By effort and heedfulness,
discipline and self-mastery,
let the wise one make for himself
an island which no flood can overwhelm.

The Dhammapada - Chapter 2, Verse 25
(Translated by Ācharya Buddharakkhita)
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You don’t need to buy into a special belief system in order to practice Buddhism. Instead, the Buddha taught a set of practices to help others realize enlightenment for themselves. It’s a religion not built on faith, but on the verification of whether or not this practice can help us let go of the cause of our own suffering.

Our perception of the world is shaped by how our minds are conditioned--by culture, by upbringing, by the past, by our opinions. We can become prisoners of our own minds, bound by these perceptions. We see a muddied version of reality that causes unnecessary suffering. Buddhism teaches about reality as it is, versus reality as we perceive it to be.

With effort, heedfulness, discipline, and self-mastery--all of which are free and can be applied immediately--we can create a Heaven, a blissful little island for ourselves, right here on earth.