Ode to Buddhism

Gave up all attachmet

To save senient beings.

Determined to find truth.

You practiced relentlessly,

Buddha.

Awakened from ignorance

And taught the way to end suffering.

The Four Noble Truths

Suffering exists,

There is an identifiable cause to suffering,

That cause may be terminated,

And the means to terminate suffering is the Noble EightFold Path.

The Noble Eighfold path is to practice

Right understanding,

Right thought,

Right speech,

Right action,

Right livelihood,

Right effort,

Right mindfulness, and

Right concentration.

Besides these teachings the Five Precepts are yours.

The Five Precepts are taken as a commitment to the Buddha's way.

The Five Precepts are

Refrain from taking life,

Refrain from taking that which is given,

Refrain from misuse of the senses,

Refrain from telling lies,

Refrain from self-intoxication with drink and drugs.

As Buddha taught us to be pure we will begin to form

the four foundations of mindfulness:

Bodily activity,

Feelings,

States of mind, and

Mental contents.

Whatever enters the field of attention is observed and analyzed.

Invariably it will be found to be subject to three marks.

The Three Marks of Existence

Unsatisfactoriness,

Impermance, and

Not self.

Put these teachings of the Buddha into practice and

Enlightenment.