====== Buddhism / Core Beliefs ======
What are the core beliefs of a Buddhist? (Buddhism from first principles)

  * All conditioned things are impermanent 
  * Mind and body are impermanent things
  * Impermanence leads to dissatisfaction
  * Nothing dissatisfying and impermanent should be called "soul"
  * Dukkha is the result of clinging/desire/ignorance
  * It is possible to be rid of dukkha
  * Buddha and other enlightened beings overcame dukkha 
  * We have control over our behaviors, habits, actions
  * Flawed perspective leads to flawed results, correct perspective leads to correct results
  * Refuges:
    * Buddha - understood stress and its causes, overcame stress, taught what he understood
    * Dhamma - is the teachings of the Buddha to understand stress, its causes, and overcome it
    * Sangha - people who understand the teachings of the Buddha, have overcome or are overcoming stress 
  * Actions based on greed / fear / delusion will lead to future pain
  * Killing, stealing, raping, lying, intoxication lead to future pain

===== Essential route ===== 
See [[https://accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/index.html|Access to Insight]]'s article on "Path to Freedom" 

  - Giving - not just to Buddha and Buddhists but all people and all creatures, things like food, medicine, care...
  - Virtue - abstaining from bad behaviors 
  - Heaven - the result of giving and virtue 
  - Drawbacks - why nirvana is better than heaven
  - Letting go - how to change your behaviors here and now 
  - Four noble truths - the essential teaching of Buddha on suffering, its causes, and its defeat