The Teachings of Buddha

Gautama Buddha delivered his first sermon in the language of Pali on the banks of the river Ganges at Varanasi. He spoke to a small audience of just five men who became his first followers as they saw that Buddha glowed with a brilliant inner radiance. Gradually, he drew larger and larger crowds and instructed them to spread his message far and wide. The core of his teaching consists of The Four Noble Truths, followed by The Eight-Fold Path. The Four Noble Truths are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. The The The The world is full of suffering and sorrow. cause of suffering is desire. renunciation of desires will lead to salvation from the world, and path to salvation can be achieved by following The Eight-Fold Path.

The Eight Fold Path is as under: Right Knowledge means a basic and thorough understanding of the Four Noble Truths. Right Attitude means having an unselfish and mentally healthy attitude to life, free from hatred and covetousness. Right Speech means speaking words that are good and true. One should not lie or gossip. Right Action means always conducting oneself in a way that does not harm, hurt nor displease anyone. Adultery, cheating, stealing and murder are specifically denounced. Right Means of Livelihood means that one must always strive to earn one's livelihood by honest means. Right Effort means one should conscientiously strive to develop good tendencies and destroy negative inclinations. Right Awareness means we should introspect about our inclinations and not give in easily to temptation. Right Meditation means working towards training your mind towards intense concentration, which, in turn, will lead to salvation. Buddhism also advocated the doctrines of Karma and reincarnation. Buddha preached that the soul goes through many incarnations before it finally sheds all its Karma and is reunited to its pure state. He called this state Nirvana. This is a state where all the desires and cravings of the mind become extinct and a state of total, uninterrupted bliss is experienced. What is notable about Buddhism is the absence of a personal Creator or God in its tenets. While Buddha did not deny the existence of God, he preached that the universe is guided

and governed by a Supreme Power that did not possess a name or form. Consequently, all rites and rituals became defunct.

The Buddha Teaches After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city of Benares and shared his new understanding with five holy men. They understood immediately and became his disciples. This marked the beginning of the Buddhist community. For the next forty-five years, the Buddha and his disciples went from place to place in India spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their compassion knew no bounds, they helped everyone along the way, beggars, kings and slave girls. At night, they would sleep where they were; when hungry they would ask for a little food. Whenever the Buddha went, he won the hearts of the people because he dealt with their true feelings. He advised them not to accept his words on blind faith, but to decide for themselves whether his teachings are right or wrong, then follow them. He encouraged everyone to have compassion for each other and develop their own virtue, "You should do your own work, for I can teach only the way." He never became angry or impatient or spoke harshly to anyone, not even to those who opposed him. He always taught in such a way that everyone could understand. Each person thought the Buddha was speaking especially for him. The Buddha told his followers to help each other on the Way. Following is a story of the Buddha living as an example to his disciples. Once the Buddha and Ananda visited a monastery where a monk was suffering from a contagious disease. The poor man lay in a mess with no one looking after him. The Buddha himself washed the sick monk and placed him on a new bed. Afterwards, he admonished the other monks. "Monks, you have neither mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look after each other, who will look after you? Whoever serves the sick and suffering, serves me."

The term Christianity may denote the whole of knowledge imparted by the Creator to people during the entire history of human existence on Earth through His Messengers Who are called in different languages by the names Messiah, Christ, Avatar.

However, historically it happened so that this term denotes the Teachings about the Path to Perfection which were given to us by Jesus Christ. Unfortunately the Teachings of Jesus were many times reduced and perverted due to peoples ignorance, and quite often were turned from Christianity into anti-Christianity, though called by the same name. The examples of this are: the Holy Inquisition; the Crusades and other kinds of predatory wars launched by Christian countries; instilling of hatred, aggression, incredible cruelty toward infidels under the banner of fighting for the holy faith< That is why the true Teachings of Jesus Christ have to be distinguished from certain beliefs which are called sometimes the true Christianity< < This site describes how the spiritual Path was and is understood by Jesus Christ, His closest Disciples-Apostles, and some of the spiritual Adepts Who fully realized Jesus Teachings. < The spiritual Path consists of steps. The first step implies receiving the knowledge about what God is, what the Evolution of the Universal Consciousness is, what constitutes the meaning of human life and how to realize it in the best way. The second step consists in aligning ones ethical qualities with the righteousness suggested to us by God.

The third step is work on oneself with the use of esoteric meditative techniques with the purpose of developing oneself as a soul, consciousness up to that level where one becomes capable of knowing directly the non-incarnate Divine Representatives of the Creator and the Creator Himself, and then merging with Him.

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Jesus Christ addressing the creators of this site: Every one of you has to live so that through your bodies, through your way of life, through your deeds, words, thoughts, books, and films people may learn to love God! It is very important to teach people to love and to direct their love toward God, even a part of ones love to begin with! How can one dedicate the life to God, to His evolution if he or she does not love Him?! To awaken and to grow love for God both in those who only begin their spiritual Path and in large, strong souls is a very important task! Only people who have love for God and His Creation can understand fully that there is the meaning of life, that the Heavenly Father is real and we can merge with Him. For those who have no love this knowledge is nothing but information< One can cognize God only through love for Him!

