Early life

Childhood: 1954–1970

Further information: Early life of Hugo Chávez

Sabaneta, Barinas, where Chávez was born and raised.

Hugo Chávez was born on 28 July 1954 in his paternal grandmother Rosa Inéz Chávez's home, a three-room mud hut located in the rural village Sabaneta, Barinas State. The Chávez family were of Amerindian, Afro-Venezuelan, and Spanish descent.^[4] His parents, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez and Elena Frías de Chávez, were working-lower middle class schoolteachers who lived in the small village of Los Rastrojos. Hugo was born the second of seven children, including their eldest, Adán Chávez.^[5][6] The couple lived in poverty, leading them to send Hugo and Adán to live with their grandmother Rosa,^[7] whom Hugo would later describe as being "a pure human being... pure love, pure kindness."^[8] She was a devout Roman Catholic, and Hugo was an altar boy at a local church.^[9] Hugo described his childhood as "poor...very happy", and experienced "humility, poverty, pain, sometimes not having anything to eat", and "the injustices of this world."^[10]
Attending the Julián Pino Elementary School, Chávez's hobbies included drawing, painting, baseball and history. He was particularly interested in the 19th-century federalist general Ezequiel Zamora, in whose army his own great-great-grandfather had served.^[11][12] In the mid-1960s, Hugo, his brother and their grandmother moved to the city of Barinas so that the boys could attend what was then the only high school in the rural state, the Daniel O'Leary High School.^[13] He has described himself during those years as "a normal boy" with no "political motivation", and that he devoted his time to school studies, playing baseball and chasing girls.^[14]

Military Academy: 1971–1975

Aged seventeen, Chávez decided to study at the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences in Caracas, later remarking that "I felt like a fish in water. As if I had discovered the essence or part of the essence of life, of my true vocation."^[15][16] At the Academy, he was a member of the first class that was following a restructured curriculum known as the Andrés Bello Plan. This plan had been instituted by a group of progressive, nationalistic military officers who believed that change was needed within the military. This new curriculum encouraged students to learn not only military routines and tactics but also a wide variety of other topics, and to do so civilian professors were brought in from other universities to give lectures to the military cadets.^[17][18][19] Living in Caracas, he saw more of the endemic poverty faced by working class Venezuelans, something that echoed the poverty he had experienced growing up, and he has maintained that this experience only made him further committed to achieving social justice.^[20][21] He also began to get involved in local activities outside of the military school, playing both baseball and softball with the Criollitos de Venezuela team, progressing with them to the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships. Other hobbies that he undertook at the time included writing numerous poems, stories and theatrical pieces, painting^[22] and researching the life and political thought of 19th-century South American revolutionary Simón Bolívar.^[23] He also became interested in the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara (1928–1967) after reading his memoir The Diary of Che Guevara, although also read books by a wide variety of other figures, from Karl Marx to Hannibal and Napoleon Bonaparte.^[24]
In 1974 he was selected to be a representative in the commemorations for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ayacucho in Peru, the conflict in which Simon Bolívar's lieutenant, Antonio José de Sucre, defeated royalist forces during the Peruvian War of Independence. It was in Peru that Chávez heard the leftist president, General Juan Velasco Alvarado (1910–1977), speak, and inspired by Velasco's ideas that the military should act in the interests of the working classes when the ruling classes were perceived as corrupt,^[25] he "drank up the books [Velasco had written], even memorising some speeches almost completely."^[26] Befriending the son of Panamanian President Omar Torrijos (1929–1981), another leftist military general, Chávez subsequently visited Panama, where he met with Torrijos, and was impressed with his land reform program that was designed to benefit the peasants. Being heavily influenced by both Torrijos and Velasco, he saw the potential for military generals to seize control of a government when the civilian authorities were perceived as only serving the interests of the wealthy elites.^[25][27] In contrast to military presidents like Torrijos and Velasco however, Chávez became highly critical of Augusto Pinochet, the right-wing general who had recently seized control in Chile with the aid of the American CIA.^[28] Chávez would later relate that "With Torrijos, I became a Torrijist. With Velasco I became a Velasquist. And with Pinochet, I became an anti-Pinochetist."^[29] In 1975, Chávez graduated from the military academy, being rated one of the top graduates of the year (eight out of seventy five).^[30][31][32]

