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Mala (Buddhist prayer beads)

Although Buddhism is considered to be a religion, much of its practice is a philosophy for life. Prince Gautama Siddhartha, the earthly Buddha, was born in southern Nepal and first initiated the ideas of Buddhism. The son of a king, his early life was one of luxury and he married the daughter of a neighbouring raja. At the age of 29 he realised that other life existed beyond his palatial confines and, leaving behind his wife and newborn son, he took up the life of an ascetic. He wandered far listening to wise men and Hindu Brahmin priests, but found no solace. After much meditation he found the path to enlightenment around 600BC, choosing to accept that life meant suffering.

The philosophy of Buddhism is based on the four noble truths and the eight noble paths. The four noble truths are the truth of suffering, which occurs through the cycle of rebirth. The second truth is the desire for things that lead to dissatisfaction. Nirvana, or the cessation of desire, is the third truth, and the fourth is the way of the middle path as a solution. The eight ways to attain the path to Nirvana are: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mind and right concentration.