The wheel of life. The Three Marks of Existence are suffering, impermanence and not-self. They are the distinctive features of what Buddhists call samsara. Samsara is the endless round of birth, change, death, and rebirth. The changes that occur in one lifetime continue through many lives, in human and animal forms. These truths are often represented in Buddhist art by a wheel of life. This wheel has at its centre symbols of greed, hatred, and ignorance.

Next come representations of the different realms in which beings live. On the outside is the Twelve-Linked Chain of Dependent Origination. This shows how one thing leads to another, or how one state comes into existence as result of another. For example, bad habits may depend on ignorance, or desire may lead to clinging. Two points where the chain can be broken most effectively are at the links that concern desire and ignorance. Then samsara is transformed into nirvana and the endless round of suffering is changed into happiness.

The middle way.
The Buddhist way of life is one of moderation. Buddhists believe in the middle way. This is based on the Buddha's discovery that happiness is found neither in self-indulgence nor extreme self-denial. There is a strong belief in karma. Karma means deeds, but the teaching of karma is a law of cause and effect. Karma influences how people behave.

However unfair life seems at any given moment, nothing is ever wasted. The present is the fruit of the past, and the seed of the future. Thoughts and actions bear fruit in our lives, according to the intentions behind them, though this is not always obvious to other people.

The five precepts.
The basis of all Buddhist practice is morality. The Buddha recommended certain ways of living as helpful on the path toward nirvana. Buddhists undertake these as rules of training, and follow five precepts as a part of their daily lives. These are listed under right speech and right action in the Eightfold Path.

At many Buddhist ceremonies and meetings, people recite the three refuges and five precepts. Members of the monastic sangha undertake a further five precepts, making ten in all. They undertake rules of training to refrain from:

1. harming any living thing;
2. taking what is not given;
3. misuse of the senses, such as unchastity;
4. wrong speech;
5. taking drugs or drink which cloud the mind;
6. taking food at unseasonable times, such as after midday;
7. dancing, music, singing, and unseemly shows;
8. the use of garlands, perfumes, unguents, and things that tend to beautify and adorn the person;
9. using high and luxurious seats and beds;
10. accepting gold or silver.