What Does Buddhism Teach?
After the Buddha was enlightened he had a vision in which he saw the human race as a bed of lotus flowers. He saw that some of the lotuses were still stuck in the mud, others were just emerging from it, and others again were on the point of blooming. What this vision meant was that all people had the ability to unfold their potential and some needed a little help to do so. Afterwards the Buddha decided to teach, the teachings being seen as attempts to fulfil this vision - to help people grow towards enlightenment.
In Buddhism life is seen as a process of constant change, and its practices aim to take advantage of this fact - one can change for the better. Buddhism has developed many methods for working on the mind - the mind being the decisive factor in changing oneself. In order to develop more positive states of mind that are characterised by calm, concentration, awareness, and emotions such as friendliness, Buddhists practice meditation. It is possible to have a fuller understanding of oneself, other people, and of life itself when using awareness developed in meditation. Buddhists seek to make its teachings available to whoever is interested, and people are free to take as much or as little as they feel ready for. They do not seek to 'evangelise ' or coerce other people to adopt their religion.
