SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE: Life Lessons from the Buddha

The Buddha (563–483 bce), also
known as Siddhartha Gautama, was one of the greatest philosophers of the
world. He was born a prince of the Shakya clan of Kapilavastu in present-day
Nepal in sixth century bce. While leading a life of luxury and comfort, he
was shocked to see the universality of suffering. He renounced his family,
rank, and material possessions at the age of twenty-nine to search for
deliverance from old age, illness, and death. He led the life of an ascetic
for many years and attained enlightenment at the age of thirty-five and
became the Buddha. He believed that desire and ignorance lie at the root of
suffering. As a spiritual teacher, the Buddha developed a pragmatic middle
path. He preached selflessness, non-violence, righteousness, and right living
to liberate the soul from an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in
order to attain salvation or Nirvana. He did not speak of gods or rituals and
preached a non-theistic way of life. The Buddha’s teachings—mainly the
Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths—form the basis of the Buddhist
tradition and are followed by people across the world.

Edited by Nanditha Krishna, ‘See Things As They Are’ brings together the
Buddha’s core teachings.