The Buddha
A former prince whose diagnosis of suffering — and prescription of attention — became one of the world's great traditions of practice.
Core ideas
- Suffering arises from craving, and craving can be understood
- The self is a process, not a possession
- Attention (mindfulness) can be trained like strength
Historical context
Taught in the Ganges plain in the fifth century BCE, in the same ferment of wandering teachers that produced the Upanishads and Mahavira.
Questions they speak to
Minds in conversation
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica — Buddha