The Buddha-Dhamma (Bhikkhu Bodhi)

Nobody explained existence this clearly — except the Buddha himself

Ego (Buddhism podcast) Buddhism Explained 🌿 Why are we here? [Can we go now? Can we hang out a little longer?] What is the meaning of existence? These timeless questions have haunted humanity for millennia.

And more than 2,500 years ago, one man offered the clearest, most transformative answer ever given — the Buddha. In this compelling exploration of the Buddha’s life and mission, we retrace his journey from hedonistic royal comfort to shamanic spiritual awakening, his fearless renunciation of power and pleasure in pursuit of a deeper truth, and his discovery of the Middle Way — a path of profound insight, mental clarity, and ethical freedom.

Through stories like Kisagotami, the grieving mother, and Angulimala, the feared mass murderer turned monk, we witness how the Buddha’s wisdom was not just a philosophy, but a living force of compassion and transformation.

Who was "the Buddha"?

Bhikkhu Bodhi introduces The Buddha's Teaching: As It Is (Lecture 1)

🔍 This video reveals:

• – Why the Buddha rejected metaphysical speculation and instead focused on the practical problem of suffering
• – How his teaching remains universally relevant in a world flooded with confusion, anxiety, and distraction
• – What makes the Dhamma radically empowering: no savior to worship, no doctrine to blindly follow — just insight, mindfulness, and ethical responsibility

🙏 Whether a long-time Buddhist practitioner or simply searching for clarity in a chaotic world, this teaching offers a timeless mirror to see self — and life — more clearly.

💬 "Come and see for yourself," the Buddha said. This may be the most direct, most human explanation of existence ever shared.

📌 Remember to like, comment, and subscribe if this message resonates in the heart.

The Buddha and His Dhamma

Bhikkhu Bodhi anthology

Buddhism originated with an Indian Scythian prince known as [Prince Siddhartha Gautama or Siddhattha Gotama, later called "the Enlightened One" or] the Buddha, who taught in [the frontier] Northeast [of future] India [Scythia, Saka, Shakya Land, Central Asia, ancient Gandhara, next to proto-India at a time when there was not yet an "India" but there had already been a Maha Bharat] in the fifth century BCE.

Two centuries later, with the support of the Buddhist Emperor Asoka [who created "India" by uniting disparate kingdoms on the subcontinent or Jambudvipa/Roseapple Land], Buddhism spread over the greater part of India and from there traveled the full breadth of the Asian continent.

In several tidal waves of missionary zeal, it rose up from its Indian homeland and inundated other regions, offering the peoples among whom it took root a solid foundation of faith [saddha, verifiable confidence] and wisdom upon which to build their lives and a source of inspiration towards which to direct their hopes.

At different points in history Buddhism has commanded followings in countries as diverse geographically, ethnically, and culturally as Afghanistan [Kapilavastu/Kapilavatthu, Kabul, Bamiyan, and Mes Aynak] and Japan, Siberia and Cambodia, Korea and Sri Lanka; yet, all have looked towards the same Indian sage as their master. More

• Ego (Buddhism Podcast), July 8, 2025; Bhikkhu Bodhi, As It Is, Tape 1; Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2006, BPS.lk, Wheel 433, The Buddha and His Dhamma, Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), Nov. 30, 2013; Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly