The Buddha was an extraordinary being and a unique spiritual teacher. He was born Prince Siddhatta Gotama in the Lumbini Park on the Indian borders of modern day Nepal.

His contemplative nature and boundless compassion for suffering humanity would not allow him to rest content with a life of wealth and prosperity. At the age of 29, he renounced the world in favour of a life as a penniless wanderer in search of truth and eternal peace.

After six years of struggle which included prolonged practice of austerities, Gotama finally achieved his aim - Nibbana. In doing so he became the Buddha and spent his life dedicated to showing others the way to that same Nibbana until his death 45 years later.

He was a unique man of profound wisdom and infinite compassion who lived a life of service to humanity. He laid down a system of personal development that is still available and just as effective 2500 years later. It is for these reasons that the Buddha is so deeply revered and honoured.

The Buddha’s teaching can be regarded as a philosophy in that it offers a comprehensive and logical view of reality, but it is not just a philosophy. Above all, Buddha dhamma is a practical system of mental development whereby the subtle truths of existence are realised through direct, personal experience.

Because the practice leads to personal transformation, some people consider Buddhism to be a kind of psychology. However, the teaching actually becomes relevant from the point where people are already leading more or less stable lives and wish to examine their experience in more detail.

The end result of practice - enlightenment - goes beyond the goals of both philosophy and psychology. It is the complete eradication of all craving, hatred and delusion, the permanent cessation of suffering. The Buddha maintained that enlightenment can be realised only through one’s own efforts. Buddhism, therefore, cannot rightly be called a religion of faith. It does, none the less, offer a complete ethical framework for daily living, following which ensures harmony both personally and within society.

There are two main strands of Buddhism. The older school of “Theravada” is found in many countries in South East Asia including Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka. The “Mahayana” schools developed later and include Tibetan Buddhism and Japanese Zen.

Buddhism tends to adapt itself to the prevailing cultural climate in which it develops. As a result, there is an array of different types of Buddhism, each with a unique and distinct approach. However, all are founded on the same guiding principles laid down by the Buddha and summed up by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Buddha summed up his entire teaching in what he called the Four Noble Truths. These are: The truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, the ending of suffering and the path leading to the ending of suffering.

By suffering is meant all the anguish we go through from the most minor irritation to major incidents like serious illness and death. The cause of our suffering the Buddha said was craving; wanting life to be different than it actually is. He discovered that when all craving has been eradicated then all suffering ends. This state is known as "Nibbana" or enlightenment and in order for others to realise the truth the Buddha laid down a path that they might follow.

The Noble Eightfold Path consists of the following factors that are developed by students: Right understanding, Right thoughts, Right speech, Right action, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, Right concentration. The whole of the teaching is founded on these truths that the Buddha realized upon his enlightenment. They exist whether the Buddha arises in the world or not and cannot change with time because they are eternal truths.

Enlightenment is the total eradication of all craving, hatred and delusion and is, therefore, permanent liberation from all suffering. It is the end to all psychological dependence upon the world and yet to remain a dynamic force within it. Just as the depths of the ocean remain still and untroubled by storms raging on the surface so too the enlightened mind remains unperturbed by worldly events.

The Pali word kamma (karma in Sanskrit) literally means action or doing. Any kind of volitional action, whether mental, verbal or physical is regarded as kamma. All such actions produce results (kamma vipaka) which the doer experiences. Unwholesome, selfish actions always result in painful feelings and perceptions whereas the results of wholesome actions are pleasant.

Buddhism does not support the view that it is a law of ‘moral justice’ or ‘reward and punishment’, as there is no external agency that dispenses justice. Rather, kamma is a natural process of cause and effect in the ethical domain.

The law of kamma means that all volitional actions of body, speech and mind must produce results which occur continuously throughout life when conditions are right. This process does not end with the death of the physical body. Instead, the tremendous desire and thirst for existence created through such kammic action is the force that generates a new life in a new existence.

