The Buddha was born at Lumbini in Nepal.  His words were not recorded during his life, but it’s believed that he based his teaching on a simple set of four truths: 

1.   In this world there is suffering.  Suffering is both physical and mental.  But the existence of suffering does not mean there is no happiness.

2.   There is a cause for all suffering: it is desire.  Not only the desire for material wealth and sensual pleasure, even someone who wishes to do good deeds is expressing a desire.  Desires are what propel us on the wheel of life, taking us from one moment, from one life, to the next.

3.   Suffering can be ended by releasing ourselves from our desires.   We can end our suffering and desires and even take a path that leads us right off the wheel of life to the condition called Nirvana.

4.   There is a method for ending suffering.  There are practical steps which will enable us to leave behind our desires and lead us toward Nirvana.  These practical steps are listed in the Eightfold Path below:

• Right Understanding
• Right Thought
• Right Speech
• Right Action
• Right Livelihood
• Right Effort
• Right Mindfulness
• Right Concentration
  

The steps of the eightfold path are grouped into three sections:

Wisdom: Right Understanding and Thought are grouped together as wisdom.  Understanding is not blind faith in the Buddha’s words, but it comes from carefully considering his words and them against our own experience.  Right Thought refers to motivation and the direction of our thoughts.  There should be no expectation of personal gain, of new powers or wealth.  Right Thought means focusing our attention, concentrating with the idea not of what we can gain, but how we can help the wider world.

Morality: Right Speech, Action, Livelihood, and Effort.  Right Speech Involves putting an end to swearing, harsh language, slander, backbiting, boasting, and lying.  Right Action includes not stealing and not taking life of any kind.  It is all right to eat meat only if the animal was not killed specifically to provide you with meat.  Moderation of the senses also covers the mind and the body.  Drinking and drugs is another subject incorporated in Right Action.  Right Livelihood, in our complex modern world, might best be expressed as that our profession should cause no harm.  In Right Effort, Buddhism recognizes there must be effort in this world; passivity is not enough.  To be aware, perceptive, and sensitive requires effort.

Meditation:   Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.  Concentration is setting aside all distractions, both external and in our mind, enabling us to see with greater clarity.

Buddhism includes the concept of Karma.  Karma refers to the willed actions of the mind, body, and speech.  All actions have consequences, both for the person who does the action and whomever the action is directed at.   Good actions grow into good consequences.   A person who leads a good life full of good Karma will eventually reap the benefits, either in this life or in the next.  A person’s bad Karma will just as surely lead to bad consequences.

Symbols of Buddhist faith fill the countryside.  Strings of thin cotton flags flap in the cold breezes that never seem to die.  The flags are printed with prayers to different Buddhist gods which bring success and prosperity to all the living beings in the universe or only to the individual who hoists the flags, depending upon how the individual prays to the gods, and that state of mind of the individual differentiates whether he is a Hinayana or a Mahayana.  Each wave of the flag be the wind is considered one complete reading of the prayers printed on the flags.  The flags are fashioned in colors representing the elements of the universe.  Blue is the sky; White is for the clouds; Red is fire; Green is water; and Yellow is for the earth.  The long strings are formed by repeating the five colors of the universe.

The symbols of Tibetan Buddhism integrate with the movements of the universe.  We, at Tibetan Karma Carpets, have sought to integrate traditional Tibetan symbols and forms with a palette that is more useful for those in Western homes.  We also offer carpets using traditional tones, and are open to any suggestions for favored color combinations.  We hope you’ll accept our licenses with color as a gesture to make a Tibetan presence more widespread throughout the world. 

*We’d like to thank Jon Burbank for his thoughtful encapsulation of Buddism in his book Culture Shock, from which we’ve borrowed the above description.