I. What is Buddhism?

Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the
true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself
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. An enlightened being sees the nature of
reality absolutely clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that
vision. This is the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for
anyone who attains it.

II. Karma

The Sanskrit word Karma literally means action. In Buddhism however, karma
mainly refers to one's intention or motivation while doing an action. The shortest
explanation of karma that I know is: 'you get what you give'. In other words; whatever
you do intentionally to others, a similar thing will happen to yourself in the future.
Causing suffering to others will cause suffering to ourselves, causing happiness to others
will result in happiness for oneself.

Perhaps our biggest to understanding or even believing in karma may be time. The
're-actions' or results of our actions usually show up with a big time delay, and it becomes
extremely hard to tell which action caused which result. Actions done in a previous life
can create results in this life, but who can remember their past life, and who can tell
exaclty which action caused which result? For ordinary humans, the mechanisms of
karma can be intellectually understood to some extent, but never completely "seen".

III.

In Buddhism, humans are just one type of sentient being, that is a being with a
mindstream. In Buddhism, humans have a very special status: only a human can attain
enlightenment as a fully enlightened Buddha. Enlightenment as an arhat can be attained
from the realms of the uddhvsa deities.

I. Confucianism is often characterized as a system of social and ethical philosophy

rather than a religion. In fact, Confucianism built on an ancient religious foundation to
establish the social values, institutions, and transcendent ideals of traditional Chinese
society. It was what sociologist Robert Bellah called a "civil religion," the sense of
religious identity and common moral understanding at the foundation of a society's
central institutions. It is also what a Chinese sociologist called a "diffused religion";its
institutions were not a separate church, but those of society, family, school, and state; its
priests were not separate liturgical specialists, but parents, teachers, and officials.
Confucianism was part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians,
everyday life was the arena of religion.

Confucianism is humanism, a philosophy or attitude that is concerned with human

beings, their achievements and interests, rather than with the abstract beings and
problems of theology. In Confucianism man is the center of the universe: man cannot
live alone, but with other human beings. For human beings, the ultimate goal is
individual happiness.

II. Yin / Yang : Two halves that together complete wholeness. Yin and yang are also the
starting point for change. When something is whole, by definition it is unchanging and
complete. So when you split something into two halves yin / yang, it upsets the
equilibrium of wholeness. This starts both halves chasing after each other as they seek a
new balance with each other.

The word Yin comes out to mean shady side and Yang sunny side.

Yin Yang is the concept of duality forming a whole. We encounter examples of Yin
and Yang every day. As examples: night (Yin) and day (Yang), female (Yin) and male
(Yang). Over thousands of years quite a bit has been sorted and grouped under various
Yin Yang classification systems.

The symbol for Yin Yang is called the Taijitu. Most people just call it the yin yang symbol
in the west. The taijitu symbol has been found in more than one culture and over the years
has come to represent Taoism.

III.

To Confucius, mans perfection and happiness is realized and achieved in social life.
According to Confucius the life on the moral man is an exemplification of the universal
moral order; the life of the vicious man is a contradiction there of. Confucius
philosophy is centered on: Man is the center of harmony.