The Essence of Buddhism

The essence of Buddhism is a state of being that brings about great pleasure in your life. Never mind the confusion that all the so called 'enlightened' people say. What is it that brings about great pleasure in your life?
The only condition to this is that you will have to free yourself from illusion. Buddhism teaches that illusions are everywhere in your life and you probably don't even realize it. Most don't. To me, there is a simplicity that exists at a deep level that most of us overlook. Mindfulness brings about a condition of pleasure in our lives.
"What is right mindfulness? It is when one contemplates body as body, with depth, clearly aware and mindful... In this way having put aside fretting for the world."
-The Buddha, Digha Nikaya, 22
To me, mindfulness in day to day interactions is being there, where you are, and interacting with that moment, with feeling and awareness. And, when you drift from mindfulness, this condition of being awake to the moment, you simply bring yourself back to this state of awareness. Devoted awareness is a good way to think of this. This is Buddhism.
There's no doubt that this takes training and development in order to attain, but that's the fun of it. In fact, as you move forward on this inner spiritual path you may not even be aware of how far you've come along the path. It is good to be mindful of this too. In this way you will be appreciative of your life. This is one of the ways to experience true joy in your life.
Mindful is defined in the dictionary as being attentive, aware and careful... being mindful of one's responsibilities. This is a good definition. Mindfulness, then, is the 'act' of these qualities. Really, being mindful is giving simplicity to the moment and this, to me, is what the Buddha was really teaching.
The problem, from my experiences, is that people are new to this simple concept and it doesn't seem so simple to them. It is also that people have a lack of understanding of the world that they live in. What I mean by this isn't so much that the world externally is different for you then it is for me, but that internally it may well be very different.
I remember a conversation years ago I had with a person that went something like this:
I said, "Beautiful weather this summer."
He said, "It's been bloody cold."
I said, "Really, we've been setting record highs."
He said, "Not from what I can see."
Now, I remember that summer. It was one of those long, hot summers where it was hard to sleep at night because of the heat. The weather person on television was talking about the new high, etc. For me, coming from a colder climate, I actually embrace this. But for this individual, whatever it was, he felt and believed that it wasn't very pleasant weather at all.
How do we get two extremes like this? Obviously the 'real' external world is there as it is. But, we both interpreted it very differently. Why? For this individual it may have been that he wasn't feeling well and was a bit chilled. He may have had a long term cold of some sort. Maybe he was depressed and this is how he perceived the external world. Whatever the cause, the reality is that he viewed the world this way.
I have to stay open minded to this. Maybe the weather person and myself were wrong in our perception. The point is to experience things for what they really are, and the joy of existence that goes along with this, we have to be aware of the reality of life.
This is being attentive and aware. This is being mindful. Which then allows us to be careful and to make the right choices. This is Buddhism. As a result better karma comes our way. Of course, this all takes practice. And, to me, karma isn't what many consider it to be, but that's a different topic.
The act of being mindful in Buddhism means facing into reality. Taking off the blinders and having a good look at things. It means when you start to be overcome with fear, anxiety, panic, depression... or any type of unease take a good look at your situation, at how things really are. Process what you really see.
In this way, over the course of time, you will free yourself from the fear, anxiety, depressions or whatever ails you in this way. The particular unease that you feel in your life will begin to lift. This is what happened to me.
To be able to take a good look at reality and be attentive to it, it helps to eliminate mind chatter or monkey mind as much as possible. These are the various thoughts that arise inside you. These thoughts may be harmless distractions or they may be cause for concern. Often, meditation helps to lessen and eliminate them.
So, in order to be more mindful, start observing your reality. Become aware, attentive and use this insight to be careful of your choices. Don't be overly cautious and don't throw caution to the wind. Try and do this without the influence of past beliefs. Try to do this from a fresh perspective of your current situation.
For me, a daily meditation really helps. In Buddhism meditation is very popular. The reason is that it helps clear the mind. If you haven't already, try a daily meditation routine. Meditation can be done in small increments or it can be done in longer sessions. At first you will most likely stay with it if you do it in small sessions. Later you will probably progress to longer sessions.
When you begin this practice go easy on yourself above all else. When you forget to be aware, laugh and smile. Bring yourself back to the moment. This too, is Buddhism. Also, go easy on others. They often do and say things that are completely nonsensical because they are lost in an external world of illusion and delusion. The same world that you and I are breaking free from.
I believe Buddhism is about this, understanding of the way 'our' existence is and living in that existence with all others in a peaceful way.

1) The Essence of Buddhism and Buddha-The Three Fires

2) The Essence of Buddha -The Five Aggregates

3) The Essence of Buddha -Grounded Knowledge

4) Essence of Buddhism -The Truth of Suffering .END=OM MANI PADME HUM.( 3 TIMES ).RESEARCH TIBET DHARMA BY VENERABLE GESHE TESERING TASHI.VIETNAMESE TIBET NUN.28/1/2012.NEW ZEALAND.