Early military career: 1976–1981

Further information: Military career of Hugo Chávez

I think that from the time I left the academy I was oriented toward a revolutionary movement... The Hugo Chávez who entered there was a kid from the hills, a Ilanero with aspirations of playing professional baseball. Four years later, a second-lieutenant came out who had taken the revolutionary path. Someone who didn’t have obligations to anyone, who didn't belong to any movement, who was not enrolled in any party, but who knew very well where I was headed.

Hugo Chávez.^[33]

Following his graduation, Chávez was stationed as a communications officer at a counterinsurgency unit in Barinas,^[34] although the Marxist-Leninist insurgency which the army was sent to combat had already been eradicated from that state, leaving the unit with much spare time. Chávez himself played in a local baseball team, wrote a column for the local newspaper, organized bingo games and judged at beauty pageants.^[35] At one point he found a stash of Marxist literature that was in an abandoned car riddled with bullet holes. Apparently having belonged to insurgents many years before, he went on to read these books, which included titles by such theoreticians as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, but his favourite was a work entitled The Times of Ezequiel Zamora, written about the 19th-century federalist general whom Chávez had admired as a child.^[36] These books further convinced Chávez of the need for a leftist government in Venezuela, later remarking that "By the time I was 21 or 22, I made myself a man of the left."^[37]
In 1977, Chávez's unit was transferred to Anzoátegui, where they were involved in battling the Red Flag Party, a Marxist-Hoxhaist insurgency group.^[38] After intervening to prevent the beating of an alleged insurgent by other soldiers,^[39] Chávez began to have his doubts about the army and their methods in using torture.^[37] At the same time, he was becoming increasingly critical of the corruption in both the army and in the civilian government, coming to believe that despite the wealth being produced by the country's oil reserves, Venezuela's poor masses were not receiving their share, something he felt to be inherently un-democratic. In doing so, he began to sympathise with the Red Flag Party and their cause, if not their violent methods.^[40]
In 1977, he founded a revolutionary movement within the armed forces, in the hope that he could one day introduce a leftist government to Venezuela: the Venezuelan People's Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación del Pueblo de Venezuela, or ELPV), was a secretive cell within the military that consisted of him and a handful of his fellow soldiers. Although they knew that they wanted a middle way between the right wing policies of the government and the far left position of the Red Flag, they did not have any plans of action for the time being.^[39][41][42] Nevertheless, hoping to gain an alliance with civilian leftist groups in Venezuela, Chávez then set about clandestinely meeting various prominent Marxists, including Alfredo Maneiro (the founder of the Radical Cause) and Douglas Bravo, despite having numerous political differences with them.^[43][44] At this time, Chávez married a working class woman named Nancy Colmenares, with whom he would go on to have three children, Rosa Virginia (born September 1978), Maria Gabriela (born March 1980) and Hugo Rafael (born October 1983).^[45]

