Buddhism values freedom from emotional conflict, affliction, disease, unsatisfactoriness, and suffering as the ultimate goal in life. The Buddha declared over 2588 years ago that, “Just as the ocean has only one taste, the taste of salt; this teaching also has only one taste, the taste of freedom.” He exposed the SECRET OF NATURE which he discovered through his enlightenment, that the ultimate freedom, which is synonymous to ultimate peace and true happiness, is based upon INTELLECTUAL & EMOTIONAL FREEDOM, the highest form of freedom or human dignity that anyone could achieve, i.e., NIRVANA.

With MINDFULNESS and WISDOM resulting from MIND DEVELOPMENT through practicing INSIGHT MEDITATION, one would see clearly the true nature of all existence in its reality without any bias or distortion, i.e., gaining Insight. One would realize the difference of CONVENTIONAL TRUTH and ULTIMATE TRUTH, understanding THE THREE UNIVERSAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EXISTENCE, namely ‘Impermanence,’ ‘Imperfection,’ and ‘Not-self.’ One would witness how everything arises and they are interrelated through "DEPENDENT ARISING or DEPENDENT ORIGINATION," and one would see the mechanism of how one imprisons oneself in the self-created endless worlds of thoughts.

As a result of this understanding and seeing one’s thought process as it arises, one would stop craving with greed, hatred, and delusion, sneaking in with such unintentional and biased thoughts, in order to please ONESELF with temporary worldly pleasure or happiness. One would become totally FREE EMOTIONALLY and INTELLECTUALLY from one's own imprisonment in this small, narrow-minded and biased world of ‘SELF’, which is the root of dis-ease, unhappiness, and suffering. One would be opening oneself up to the unlimited, unconditioned universal experience, living in perfect harmony with nature, according to the flow of nature, in ultimate peace, freedom and true happiness.

Anyone who is interested in Buddhism, the awakened way of life, is welcome to our Temple. To learn more about Buddhism, visit our sister site, http://www.self-aware.net