Besides taking a lot of blood, sweat and tears, relying on self-control to change our habits may not work so well because, well, we run out of blood, sweat and tears. When our tank is empty, that habit comes rushing back with a vengeance.

The Buddha taught that life by its very nature is unsatisfactory, that some level of difficulty exists for all unenlightened beings in creation.

The first teachings the Buddha gave after his enlightenment were the four noble truths. This giving of the truths is often referred to as the setting in motion of the wheel of Dharma.

Varanasi, the holy city of the dead, is a blast of life. Right from the train station, the roads are dense in clanking bicycles, women in black veils...