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈuɣo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβes ˈfɾi.as]; born 28 July 1954) is the 61st and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Following his own political ideology of Bolivarianism and "Socialism for the 21st Century", he has focused on implementing socialist reforms in the country as a part of a social project known as the Bolivarian Revolution, which has seen the implementation of a new constitution, participatory democratic councils and the nationalisation of several key industries.
Born into a working class family in Sabaneta, Barinas, Chávez became a career military officer, and after becoming dissatisfied with the Venezuelan puntofijismo political system which he viewed as corrupt and undemocratic, he founded the secretive Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200) in the early 1980s to work towards overthrowing it. After the Democratic Action government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez ordered the violent repression of protests against spending cuts, Chávez led the MBR-200 in an unsuccessful coup d'état against the government in 1992, for which he was imprisoned.
Getting out of prison after two years, he founded a social democratic political party, the Fifth Republic Movement, and was elected president of Venezuela in 1998. He subsequently introduced a new constitution which increased rights for marginalised groups and altered the structure of Venezuelan government, and was re-elected in 2000. During his second presidential term, he introduced a system of Bolivarian Missions, Communal Councils and worker-managed cooperatives, as well as a program of land reform, whilst also nationalising various key industries. The opposition movement meanwhile, arguing that he was a populist who was eroding representative democracy and becoming increasingly authoritative, attempted to remove him from power both through an unsuccessful military coup in 2002 and a recall referendum in 2004. In 2005, he openly proclaimed his adherence to socialism, and was again elected in 2006, following which he founded his new political party, the PSUV, in 2007. Although suffering from cancer in 2011, Chávez has stated his intention to stand for re-election in 2012.
A self-professed anti-imperialist and vocal critic of neoliberalism and capitalism more generally, Chávez has been a prominent opponent of the United States' foreign policy.^[1] Allying himself strongly with the socialist governments of Fidel and then Raúl Castro in Cuba, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, his presidency is seen as a part of the leftist "pink tide" sweeping Latin America. He has supported Latin American and Caribbean cooperation and was instrumental in setting up the pan-regional Union of South American Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Bank of the South, and the regional television network TeleSur. A highly controversial and divisive figure both at home and abroad, his political influence in Latin America led Time magazine to include him among their list of the world's 100 most influential people in both 2005 and 2006.^[2][3]

But so many people believe in some form of god, it must be true.

 

  Not so. There was a time when everyone believed that the world was flat, but they were all wrong. The number of people who believe in an idea is no measure of the truth or falsehood of that idea. The only way we can tell whether an idea is true or not is by looking at the facts and examining the evidence.

You say there is no evidence for the existence of a god. But what about miracles?

 

 

There are many who believe that miracles are proof of god’s existence. We hear wild claims that a healing has taken place but we never get an independent testimony from a medical office or a surgeon. We hear second-hand reports that someone was miraculously saved from disaster but we never get an eye-witness account of what is supposed to have happened. We hear rumours that prayer straightened a diseased body or strengthened a withered limb, but we never see X-rays or get comments from doctors or nurses. Wild claims, second-hand reports and rumours are no substitute for solid evidence and solid evidence of miracles is very rare.

 

However, sometimes unexplained things do happen, unexpected events do occur. But our inability to explain such things does not prove the existence of gods. It only proves that our knowledge is as yet incomplete. Before the development of modern medicine, when people didn’t know what caused sickness people believed that god or the gods sent diseases as a punishment. Now we know what causes such things and when we get sick, we take medicine. In time when our knowledge of the world is more complete, we will be able to understand what causes unexplained phenomena, just as we can now understand what causes disease.

 

 

 

 

What does the Buddha say about the origin of the universe?

 

It is interesting that the Buddha’s explanation of the origin of the universe corresponds very closely to the scientific view. In the Aganna Sutta, the Buddha described the universe being destroyed and then re-evolving into its present form over a period of countless millions of years. The first life formed on the surface of the water and again, over countless millions of years, evolved from simple into complex organisms. All these processes are without beginning or end, and are set in motion by natural causes.

 

 

 

But if there are no gods how did the universe get here?

 

 

All religions have myths and stories which attempt to answer this question. In ancient times, when many simply did not know, such myths were adequate, but in the 20^th century, in the age of physics, astronomy and geology, such myths have been superseded by scientific fact. Science has explained the origin of the universe without recourse to the god-idea.

So if Buddhists don’t believe in gods, what do you believe in?

 

  We don’t believe in a god because we believe in man. We believe that each human being is precious and important, that all have the potential to develop into a Buddha – a perfected human being. We believe that human beings can outgrow ignorance and irrationality and see things as they really are. We believe that hatred, anger, spite and jealousy can be replaced by love, patience, generosity and kindness. We believe that all this is within the grasp of each person if they make the effort, guided and supported by fellow Buddhists and inspired by the example of the Buddha. As the Buddha says:
"No one saves us but ourselves,
No one can and no one may.
We ourselves must walk the path,
But Buddhas clearly show the way".
Dp 165

Do Buddhist believe in god?

