The Buddha taught that the world as we experience it is impermanent and unsatisfactory, that there is a reason why we experience the world in this way, that there is a state of utter peace and contentment that can be experienced here and now, and that there is a way that leads to this state - in short, the Four Noble Truths.

Amongst the other key teachings that inform the Buddhist perspective is that of rebirth. The Buddha taught that we are born and reborn many times and that there are six realms of existence into which we can be reborn. These are the hell worlds, the realm of 'hungry ghosts', the animal realm, the human realm, the realm of jealous gods and the heavenly worlds. None of these worlds are satisfactory, though some are worse than others.

The world of hell-beings, hungry ghosts and animals are worlds where suffering and ignorance are the most acute. In the world of the jealous gods there is power but no peace. Even the world of gods - though pleasurable and long-lasting - will bring no ultimate satisfaction.

According to Buddhism, the best rebirth is that of a human being as it offers the best opportunity for gaining enlightenment. In the heavenly world, the gods are too absorbed in pleasure to make the necessary effort for spiritual realization. The other realms offer few opportunities for good actions and spiritual advancement. The human realm, however, has a certain degree of dissatisfaction coupled with opportunities for good action and spiritual practice.

Unlike the perspective of the Indian religious tradition of his time, the Buddha did not espouse reincarnation - the idea that a permanent self or soul transmigrates from birth to birth. The Buddhist perspective is that the self is an insubstantial, impermanent collection of interacting factors rather than something fixed and stable. One analogy that is used is to describe the move from life to life as a flame that is transferred from candle to candle. Though there is continuity from one flame to the next, the flame is constantly changing.

The realm into which we are born depends on our actions. Good actions lead to happy states; bad actions lead to unhappy ones. For example, a generous heart is said to lead to wealth and prosperity and a loving heart is said to result in a beautiful form. A life that is lived well will result in a good human rebirth or a rebirth in one of the heavens. A life of cruelty and/or hatred will result in a rebirth in one of the lower realms.

This 'wandering' from birth to birth within these six realms is known as samsara. The ultimate goal is to escape from this cycle of birth and death to Nibbana or Nirvana, a state of ultimate bliss, rather than a heavenly realm which, as described before, offers no lasting satisfaction.