The word ‘Buddha’ is a title meaning ‘one who is awake’. ‘Buddhism’ is the modern Western label for a tradition of spiritual teaching which is more properly called the Buddhadharma — the teaching of the Buddha — or simply the Dharma.
The Buddha was born Gautama Siddhartha. Siddhartha lived and taught in north-central India probably in the sixth century BCE. He gave up the life of a wealthy prince to practice meditation and penetrate the mystery of what it means to be born, grow old and die. After some years of diligent practice, he described having reached a state of consciousness which was characterized by a direct awareness of ‘the way things really are’. The Buddha described this state of consciousness as featuring an unassailable experience of both inner contentment and active compassion. This state he called Nirvana, (‘Enlightenment’ in English). It is this state that he described himself as being awake to. Find out more about The Buddha.
The Buddha said that Enlightenment is attainable by all human beings. He described exercises which achieved this, the most important being meditation. Ideally this would mean a very dedicated practice based on a withdrawal from worldly concerns, from the home, family and business.
For most modern Westerners, though, the prospect of ‘going forth into the homeless life’ and dedicating oneself to meditation as the Buddha did, is either too daunting or would have harsh consequences on our family. It is very difficult for us to ‘opt-out’ economically, so most of us need to build our spiritual life around work and family.
The Buddha tackled this in his own teaching; he talked about ‘Right’ or ‘Perfect’ Livelihood being the fifth step on the Noble Eightfold Path towards Enlightenment. He felt that the practices of mindfulness and Buddhist ethics, which are crucial to a thriving meditation practice, were applicable whatever one’s lifestyle. Indeed they are principal practices towards maintaining a healthy society.
FwboNet is a Right Livelihood Business. It is based on the supply of a service that is in itself ethical — in other words neither exploitative (of our clients, associates, competitors or the environment) nor fulfilling a spurious consumer ‘need’. It functions on the presumption that spiritual practice — mindfulness and the application of the personal precepts — is a routine and essential function of the business.
In this way FwboNet is contributing to the ideal that a full and effective spiritual life is economically and ethically viable. You can find out more about Right Livelihood Businesses in Transforming Work by Padmasuri (Windhorse Publications 2003).
Find out more about Buddhism