buddhism

The popular distortion of Buddhism seems to be something like this: we have an immortal soul, and the moment we die, this soul searches a new host, and we are born again. Easy to understand (otherwise it wouldn't be popular), but not Buddhism. In fact, Buddhism insists that our consciousness is...

I've been interested in the concept of Zen for the past few years, as a philosophy if not a religion. Are there any folks here with Zen experience who would care to comment? Books I should read? Stuff I should avoid? And no, I'm not shaving my head for anybody...:D And if anyone suggests I'm...

Can anyone enlighten me about whether the Buddha had anything to say about using mind-altering drugs such as alcohol or marijuana? Is there any evidence that he used marijuana himself (more likely than alcohol I suspect)?

Any good links for Buddhist sites would be gratefully appreciated, particularly sites that detail the history of Buddhism and any sites that link to UK-based Buddhist organisations. Thanks

Some of the Buddha's last words were: "Since there is no external saviour, it is up to each of you to work out your own liberation." Does this mean that we need at least 6 billion types of Buddhism?