 

 

No, we do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear. The Buddha says: "Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines". Dp 188 Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding. The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming. The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

 

 

 

The Buddha and Democratic Principles

Buddhadāsa P. Kirthisinghe

The basic principle of a democratic form of government is the freedom and dignity of the individual with

equality before the law. No man can be called free unless he is able to pursue his calling unhampered by

barriers of caste, class, or special privilege. In a deeper sense no man is truly free until he can without fear

or pressure from authoritarian coercion, unfold his innate potentialities and perfect himself by shaping

his own Kamma or destiny. It was the Buddha who for the first time taught and realised these values

through his Dhamma. It has led to a flowering of a civilization that, to this day, stands as a marvel in the

history of mankind.

Three centuries later it led, for the first time in the annals of mankind, to establish hospitals for both

men and animals and organise universal education which culminated in establishing international centres

of learning, known today as universities. With the spread of Buddhism in greater Asia from the 3rd

century B.C. it stimulated the formation of new civilizations depending on the national genius of the

inhabitants in each State. These civilizations produced a fascinating array of art and dance forms,

literature, and social and economic institution based on the Dhamma.

Democratic Values

The recognised prerequisites of democratic cultures are:

• A productive economy to raise man above the level of poverty and misery.

• A progressive society with security and opportunity for all.

• A literate society with universal education.

• Personal liberty and self-reliance.

• A system of ethics based on moral law.

• Deep-rooted respect for the system of values and institutions that helped each culture to

evolve into great civilizations.

These values were respected in the ancient Buddhist civilization of Asia, particularly in the Asokan

period from the 3rd Century B.C., the golden period of Indian history. These conditions exist today in

highly industrialised Japan where there is a predominantly Buddhist civilization, and in the newly

emerged Buddhist States of Asia. These technically backward nations are rebuilding their economies to

raise the standard of living of their people. Among these, Ceylon has an almost fully literate society with

free education from kindergarten up to university.

Buddhism has given each man or woman sturdy independence, rather than dependence on the mercy

of a Creator God to better themselves. The Buddha taught man the gospel of self-help in his efforts to lead

a noble life. To achieve the highest conditions of mind and heart, the Buddha said man must work out his

own way. He asserted that man’s own deeds would make him noble and advised him to guard against

deeds that would make him low.

Further, the Buddha stated that all beings, including man, are suffering, and through his Noble Eightfold

Path he gave an efficacious prescription how to make an end of that suffering. Since that Path is a

road of gradual progress it is intelligible and practicable by all, even on the lowest rungs of human

development. None is excluded from reaching final deliverance if only he takes resolutely one step after

the other on that road. Thus we see that the Buddha conceded equality to all human beings—a cardinal

principle in a democratic society.

6

Thus, the Buddha founded the clarion-call of human liberty. He said. “Take ye refuge unto yourself; be

ye your own salvation. With earnestness and high resolve work out your own salvation.”

The Buddha pointed out the absolute folly of artificial distinctions between man and man. At the time

of the Buddha there was a rigid caste system in India. It determined and fixed man’s place in the social

order by the mere fact that one’s father was of such and such a descent and had such and such an

occupation. The low castes were denied an education and were placed low on the social ladder, and this

with such a rigidity that a low caste man could hardly break out of his situation. The Buddha revolted

against this injustice and asserted the equality of all men as far as their basic rights are concerned.

The Buddha unhesitatingly admitted to his Order of Monks also people of the so-called low castes—

barbers, butchers, sweepers, and the untouchable-along with the members of the noble and priestly

castes. He made absolutely no distinctions between them in the ranks of the monks. All received equal

homage, reverence and respect. Some members of the nobility were upset by these actions of the Buddha

and one of them dared challenge the Buddha to define a nobleman. It was then that he declared:

“No man is noble by birth,

No man is ignoble by birth.

