What is Buddhism? 

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The best version of the Four Noble Truths I have ever heard: 1) Life Sucks. 2) Here’s Why. 3) You can fix it. 4) Here’s How That is brilliant.

"So much of our suffering results from our own ingrained mental habits". Well said!

I devour this stuff it’s so fascinating. I kind of feel bad about how ignorant I am about this topic so I really appreciate this video in particular

"This definition of religion has it's ups and downs" Yeah I think I read a recipe for mac and cheese the other day that qualifies as a religion under that definition.

I was someone that felt burned by religion for most of my life. Then in by far my darkest hour I stumbled upon a few stories from Buddhism. After becoming a Buddhist I found that I stopped being stressed and angry all the time. I started to accept things as they were. Later I started reading the book of the 5 rings by musashi miyamoto and truly started to learn how the world really worked. I thank you for this video. As the past couple weeks I was in a bad place, this video reminded me of the revelations I'd come to. I suppose that is the wonderful thing about our brains tendency to forget, you get to rediscover wonderful things all over again.

I am an Indian Buddhist and is very happy to see this video. You literally summerised all of our Teachings. I go with my parents to Buddhist Monastery and all of them teach is I found in your video. Greetings from India.

I am a Sri Lankan Therawada buddhist. This video is accurate at many points but there is one single mistake he has done. He said the enlightenment for lay buddhists is almost unachievable. Thats not true. Even in Buddhas life time Kings, queens and lot of normal people achived nibbana . Being a monk will help one to get in to the path with a speed. But everything depends on the intelligense level and the practice of person. So bright lay peolple have achieved nibbana quickly at some points.

I learned it as: Life sucks, Life sucks cause you want stuff, If you want life to stop sucking stop wanting stuff, follow the eightfold path. A bit more focused on the greed element I suppose but it stuck with me:)

"Life sucks, here's why, you can fix it, here's how" - I LOVE it! Is that original to you or you get it from someone else? Either way, I will be sure to remember and pass that on to my students. Thanks for that succinct and contemporary way of expressing the Four Noble Truths.

Recently become a Buddhist ❤️

I am a Chinese. Even though I am atheist myself, my mom practice some aspect of Buddhism. She has a tea room in the attic with a Buddhist sculpture. She also volunteers for a charity devoted to give free surgery to children with cleft placate and lips. I have plenty of time to observe Buddhism. Some Buddhist monks are just greedy people. My parents used to donate money to a local temple. And they have a monument in the temple dedicated to them. After the divorce and my dad remarried. My mom visited the temple again and found her name on the monument replaced by the new wife. Needless to say that she never visited there again. But there are also Buddhist monk who did truly amazing things. In 2008, there was a devastating earthquake in Sichuan china . A local mother and baby hospital was destroyed. Mothers about to give birth have nowhere to go. The head of hospital ask the head monk of a local temple if they could take refuge there. She was nervous because a temple is supposed to be a clean and serene place. Blood are seen as ominous and animal killings are strictly forbidden. There are monks who voiced their objections. But the head monk said, “ there are many taboos in Buddhism, the biggest one, the biggest one is doing nothing to save people in danger”. The mothers all moved in to the temple. The temple breaks many taboo for them. They put the sculpture away and used the table underneath as make-shift surgery bed. They allow blood in the temple. They even allowed meat to be eaten in the temple by these mothers. Because they needed the protein. All monks in china practice vegetarianism. Some monks in the temple puked at the smell of cooked meat. The head monk went into the kitchen himself to prepare the meat. In the end, 108 kids were born in this temple. And the temple is dedicated to 108 arhats. I don’t believe in Devine powers or miracles. But if any story shows you there are good in religion. It should be this one

I hope we will get to learn about Korean Buddhism, it is often forgotten or conflated only in the context of Japanese or Chinese Budddhism, when it has its own rich background and history

This channel is of unprecedented value, it makes the history we went trough as humans so much clearer. Thousand years of cultural development, thousand ideas of "why we are here and what should we do", comprehensively explained and showed. Thank you. :-) It gives me hope.

I've been waiting for an episode on Buddhism as I've always been fascinated by its teachings. Thanks for finally uploading one!

I think it’s not too far of a stretch to consider any religion a philosophy And I’m glad you explained dukha in this way. Rarely do I hear it explained so well outside the Buddhist community

Buddihsm is the only religion that allowed any people to make questions or even critize about it and will not go to hell for that and not neccessarily need to be seriously religious to go to heaven as well. 😄

I follow Burmese Buddhism and I am happy to be one.

Suffering is universal which is why we all need a little love.

"If you do good things good things will happen to you" makes it sound like karma is a value judgement. Karma is simply cause and effect, no judgement included (it just so happens that bad causes often lead to bad results.) It also leaves out how by making causes you increase your tendency to create similar causes, which is also part of karma.

There's a tendency for Westerners to fetishize Buddhism as some sort of magic Eastern wisdom, but I can kind of see why it happens. Buddhism's basic precepts fit pretty comfortably in our secular, scientific understanding of the world and has enough of a spiritual/community aspect to fill that emotional-social void as well. It's not perfect - no religion or community is - but, even as a non-Buddhist, I totally see why it has so much appeal.

