Buddhist

(Noun) A follower of the Buddha, a spiritual teacher born in India c 563 BCE, or (adjective) relating to Him or His teachings. A Buddhist is defined not by belief but by their commitment to and faith (confidence) in a path of spiritual development and liberation that includes

(1)The practice of meditation in order to achieve mental and emotional integration and insight;
(2) The observance of ethical guidelines to train oneself in simplicity, mindfulness and nonviolence; and cultivate an attitude of universal, unconditional loving kindness; and
(3) The development of wisdom based on testing for oneself the teachings of the Buddha. These include the teaching that everything (including ourselves) arises in dependence on other conditions and, in consequence, is changing and open to the rest of existence, rather than ultimately separately existing.

The path leads to a state of Enlightenment or Nirvana, a state of complete freedom from all limitation and suffering.

"Just as the great ocean has but one taste, the taste of salt, so my teachings have but one taste, the taste of freedom." ( - the Buddha)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama often says, "I am just a simple Buddhist monk - no more, nor less."

In all of Buddhist history, there has never been a holy war.

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