Self-Development in Accordance with Buddhist Principles

Abstract

The purposes of this article were to study the Buddhist principles for self-development in terms of behavioral and moral development, wisdom development, and spiritual and emotional development. The results of the study showed that human behavior is influenced by internal factors which are his or her mind and innate characteristic, and external factors which are the ways he or she is educated and trained, association with friends, and surrounding environments. Buddhism teaches human beings to practice morality in order to purify physical and verbal behavior to be free from sin and evil-doing. Buddhism teaches human beings to develop wisdom through education, contemplation with consciousness, and meditation practice. It also teaches human beings about spiritual development in order to improve the mind to be peaceful, happy, stable, and unmoved by worldly matters. The results of development based on Buddhism will lead to appropriate and acceptable behavior and etiquette as well as good conduct with loving-kindness, compassion, and generosity. Additionally, practicing Buddhist principles can give practitioners a peaceful mind that is free from selfishness, greed, hatred, delusion, and revenge, which will lead to creating peace and happiness for practitioners themselves and society at large.