Buddha or the "enlightened one" lived and preached his teachings in Northern India in the 6th century BC. He never tried to project Buddhism as a religion but simply as a philosophy of life that aimed to relieve every sentient being from suffering and despair.

Three basic teachings of Buddha constitute the very core of Buddhism. They are: -

The Three Universal Truths
The Four Noble Truths
The Noble Eightfold Path

According to the law of karma in Buddhism, every event that occurs is followed by another event whose existence is caused by the first. The second event will be pleasant or unpleasant depending on its cause whether skillful or unskillful. The law of Karma thus tries to explain that responsibility for unskillful actions is borne by the person who commits them.

After attaining enlightenment, Buddha went to the Deer Park located near the ancient city of Benares and shared his new understanding with five holy men who immediately grasped his meaning and became his disciples. Thus the Buddhist community came into being. In the forty-five years that followed, Buddha and his disciples traveled all over India spreading his teachings. As compassionate souls, they helped everyone who came along the way. At night, they would sleep where they were and ask for a little food when hungry.

Buddha always won hearts wherever he went, as he was able to address the true feelings of his listeners. But he advised them not to follow his teachings blindly. Instead, he wanted his listeners to decide for themselves as to how relevant his teachings were and follow them accordingly. Compassion for fellow beings was something he wanted each and every person to inculcate in himself/herself. In fact, Buddha always said, "Whoever serves the sick and suffering, serves me."

BASIC TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA

The Three Universal Truths
1. Nothing is lost in the universe.
2. Everything is subject to change.
3. Existence of the law of Cause and Effect.

The Four Noble Truths
1. Life is suffering.
2. Suffering is caused due to attachment.
3. Attachment can be overcome.
4. There is a path for accomplishing this.

The Noble Eightfold Path
1. A right view is the true understanding of the four noble truths.

2. Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness. These two are referred to as Prajña, or wisdom.

3. Right speech involves refraining from lying, gossiping, or hurtful talk.

4. Right action involves abstaining from hurtful behavior, such as killing, stealing, and careless sex.

5. Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid dishonesty and hurting others, including animals. These three are referred to as Shila, or morality.

6. Right effort means exerting oneself in regard to the content of one's mind: Bad qualities should be abandoned and prevented from making their presence felt again; Good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.

7. Right mindfulness is to focus attention on one's body, feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and ignorance.

8. Right concentration should involve meditating in such a way as to progressively realize a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.

The last three are known as Samadhi or Meditation.

Buddhist monks lead very different lives that are dedicated to the quest for spiritual truth. They follow a strict schedule that revolves around meditation, study of scriptures, and taking apart in ceremonies. There are many Buddhist shrines and monasteries all over the world that house these monks. All monks have special robes, the color of which can tell us about his status in the monastery. For instance, the brownish orange robe is the color of wise, elderly monks.

Buddhism originated in northern India but Emperor Ashok helped propagate it in many South East Asian counties like Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and Indo-China, from where it moved on to the Himalayan kingdoms of Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet. It also spread to central Asian countries like China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan. Today, 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist (the highest in the world) followed by Cambodia, Burma, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Laos, Vietnam, Japan, Macau and Taiwan.

Devotees reaffirm their faith in the five principles called Panchsheel:

1. Do not to take life
2. Do not to steal
3. Do not to lie
4. Do not to consume liquor or other intoxicants
5. Do not to commit adultery