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Buddhism is a path of
practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true
nature of life. Buddhist practices such as meditation are means of
changing oneself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness,
and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition
over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all
those who wish to follow a path - a path which ultimately culminates
in Enlightenment or Buddhahood.
Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator
God, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western
sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and
practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences;
change is possible. Thus Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective
of race, nationality, or gender. It teaches practical methods (such
as meditation) which enable people to realize and utilize its teachings
in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for
their lives and to develop the qualities of Wisdom and Compassion.
There are around 350 million Buddhists and a growing number of them
are Westerners. They follow many different forms of Buddhism, but
all traditions are characterized by nonviolence, lack of dogma, tolerance
of differences, and, usually, by the practice of meditation.
At this present time this Buddhist-directory site is only listing
Buddhist organizations operating in North East USA. New York City,
NY State, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire,New Jersey
& Vermont. If you know of any Buddhist organizations in this area
that are not listed or wish to change a listing please let me know.
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