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Buddhism 101: Orientation to Buddhism

Core Beliefs and Practices

Through The Three Learnings, morality, meditation, and wisdom, everyone can realize ultimate reality and attain liberation. Read more.

Core Beliefs and Practices

Dependent Origination, Impermanence, Causality, and Emptiness.  Read more.

Shared Values with Other Faiths

Equality: all sentient beings are fundamentally equal. As sentient beings (humans, animals, and others), we are all dependent on our bodies, feelings, ideas, and consciousness. And we all have the same original nature (one of pure awareness and yet empty of permanent traits). Therefore we are all fundamentally equal and should treat each other as equals. Read more.

“Living the Faith” in the San Francisco Bay Area

The Buddhist teaching of the Noble Eightfold Path: Right understanding, right thought/intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi (meditative concentration), while being a way to eradicate greed, anger, and ignorance to attain nirvana and spiritual liberation,is also fruitful guidance for every aspect of living our lives. Read more.

Contemporary global issues surrounding our faiths

Separation of church and state

Buddhist monastics in general do not take on public offices as governors or elected officials of the people. There are notable exceptions, such as in Tibet, where the traditional religious leader and political leader are one (the Dalai Lama). Read more.