Basic Buddhism

    How Buddhism began, and how its earliest teachings grew into the traditions practised today.

    The Four Noble Truths - The Path to Nirvana

    By Dr. Alan Sidi

    In this series Dr. Alan Sidi explores the way out of suffering by bringing to life The Four Noble Truths, the first set of teachings given by the Buddha.

    The Golden Ball

    Stories from the Tradition

    A monk is quietly meditating in the forest when something irresistible appears before his eyes.

    Happy Birthday Buddha!

    An Easter Essay

    The ‘miraculous birth’ is a symbol that appears in many religions, but in the case of the Buddha what it represents might not be what you think.

    The Woman Who Couldn’t See the Buddha

    Stories from the Buddhist Tradition

    A story about someone who is unable to see what’s right in front of their face.

    Scheme of the Eightfold-Consciousness

    Teachings from the Yogacara School

    The 'mirror' is a quality of consciousness which can connect us back to the true source.

    Introduction to the Yogacara School

    Teachings from the Yogacara School

    How was Asanga able to visit the heavenly plane of Tusita, simply through the use of meditation?

    The Vimalakīrti Sūtra

    Stories Retold
    Martin Goodson
    Martin Goodson

    The Zen Gateway re-tells this dream like sutra for the modern reader.

    The Map is not the Territory

    The Buddha’s teachings are not the absolute truth about the nature of reality, nor is the path the Buddha laid out the actual path to this absolute truth.

    A Reflection on Differences

    Dr Alan Sidi ponders the importance of recognising that things can share commonality as well as being simultaneously different in the differing schools and traditions of Buddhism.

    Karma | A way of looking at a tricky doctrine

    If in Buddhism there is no permanent self or soul, what is it that gets reborn?

    Losing Illusions: The Teachings of Rinzai Gigen

    “If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha”. What are we to make of such statements when so much praise and reverence is devoted to the Buddha? 

    A Miraculous Birth?

    When faced with the religious, mysterious or symbolic, the natural inclination can be to attach meanings and explanations to them, however doing so closes the door to the mystery of being.