Buddhism is a vast area of study, but reading the life of the Buddha is a simple way of getting in touch with its essence. He asked questions like, 'Why is there pain in the world?' and 'Where does it come from?' His answers came about through a process of deep reflection. Modern day educators can learn from the Buddha's teachings on the spiritual path in many ways. Buddhism emphasises personal responsibility and moderate living. It is focused on developing qualities like patience and generosity. Spiritual health and well being are things that grows over time, there is a process of gradual development which is enhanced through applying Buddhist principles in day to day living. Buddhism approaches our own life experience - of difficulties, of both good and bad - as the material through we which we deepen our understanding of the world. Hard experiences, such as the Tibetans' loss of their country, are seen as learning opportunities and proof of concepts such as impermanence. Buddhism does not seek nirvana in another place.

Buddhism is sometimes described not as a religion but as a moral philosophy. It does not ask its adherents to believe in God, but it does propose other tenets of faith, which, while supported by logic, are ultimately matters of belief. The principle tenet is a belief in the consequence of actions and in rebirth (karma). These are linked together, because it is clear that many good people go unrewarded and many crimes go unpunished. The Buddhist view is that benefit and harm will accrue and the consequences are inevitable, though they may not ripen until next life.

Another important belief is in the possibility of enlightenment. While in much Western philosophy there is an emphasis on seeking but not finding, Buddhism proposes that wisdom can be found, there is a knowable truth. This experience of truth, however, cannot be fully expressed in words because it is beyond description. The experience of enlightenment is not the same as the best logic or the right argument.

It also proposes that 'we', in essence, are not the same as our states of mind, our thoughts, our feelings. All of these things, hope, fear, anger, are passing and changeable states. Underlying that is the potential for enlightenment, also known as Buddha nature, a state of pure awareness beyond duality.

Buddhism emphasises impermanence. This is not a matter of belief, it is an observation of the world, that everything is changing constantly. It is thought that hoping for things not to change, attempting to create permanence, is ultimately a cause of suffering. Things will change and our happiness depends upon our adaptability.

The Buddhist path includes meditation, ethics and philosophy. Buddhist ethics are about not harming others and emphasise not lying, not stealing, not killing, avoiding sexual misconduct and intoxicants. Why? Because all of these things harm others and are a cause of harm to oneself. Ideally one should be able to help others, but that requires something very special called skill in means. Skilful means requires great creativity. Helping others is not easy and is easily done badly.

The Mahayana path, or the Buddhism of Tibet, Japan, Korea, China and Vietnam, promotes a set of practices called 'The Six Perfections'. These are generosity, morality, patience, enthusiastic effort, meditation and wisdom. Each one of these has been explained at great length by many scholars of the past, but to give an example of how they are described in Buddhism, I will discuss patience. Surprisingly, many Tibetan lamas have said that losing their country has been a great cause for them to build qualities such as patience. If they had stayed in their palace-like monasteries, surrounded by nice things and agreeable friends, they would not have developed this capacity. To quote the 13th century Tibetan scholar, Sakya Pandita:

The meditation of patience in the face of harm requires the threefold practice of field, time, and nature. Extend the field, cultivating patience initially toward relatives, then friends, and finally enemies. Practice patience for increasing periods of time, beginning with half a day. Take an oath during this time not to think: 'I hope no one harms me so I don't have to practice patience.' Then extend this to one whole day, then a day and a night, one fortnight, one month, one year, and so on.

Regarding the nature of the objects of patience, cultivate patience because all beings are really our relatives, our mothers or sons. Learn not to feel hatred at their harmful acts.

If there were no enemy, there would be no occasion to practice patience. When you see an enemy, take joy in thinking: 'Now I will perfect my transcendent patience.' Moreover, you should cultivate patience because it is a condition for the exhaustion of bad action [karma].[1]

Buddhism is a vast topic, and many libraries would not contain all of its books. Because it is based on an experience of a spiritual path it has been freely interpreted and re-described over the centuries. There is no one fundamental Buddhist book - there are many. The Tibetans emphasise basic texts such as The Bodhisattva's Way of Life by the ninth century Indian pandit, Shantideva. The Theravadins, or Buddhists from Sri Lanka, Thailand and Burma emphasise the stories of the life of the Buddha, or the sutras. While the monks and nuns are the most visible exponents of Buddhism, it has also had a long tradition of lay participation and Buddhism in the West is not centred on monasteries.

The benefits of studying Buddhism with a qualified teacher such as a Buddhist monk or a Tibetan lama include:

• A moderate lifestyle;
• A set of ethics or an engagement with ethical discourse;
• A concerned mentor;
• A sense of belonging to a community;
• Personal development;
• Education in the sacred books of Buddhism
• Training in religious practice and spiritual development;
• Counselling for grief and loss.

Buddhism is relevant to all stages of life and its teachings on death and dying are especially helpful in our modern society where such things are often treated as taboo. By emphasising living well - with care, helping, not harming - Buddhism assists dying with peace.

In the same way that globalisation and multiculturalism have enabled many different kinds of food to be made available - in Australian cities we can now choose from the world's cuisines - similarly there is now the opportunity to explore many of the world's philosophies. Buddhism has been hidden from the West in remote places like the mountains of Tibet and the jungles of Thailand. At the end of the twentieth century it has come out of its hiding place.

[1] Sakya Pandita, Illuminations, A Guide to Essential Buddhist Practices, translated by Geshe Wangyal and Brian Cutillo, Lotsawa, California, 1988, pp.39-40.