Love is an emotion. Love implies also a self-sacrificial attitude, i.e. the readiness to dedicate to the object of your love all your life, all your body, all your thoughts and deeds. Let this be true with the love for God as well! To live for Him, for Him only! In such self-sacrificial giving of oneself the fire of human soul can merge with the Divine Fire, Heavenly Fire, Creative Fire! The Divine Fire is the Creative aspect of God! It is Love which is Power of the Creator!

Guru Nanak

was a reformer. He attacked the vicious tentacles of corruptions in society. He strongly protested against formalism and ritualism. He carried the message of peace and of love to everybody. He was very liberal in his views. He did not observe the rules of caste. He tried his level best to remove the superstitions of the people. He preached purity, justice, goodness and the love of God. He introduced the singing of Gods praise, along with music, as a means of linking the soul of man with God. Guru Nanak had great reverence for women. He allowed them to join all religious gatherings and conferences and to sing the praises of God. He gave them their full share in religious functions. To him, there are no barriers of race, class, caste, creed or color which check the progress of any in reaching the goal. He realized the great truth of the brotherhood of religions. He preached the universal brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God to all people. Guru Nanak points out that the road to the abode of God is long and arduous. There are no short cuts for rich people. Everyone must undergo the same discipline. All human beings must live according to the will of the Lord without grumbling or murmuring. The best way to find God is to make His will your own. Be in tune with the Infinite. The first stage in making the divine will ones own is attained through prayer for divine grace or favor. Guru Nanak attaches very great importance to prayer. He says that nothing can be achieved by man without divine favor. He says: "Approach God with perfect humility. Throw yourself on His

mercy. Give up pride, show and egoism. Beg for His kindness and favor. Do not think of your own merits, abilities, faculties and capacities. Be prepared to die in the pursuit of His love and union with Him". The beautiful composition of mystic poems uttered by Nanak is contained in Japji. It is sung by every Sikh at daybreak. In Japji, Guru Nanak has given a vivid description of the stages through which man must pass in order to reach the final resting place or abode of eternal bliss. There are five stages or Khandas. The first is called Dharm Khand or "The Realm of Duty". Everyone must tread the path of righteousness. Everyone will be judged according to his actions. The next stage is Gyan Khand or "The Realm of Knowledge" where the spirit of divine knowledge reigns. The aspirant does his duty with intense faith and sincerity. He has the knowledge now, that only by doing his duty in a perfect manner, he can reach the abode of bliss or the goal of life. The third stage is Sharam Khand. This is "The Realm of Ecstasy". There is the spiritual rapture here. There is beauty. The Dharma has become a part of ones own nature. It has become an ingrained habit. It is no more a mere matter of duty or knowledge. The fourth stage is Karam Khand or "The Realm of Power". The God of power rules over this realm. The aspirant acquires power. He becomes a mighty hero. He becomes invincible. The fear of death vanishes. The fifth or the final stage is Sach Khand or "The Realm of Truth". The formless One reigns here. Here the aspirant becomes one with God. He has attained Godhead. He has transmuted himself into Divinity. He has attained the goal of his life. He has found out his permanent resting place. Now ends the arduous journey of the soul. Nanak has given a beautiful summary of his teachings in one of his hymns as follows: Love the saints of every faith: Put away thy pride. Remember the essence of religion Is meekness and sympathy, Not fine clothes, Not the Yogis garb and ashes, Not the blowing of the horns, Not the shaven head, Not long prayers, Not recitations and torturings, Not the ascetic way, But a life of goodness and purity, Amid the worlds temptations. "Vahe Guru" is the Guru Mantra for the followers of Guru Nanak.

The Granth Sahib : Guru Nanak invented the Gurumukhi characters by simplifying the Sanskrit characters. The holy Granth of the Sikhs is in Gurumukhi. It is worshipped by the Sikhs and the Sindhis. Every Gurudwara has a Granth Sahib. The holy Granth, popularly known as Adi Granth, contains the hymns of the first five Gurus. They were all collected, arranged and formed into one volume called Guru Granth Sahib by the fifth Guru. It contains a few selections from the hymns of Kabir and other contemporary Vaishnavite saints. Later on, the hymns of the ninth Guru were incorporated in the holy Granth by the tenth Guru. The compositions of Guru Nanak are very extensive. The Granth Sahib begins with the following: "There is but one God whose name is truethe Creator". It contains a code of high morals. Purity of life, obedience to Guru, mercy, charity, temperance, justice, straightforwardness, truthfulness, sacrifice, service, love and abstinence from animal food are among the virtues on which great emphasis is laid; while lust, anger, pride, hatred, egoism, greed, selfishness, cruelty, backbiting and falsehood are vehemently condemned.