This personal website is intended to share some information on the philosophy, practice and history of Buddhism that I found useful in giving my life a purpose and direction, in the hope it may benefit every visitor.

My own background lies mainly in the Tibetan tradition, but I have tried to keep the information in these pages non-sectarian.

Are you new to Buddhism? Then do have a look at the 'Where to Begin' page, and after that, it may be best to focus on the pages in the sections the Three Jewels, Philosophy, Problematic Emotions, Practice and Meditation on the left. These are set up like a 'What is Buddhism' course. In the beginning, it may be better to avoid clicking on too many links; these are mainly intended to lead to a deeper level of study materials once you are a bit familiar with the basics.

If you have a little bit of experience and interest in (Buddhist) meditation, then the guided meditations in the Practice & Meditation Section, Problematic Emotions and History of Buddhism may be helpful. However, to really learn Buddhist meditation, there is no substitute to visit a center or group where people give guided meditations and explanations in person.
The other pages on the left contain mainly extra information, like a glossary, stories and quotations, symbolism etc.

This site does not sell anything apart from Buddhist teachings, and they are free! None of the text on these pages is copyrighted (except where explicitly noted) and you are free to use it, the teachings are there for everyone. If you use a text, a link back to this website is much appreciated.

This website keeps growing 'organically': every now and then there may be an extra page, but usually new bits and pieces are added to pages when for example I come across quotations or links which may be as interesting for you as they are for me.

Per September 2006, I'm happy to host a number of Polish prayers and commentaries on this site.
And since March 2008, thanks to Melanie Pelka, a considerable part of the site is translated into German.

May whoever sees, hears, talks, or even thinks about this website,
Never be born in the lower realms,
Receive only perfect human rebirths,
Meet a perfectly qualified spiritual Guide,
Quickly achieve the fully enlightened state,
And as a Buddha, lead all other beings to enlightenment.

Rudy Harderwijk.

Just for fun:

The less we know, the longer the explanation.
B.G.

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.
Bill Watterson

Previous Page | ^Top of Page | Next Page - Where to begin?

Last updated: April 26, 2008