Buddhism Is Not

The Practice of Buddhism is not temples and bells and cushions on the floor. It is not statues of the Buddha or of the Bodhisattvas.

The Practice of Buddhism is not mala beads and garments. It is not the things we sew onto our clothes.

The Practice Buddhism is not incense or Dharma names, be those names Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan, or Sanskrit.

The Practice of Buddhism is how we live our lives. It is an awareness of what we think and how we speak and what we do.

The Practice of Buddhism is the Four Truths, the Eightfold Path, the Three Marks of Existence, and Dependent Origination.

It is Awareness and Mindfulness.

The Practice of Buddhism is Compassion and Wisdom.

The Buddha did not create a religion, an ‘ism.’

The Buddha offered tools. He did not offer a game where we dress up in weird clothing and take on strange names and speak in odd way. He did not create a place to hide from the world and engage in fantasy role-playing.

The tools were, and are, offered for the discovery, the understanding, and the living of Truth, Reality -- Honesty.