Where a being is reborn depends on the ethical quality of previous kammic behaviour. Selfish, inefficient actions like killing or theft result in rebirth in predominantly painful situations. On the other hand, efficient behaviour like generosity or practising loving-kindness will produce rebirth in a happy existence.

Traditional Buddhist cosmology lists 31 different realms in which it is possible for rebirth to take place. These include the lowest hell realms, the animal kingdom, the human realm and delightful heaven worlds. However, no existence is permanent and beings are caught in an endless cycle of birth and death (Samsara), which can only stop when the driving force of kamma is cut off through the development of insight wisdom.

The word ‘meditation’ is a translation of the Pali word bhavana, which means ‘mental culture’ or ‘mental development’. It aims at cleansing the mind of impurities and disturbances, such as lustful desires, hatred, jealousy, pride, worries and restlessness, whilst cultivating such qualities as love, compassion, concentration, awareness, joy, and tranquillity.

There is, however, a more fundamental aim. This is to reach the Truth - wisdom or penetrative knowledge - which Buddhists call Enlightenment. Ordinarily, our minds are clouded by defilements, so we are unable to see things in their proper nature; it is like looking through a veil or a piece of tinted glass. We do not see reality, but we see things as we would like them to be. Buddhists are working with their minds in order, eventually, to see things as they really are, shorn of our preconceived ideas, our projections, our likes and dislikes.

This clarity of seeing, through insight wisdom leads to the attainment of enlightenment.

Insight is sometimes called awareness meditation. It differs from concentration meditation in that it is not trying to control the mind or bring about a state. It is to try to see things as they really are and specifically identifies the three marks of experience. Namely all conditioned things are transient, unsatisfactory and all things are non-self.

Although concentration meditation is very beneficial, bringing about many beautiful states of mind, it cannot of itself lead to enlightenment. Insight meditation is the practice which removes ignorance of the way life really is and prepares the mind for enlightenment to visit.

Firstly, it must be recognised that what we experience in meditation simply reflects the way we live our lives. If our lifestyles include too much socialising or working all hours it is natural that our minds will be agitated. Serious students need to consider adjusting their lifestyle to help create the right supporting conditions for the meditative endeavour.

It is also essential to establish mindfulness in order to be able to discriminate exactly what occurs during in the meditation. There are five kinds of mental distraction that can occur to which the Buddha gave the name “Hindrances” as they hinder all meditative efforts. By acknowledging and accepting the presence of any mental busyness the meditator can then choose to restrain the mind in a balanced way and return the attention to the meditation object.

All meditative training is founded upon rules of conduct and aid the student in his or her search for the cessation of suffering.

For lay students there are five basic rules of training. They are to refrain from killing or harming any living creature, stealing, sexual misconduct, wrong speech and intoxicating drink and drugs. Abiding by the precepts ensures that one's external environment is harmonious which is essential for progress in the meditation.

There are additional rules for those on a residential retreat such as only eating at the allowed times, not handling money for the duration of the course, not wearing make-up, perfume or aftershave, not writing letters and so on. Following a disciplined approach allows the student to utilise all his or her energy towards a more fruitful meditation practise.

Monks and nuns live by a comprehensive set of rules covering all aspects of life from the way clothes are worn to the way the teaching is passed on to others.

Freed for a week from daily chores and responsibilities, the retreat setting is an ideal place to learn how to consciously relax both mind and body. However, during vipassana retreats the development of calm and relaxation is only a preliminary step; a necessary foundation for the development of insight wisdom but no more.

Once gross level tensions, stresses and strains have been dealt with, meditators turn their attention to observing the true nature of mind and body. They pay mindful attention to whatever occurs regardless of whether it is pleasant or painful, welcome or unwelcome.

On retreat, meditators encounter the full range of human experience from restlessness, anxiety, fear and loathing on the one hand to tranquillity, happiness, bliss and understanding on the other.

The practice is to observe in a detached manner without chasing or rejecting any experience in order to gain insight into reality. A vipassana retreat is not simply a time for relaxation but forms a crucial part of the Buddha’s comprehensive path to freedom from suffering.