This guest post is written by Kate Harveston, a writer and political activist from Pennsylvania. She blogs about culture and politics, and the various ways that those elements act upon each other. For more of her work, you can follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her blog, Only Slightly Biased.

Some consider Buddhism a religion, while others say it’s more of a philosophy. Oftentimes, it’s referred to as a path or a practice: something you do, rather than something you believe.

Although it’s often classified as a religion, it differs in significant ways from how traditional religion generally operates. It’s much less dogmatic and does involve more practice than anything else.

While more study and experience is needed to really understand Buddhism than this post can provide, the many great characteristics of Buddhism lend to its usefulness in our daily lives, and those who practice don’t necessarily having to ascribe to everything about it. Once put into practice, many of these ideas can improve our lives in numerous ways. Continue reading “4 lifestyle shifts we can take from Buddhism”