idolize celebrities and believe they have a perfect life. But are they really happy? We put so much hope into money and power. But once you have all these things this leaves you empty and thinking...why am I not happy even though I have everything I should want? So, what can we do? Buddhism teaches us that the solutions to our problems are within ourselves, not outside.

When you attempt to introduce people to Buddhism, they have this very strange notion that they have to learn a new religion. That makes it complex for people who don't really understand what Buddhism is. Buddhism is a philosophy rather than a religion. That means that regardless of the religion you choose or the God that you worship, Buddhism can be incorporated into the way that you live your life without actually treading on the toes of religion.