Buddhism: An Overview Introduction Buddhism (Sanskrit: बुद्धधर्म, Buddhadharma; also बौद्ध धर्म, Bauddha Dharma; Pāli: Buddhasāsana) is a family of teachings and practices that began in northern India and spread across Asia over more than two thousand years. It centers on the awakening (bodhi, enlightenment) realized by the historical Buddha—Siddhārtha Gautama (Pāli: Siddhattha Gotama; Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ […]
Siddhārtha Gautama (the Buddha): History, Teachings, and Legacy Introduction Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama), known as Śākyamuni (Sanskrit: शाक्यमुनि, “sage of the Śākyas”) and commonly called “the Buddha” (“the Awakened One”), is the historical figure whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism. Modern scholarship places him in North India and the Himalayan […]
The Bodhi Tree (Bodhivṛkṣa) The Bodhi Tree (Sanskrit: bodhivṛkṣa, बोधिवृक्ष; Pali: bodhirukkha)—also called the Bo tree or sacred fig—refers to the Ficus religiosa at Bodh Gaya, India, under which Siddhārtha Gautama is held to have attained awakening (bodhi). In Buddhist sources and later usage, “Bodhi tree” also names ritually propagated descendants planted at pilgrimage sites […]
Be Here Now (1971) by Ram Dass — Overview, Context, and Reception Introduction Be Here Now (also published as Remember, Be Here Now, 1971) is a widely read spiritual book by Ram Dass—born Richard Alpert; also known as “Baba Ram Dass,” from Sanskrit राम दास, “servant of Rāma”—produced with the Lama Foundation community in New […]
A cross-tradition term for clear recognition of reality marked by reduced selfing, nonduality, and ethical transformation; framed by training and culture and studied via phenomenology, psychometrics, and neuroscience.
U.S.-born nondual spiritual teacher (born Stephen Gray, 1962), trained in Zen, known for a practice-forward, tradition-agnostic approach emphasizing direct realization and integration; began teaching in 1996; now retired from in-person teaching, with recordings via Open Gate Sangha.