"The essence of Buddha’s teachings is simple and can be practiced in our daily lives: we should help others as much as possible, and when that isn’t possible, we should avoid harming them. This is compassion and wisdom. This is common sense. It’s not mystical or magical, nor is it irrational or dogmatic. All of the Buddha’s teachings are geared to enable us to develop wisdom and compassion and integrate them into our daily lives. Common sense isn’t just discussed intellectually, it’s lived.
The Buddha’s teachings are called “the middle way”because they are free from extremes. Just as self-indulgence is an extreme, so is self-mortification. The purpose of the Dharma is to help us relax and enjoy life, although this isn’t in the usual sense of sleeping and going to parties. We learn how to relax destructive emotions and attitudes that prevent us from being happy. We understand how to enjoy life without clinging, obsession and worry. There is an old idea that to be religious or “holy”we must deny ourselves happiness. That is incorrect. Everyone wants to be happy, and it would be wonderful if we all were. But, it’s helpful if we understand what happiness is and what it isn’t."
"Thubten Chodron, born Cheryl Greene, is an American Tibetan Buddhist nun, author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the United States."
-- Wikipedia
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