Man is noble by his own deeds,

Man is ignoble by his own deeds”

Commenting on the Buddha’s discourse, the Sigālovāda sutta,1 which is based on social ethics, the worldfamous

British scholar, Professor Rhys Davids, chairman of the Department of Comparative Religion,

Manchester University, England, says: “Happy would have been the village or the clan on the banks of

the Ganges, when the people were full of kindly spirit of fellow feelings, the noble spirit of justice, which

breathes through these naive and simple sayings.” He adds: “Not less happy would be the village on the

banks of the Thames, today, of which this could be said.”

He continues: “The Buddha’s doctrine of love and good will between man and man is here let forth in

domestic and social ethics with more comprehensive details than elsewhere … And truly we may say

even now of this Vinaya or code of discipline, so fundamental are the human interests involved, so sane

and wide is the wisdom that envisages them that the utterances are as fresh and practically as binding

today as they were then, at Rajagaha (India).”

The Buddha strongly condemned all sacrifices performed in the name of religion, particularly those

involving animal sacrifices. It was believed at that time, that sacrifices atoned for sin and protected

against evil spirits. The Buddha said that these sacrifices were cruel and useless, as it is only through a

noble life that man can elevate himself and be secure against evil.

The Buddha’s compassion extended also to those who were ailing. Once he said to his disciples:

“Whoever, monks, nurses the sick, will nurse me.” And in that spirit hospitals for both animals and men

were later established during the reign of Asoka in 3rd century B.C.

The Buddha condemned slavery in any shape and form. He laid down golden rules for the right

manner of earning one’s living in a way not harmful to others, and this included also that any trafficking

in human beings was out of bounds for a Buddhist.

The temperance movement owes its beginnings to the Buddha who asked his followers to abstain from

using or selling liquor and other intoxicants.

Gospel of Tolerance

The Buddha also preached the gospel of tolerance, of compassion, loving kindness and non-violence.

He taught men not to despise other religions and not to belittle them. He further declared that one should

not even accept his own teachings unless one found them to be in accord with one’s personal reasoning,

according to the Kalama Sutta.2

1 Translated in The Wheel No. 14, Everyman's Ethics.

2 Translated in The Wheel No. 8.

7

During the Buddha’s time there were a number of great kingdoms in India such as Magadha and

Kosala, and some of them were established on the democratic form of government. The Buddha favoured

the democrat form over the oligarchical form of government as it was the best form of government which

is conducive to the stability of society.

The Buddha showed great admiration of the Vajjis or Licchavis. In the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he likened

the Licchavis to the Thirty-three Gods (Tāvatiṃsa-deva). He also warned Vassakāra, minister of the

parricide king Ajātasattu that the Vajjis would remain invincible as long as they adhered to the seven

rules of a nation’s welfare (aparihāniya dhamma), namely:

• Frequent meetings for consultation.

• Concord in action.

• Adherence to injunctions and traditions.

• Respecting elders.

• Respecting women, who shall never be molested.

• Reverence to places of worship within and outside the territory.

• Protection of worthy saints in the territory.

The Buddha continued: “So long as the Vajjis meet frequently in council, assemble and disperse in

harmony (and observe the other rules of welfare), their prosperity is to be expected, not their decline.”

Asoka’s reign

The Emperor Asoka worked with ceaseless energy for the propagation of Buddhism and transformed it

into a world religion. The Asokan period from 325 to 288 B.C. is of special significance to mankind, as it is

one of the most illustrious liberal democratic periods in history.

In his time Asoka established public gardens, medical herbs were cultivated, trees were planted along

roads, hospitals were established for both men and animals. He sank wells for public use, and educational

and religious institutions grew up all over the country.

The late H. G. Wells writes in his Outline of World History: “Amidst the tens of thousands of names of

monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousnesses, and sovereignties and

royal highnesses and the like, the name of Asoka shines and shines almost alone a star. From the Volga to

Japan his name is still honoured. China, Tibet and even India, though it has left his doctrine, preserves the

traditions of his greatness. More living men cherish his memory today than ever heard the names of

Constantino and Charlemagne.

It is claimed that Asoka was one of the first to grant gender equality by sending his own son and

daughter to Ceylon for missionary work. In this vast empire, Asoka treated all his subjects with equal

justice and admitted no privileges of caste or class.

Formation of democratic thought originated in ancient India by the spread of Buddhism from the 3rd

century B.C. In an introduction to the book Legacy of India, Lord Zetland, former Viceroy of India, states:

“And it may come as a surprise to many to learn that in assemblies of Buddhists in India, two thousand or

more years ago, are to be found rudiments of our own parliamentary system as practised today.”

Professor G. P. Malalasekera says: “The spread of Buddhism from country to country in greater Asia

was without bloodshed and it is by itself a great democratic process never witnessed by any other world

religion.”

From World Buddhism, Vesak Annual 1963.

How Buddhists Invented Democracy

By Barbara O'Brien, About.com Guide   October 28, 2008

OK, Buddhists may not have invented democracy. History professors argue that the Athenians invented democracy ca. 500 BCE. However, as democratic government was getting underway in Athens, the First Buddhist Council convened in India. The Council, which met about 480 BCE, give or take, was an exercise in democracy.
According to tradition, the Council consisted of 500 of the historical Buddha's disciples, who met after the Buddha's death to discuss how to preserve his teachings. The assembly listened to the monk Upali recite the rules of the monastic orders and the monk Ananda recite the Buddha's sermons. The assembly came to agreement that the recitations accurately reflected the teachings of the Buddha, and so they were preserved as the Vinaya-pitaka and Sutta-pitaka of the Pali Canon.
Historians, who often are no fun at all, argue that there is little corroboration that the Council took place, and if it did it was probably a smaller gathering than what is described in tradition. Even so, the Pali Canon, which reached final form before the Common Era, contains other descriptions of people making public decisions through assemblies, moots and parliaments.
Historian Steve Muhlberger argues that early Buddhist literature contains rich evidence that democratic governments flourished in India during the time of the Greek democracies and the Roman republic. This evidence is corroborated in some Hindu texts, such as the Mahabharata, and by coins and inscriptions. So, while Buddhists may not have invented democracy, there is a tradition of democracy strongly rooted in the earliest days of Buddhism.

BUDDHA QUOTES

A jug fills drop by drop.


All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?


An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind.


Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.


Chaos is inherent in all compounded things. Strive on with diligence.


Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.


Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.


Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.


Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.


He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes.




Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.


Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.


However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?


I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act; but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.


I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done.


In a controversy the instant we feel anger we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.


In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.


It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways.


It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.


It is better to travel well than to arrive.




Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.


Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind. To walk safely through the maze of human life, one needs the light of wisdom and the guidance of virtue.


No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.


Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.


The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground.


The mind is everything. What you think you become.


The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.


The tongue like a sharp knife... Kills without drawing blood.


The virtues, like the Muses, are always seen in groups. A good principle was never found solitary in any breast.


The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.


The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed.


The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve.


There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.


There has to be evil so that good can prove its purity above it.


There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.


Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace.


Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.


Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.


To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.


To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.

Lookout notice issued against liquor mafia

The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Wednesday issued a lookout circular to all international airports in the country to nab a liquor syndicate organiser B Balraj Goud. Goud is said to have been involved in irregularities in operating a liquor syndicate at Chikkadapalli.
AR Srinivas, ACB joint director, said they issued the lookout circular to ensure that Balraj does not leave the country. He said that the syndicate office of Balraj at Chikkadapalli was searched on December 16 and documents and a hard disk was seized. Based on information in the documents, a case was registered against him and others on January 25.
Balraj has been evading arrest ever since. It is learnt that earlier, a central investigation agency has also made an attempt to arrest him in another case. Balraj had filed a petition seeking anticipatory bail in the ACB court, which was dismissed.

What is Buddhism?

• Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Buddhist practices like meditation are means of changing yourself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path — a path which ultimately culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood. An enlightened being sees the nature of reality absolutely clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally in accordance with that vision. This is the goal of the Buddhist spiritual life, representing the end of suffering for anyone who attains it.
  Because Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible. So Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality, caste, sexuality, or gender. It teaches practical methods which enable people to realise and use its teachings in order to transform their experience, to be fully responsible for their lives.