This is a fairly balanced and nuanced description of Buddhism, given that it is a 2500 years tradition with diverse practices and views. Kudos.

I'm orthodox Christian and approach to Buddhism as philosophy and wisdom. I don't need new religion but the knowledge and wisdom leading to enlightenment of mind. That's how I see at this point the Buddhism

I know what causes me to suffer, wondering what is in that case under the pyramids. Every time I watch one of your vids (which are very good and highly informative) I stare at that case thinking "is he gonna show us"

Life sucks Here’s why You can fix it Here’s how (guitar shredding sounds)

As a white, western, religious Buddhist, I’m so excited to see you finally doing a series on the Dharma!

The centre of Buddhist and buddhism is Bodh Gaya.....in the state of Bihar..in eastern India....and i love the place..it's so peaceful ....

Fascinating content. I hope you do as many videos as necessary. I'll watch them all. I have so little knowledge on Buddhism. Thanks for the vid!

Buddhism, the religion that's actually has some common ground with materialistic reasoning, instead of leaning on purely mythological stories.

Whew! Excited for the 5 part series!

Buddhism is about finding peace in chaos and accepting that pain and pleasure are temporary.

"The Dhammapada holds timeless truths, and every verse feels like a nugget of pure wisdom. This video is a treasure trove for anyone seeking a more mindful existence."

I feel calm every time i watch your videos. Thank you ❤

I belong to Bihar state of India. The state gets its name from Viharas(Monasteries). There used to be huge monasteries in ancient and early medieval times like Nalanda(a district of this state) and Vikramshila. This state contains all the major important places pertaining to Lord Buddha like Bodhgaya, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Nalanda. Lord Buddha was one of many Buddhas as per Buddhist scriptures. He lived during 6th Century BCE. That time Northern India had 16 strong states(Shodash Mahajanapada). These states stretched from Afghanistan, Pakistan to eastern India. Some states were kingdoms while others were Republics. Lord Buddha Shakyamuni was originally from Shakya republic. His father was chief of this republic- King Sudodhana. They belonged to Ikshavaku clan of Kshatriya warrior caste. It was thought to have come out of Sun god so also called as Solar race. Lord SriRama also belonged to this race of warriors. Lord Buddha's original name was Siddharth Gautam. He was prophesied to become either the emperor(Chakravarti- The carrier of wheel of Dharma) or the great resolute enlightened being(Buddha). His father wanted him to be distracted. But he saw 4 visions of suffering/meditating people and left the palace to know the truth. He found the 4 Arya Satyas(The 4 noble truths) and Ashtang marg(8 limbed ways) to cross the suffering. This was propounded at Sarnath, UP(India) and was referred as the first sermon of Buddha- Dharma Chakra Pravartan Sutra(Sutra of setting the wheel of Dharma in motion). It was propounded to 5 Brahmins of Shakya Republic who were his first disciples/apostles. One of these was his erstwhile master- Ajnat Kaundinya. He was also one of the Brahmin astrologers who by his confidence predicted that the prince will become a Buddha for sure.

Oh man, this is _so_ good! Like your Confucian series, this is one of the best, well put together, edited, and thought out series/presentations on a topic that, I find everyone else seems to struggle to explain. I _thoroughly_ enjoyed this video, and I look forward to your future ones! This is really relevant to me too as I was doing some research on the topic, so great timing!

Thank you for all your work.

When I was a very young kid, I remember being incredibly fascinated by Buddha ever since I saw a movie about two brothers going around the world and staying in a Buddhist monastery, I also had many picture books featuring Asian buildings and Buddha statues. ....because I couldn't read that good, I thought that Buddhists worship both Hindu gods and Buddha by dressing up as asian dragons, and that Buddha statues will make people that do bad things in front of them instantly die.

This video is extremely helpful! Thanks for explaining a complex subject so intelligently and concisely! I love your videos!

Super excited about this series…I’ve studied Buddhist philosophy in an academic context for some time now, so this is particularly exciting for me

What a great informative Chanel. Fantastic. I’m so interested in this. Thank you❤

Buddhism has helped me deal with the pandemic...🎋

Truly excellent, as someone who dabbles in Buddhist practices and moral conduct. So grateful for this channel.

This is fascinating, thank you

Great start to a complex subject! Looking forward to your subsequent episodes.

Thank you for doing about Buddhism. Love from Nepal🇳🇵❤️

"Dwelling in a dewdrop fallen from a waterfowl’s beak, the image of the moon." -A monk named Dogen

Amazing video! Looking forward to the entire series!

For me Buddhism is a method to the learn how you can liberation from painfulness and suffering.

As an Tibetan Buddhist this is very much accurate and well researched.

Thank you. I've been practicing for a while and this has cleared up a number of things.

Thank you for this gift.

Your videos are such a gift to my heart and mind. Thank you!

9:05-9:25 This bit made my day. The whole video is good, but that summary and analogy were gold!

