It starts with mindfulness ...

Buddhism is a philosophy, faith system and guide to living explained by Siddhârtha Gautama from Lumbini, North India in the early 5th century before the current era.

Born into a noble family, Siddhârta Gautama was not satisfied with his privileged life and went out into the world to understand it better. He eventually studied under many types of spiritual teachers and practiced some extreme forms of purification, worship and self-examination in an attempt to understand the true nature of the universe.

Finally, through the process of meditation and the watching of his own mind, he was able to awaken to a full and complete understanding of the nature of existence and the cycles of rebirth and suffering, and to the way to end suffering and experience eternal liberation - nibbana. He became the Buddha, meaning ‘the Awakened one’.

The Buddha taught that suffering is inherent in life. The primary cause of suffering is clinging and desire. If we develop our concentration, our ethics and our wisdom, following an eight fold path of mindfulness, we can overcome suffering and eventually reach a permanent state of enlightenment.