Buddhist Philosophy

The Middle Way

Buddhism began with Siddhartha Gautama's realization, after years of extreme asceticism, that the path to liberation lies not in self-denial or indulgence, but in a middle way.

The Four Noble Truths

1. Dukkha: Life involves suffering — not just pain, but a pervasive unsatisfactoriness, the feeling that things are never quite right
2. Samudaya: Suffering arises from craving (tanha) — our attachment to pleasure, existence, and non-existence
3. Nirodha: Suffering can end — when craving ceases, peace follows
4. Magga: The path to ending suffering — the Eightfold Path (right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration)

Impermanence (Anicca)

Everything changes. Your body, your thoughts, your relationships, civilizations — all are in constant flux. Suffering often comes from clinging to what is impermanent as if it were permanent.

Non-Self (Anatta)

Perhaps Buddhism's most radical claim: there is no fixed, permanent self. What we call "I" is a constantly changing stream of sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and consciousness. This doesn't mean you don't exist — it means you are not the static entity you think you are.

Compassion (Karuna)

If there is no fixed self, and all beings suffer, then compassion arises naturally. We are not separate from others in the way we usually assume.