Before I left Korea it was important for me to visit the Three Jewel Temples. Haein Temple represents the Dharma; Tongdo Temple represents the Buddha; Songgwang Temple represents the Sangha. I'm really excited for this series.

I am Nepalese Buddhist 🇳🇵Glad to see this video thank you so much 😊

Thank you for this. I can't wait for the other entries in the series.

i absolutely adore your channel, thank you ❤️

Always so respectful. Appreciate you.

thanks! excited for more videos on buddhism

Thanks for sharing ☺️👍, nice video on practicing Buddhism ☺️👍

Been waiting for this one 😎

This is the best short summary of buddhism I've found so far. I love your work.

Very nice. Can't wait to learn more.

Thank you for this video i need it for school 🙏🙏

Is it just me, or do scholars have a tendency to reserve the title “religion” to Abrahamic spiritual practices? Buddhism has sacred texts, clerics of varying rank and status, numerous denominations, temples, political support groups, and etc. Why is this not enough?

Not only is Dr. Hartmann helping to democratize religious studies around the world, it has been said that she also knows how to shred a mountain bike trail.

These videos are invaluable resources for my classes. Thank you for all your hard work.

Theory part is 4 noble truths, 8 fold path etc. Practical part is awareness in every moment, that means you just be, understand the theory part and just be, identify everything, feelings,everything.

Being a buddhist, I can clearly say that this is the best video about Buddhism I have ever seen. Very accurate and enjoyable. Thank you very much for it.

Splendid overview! 😊🙏🏻

Great video as always. Looking forward to the series.

As a practicing Buddhist - wow! I think you did a very good job giving a 30,000ft view of the practice, easily the best I’ve seen on RU-vid (although I do love the “Buddhism is Pretty Out There, Man” video haha) The term religion is indeed pretty funny, and you’re spot on with a lot of westerners being put off by it. I think it is, but my general response to the question is it is mysticism - a unity with all. It really just depends on the practitioner. Only thing I think should’ve been mentioned more was non-self, but I’m sure you will touch on that later. Been very excited for this series, glad you took it up!

Thank you so much for doing this!!!

Great historical story 💯💯💯

clear explanation. Thank you

I'm from a Taoist+Buddhist+Confucianism Folk Belief background and I look forward to hear some wacky aspects about this.

Amazing overview. Thank you very much for you do for us ♥️

I was just hoping last week you would do a video on Buddhismm thank you so much!

I adore this video and cannot wait for the next parts in the series!

Thank you for this video! The doctor Buddha was priceless 😁

I love Buddhism! I've always been interested in it but got heavily involved when my close friend took his life. It has helped me understand a lot.

very nice video thank you

Best overview of Buddhism I have heard or read. Good job, thanks

Interesting as always. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

looking forward to the tibetan and zen buddhism episodes!

Great Video. Thank you very much!

Fantastic, really great video, can’t wait to continue watching 🍂😊!!

We have a bunch of books in common based on your shelf there. I also have the Lancelot Brenton copy of the Septuagint about the level of the eye.

I can already tell this is going to be a great series.

Fabulous as always!👍

can't wait for the next ones!

This is one of the best examinations of Buddhism I've seen on RU-vid.

Thank you very much for another informative episode!

The path from the starting point to nirvana may take many many lifetimes

Very well done! Excellent information.

I wish more people would learn about religion from your channel. I really appreciate your input.

Perfect timing! Im doing a research paper on Buddhism and was hoping youd make a vid on it before mine is due lol

Thank you for the educational & helpful video. I was born into Buddhism, but my family was not active practitioners. My first formal introduction was in college was 37 years ago. Although, I earned my “A,” it was extremely difficult to understand, because the books then were written too formal. I saw a RU-vid video in which the Dalai Lama states,” Buddhism has 3 aspects: (1) Religion: is for practicing Buddhists only. Do not try to convert or confuse others. As a philosophy, it complements other religion. (2)Psychology (3)Science: each individual should do their own investigation to seek facts, knowledge, understandings… Ironically the current & modern societies now are still suffering, even more, especially in our children & adults despite we have more advance technology & easier access to resources . There are so much stress, anxiety, and depression. Suicides are rising from students to Billionaires. Perhaps if business corporations & schools introduce Buddhist philosophy & meditation practices, perhaps each persons will have the understanding & skills to be flexible so that he/she can cope with life’s impermanence. The concept of suffering seems so depressing, but No, the Buddha identified the causes of suffering and the way out of suffering. So, it’s a very positive religion / philosophy. Lastly, whether it’s Tibetan, Mahayana, or Theravada, Buddhism teaches compassion. True compassion is the caring of others, especially strangers. But also, an individual has to be happy & understands himself/ herself first, then he will be able to help others.

Amazing video. I love your approach to presenting different religions.

Karma should better be understood as: "If you do things, things will happen" (the fruits of our actions are without prejudice for "bad" or "good" - those are mere human constructs). The practice of karma yoga centers around giving up the desire for these fruits of our actions, or for a specific outcome.