buddhism: short and sweet

With so many teachings, trying to sum up Buddhism in a couple of sentences can seem like a daunting challenge, but it's actually quite simple: Buddhism is all about the pursuit of true happiness.

The Buddha approaches the problem of mental stress and suffering like a doctor, formulating the four noble truths in the same way that ancient Indian physicians formulated medical diagnoses, i.e., disease (stress), cause (craving), prognosis (a cure/cessation of craving is possible) and treatment (the noble eightfold path).

While it may sounds overly simplistic, the basic premise of the path can be summed up by this short passage from the Dhammapada:

The non-doing of any evil, the performance of what's skillful, the cleansing of one's own mind: this is the teaching of the Awakened.

Ultimately, every teaching in Buddhism is a tool to be used in the pursuit of happiness, and the majority of them focus on our actions and intentions because that's where the real work of moral and spiritual purification takes place (e.g., MN 61). The road to hell happiness is paved with good intentions.

Happiness. It really is just that simple. That's why, in Buddhism, wisdom begins by asking the following questions:

What is skillful, venerable sir? What is unskillful? What is blameworthy? What is blameless? What should be cultivated? What should not be cultivated? What, having been done by me, will be for my long-term harm & suffering? Or what, having been done by me, will be for my long-term welfare & happiness?