Lachlan Brown
Sometimes, life feels like walking a tightrope.
One side pulls you toward ambition, success, and doing more.
The other urges you to slow down, let go, and just be.
In between, there’s this fragile line where peace exists—not because everything is perfect, but because you’re balanced enough to stay steady no matter what sways around you.
Buddha didn’t promise a life free from suffering.
But he did offer a path—one that winds between extremes.
Not indulgence. Not denial.
Just a middle way, where peace comes not from escaping the world, but learning how to live in it with clarity, kindness, and balance.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re too tired to keep pushing, or too lost to know which way to turn, these teachings might offer a kind of stillness—not as an escape, but as an anchor.
Here are nine key teachings from Buddha that have helped me find my own version of inner peace.
Maybe one or two of them will land with you, too.
1. Everything is impermanent
Nothing stays the same—not joy, not pain, not even the version of yourself you’re holding onto right now.
At first, this idea might feel unsettling.
But impermanence also means that no feeling is final. No failure defines you forever. And no achievement guarantees lasting happiness.
The teaching here isn’t to detach from life. It’s to stop gripping it so tightly.
Can you let things come and go without always trying to make them last?
2. Desire creates suffering
We all want things—love, success, recognition, safety.
But Buddha taught that when our desires become attachments, they lead to suffering. Why?
Because everything we cling to is subject to change.
Wanting is natural. But when wanting turns into grasping, peace disappears.
Instead of needing the world to give you something, what if you asked yourself: what am I trying to fill?
Sometimes, just noticing the hunger is enough to soften it.
3. Walk the middle path
This is the heart of Buddha’s teaching—and maybe the hardest to live.
The middle path doesn’t mean being neutral or passive.
It means knowing when to rest and when to push. When to speak and when to stay silent. When to hold on and when to let go.
It’s like tuning an instrument. Too tight, and the string snaps. Too loose, and the music is flat.
Inner peace is learning how to stay in tune with your own life.
4. Compassion starts with yourself
We often think of compassion as something we give to others.
But it begins with how you speak to yourself—especially when you’ve messed up, fallen short, or feel completely unworthy.
Buddha didn’t shame people into growth.
He saw their suffering and offered a path out. What if you could do the same for yourself?
In those moments when you’re beating yourself up, can you pause and say: “This, too, is part of being human”?
5. Mindfulness is the gateway to peace
You can’t change what you don’t notice.
And you can’t find peace if you’re always somewhere else—in the past, in the future, in someone else’s approval.
Mindfulness isn’t about emptying your mind. It’s about seeing clearly.
Observing your thoughts without getting swept up in them.
Try this: take one deep breath. Feel it all the way in. Then let it out slowly.
You’re here now. And that’s enough.
6. Thoughts are not facts
We tend to believe our thoughts because they sound like us.
But not every thought deserves our attention.
Buddha taught that the mind, when untamed, can be a source of suffering.
It’s like a wild animal—it can hurt you, or it can be trained to help you see clearly.
Next time your mind tells you you’re not enough, or that something terrible is bound to happen, ask: is this real—or just a story I’ve told myself so many times that it feels true?
7. Let go of what no longer serves you
Sometimes we carry pain because we don’t know who we’d be without it.
Anger, resentment, regret—they become part of our identity.
But peace doesn’t come from holding on. It comes from release.
Letting go isn’t forgetting. It’s remembering who you are underneath the weight.
If you set that burden down—just for a moment—what would open up inside you?
8. You are not separate from others
We live in a world that prizes individualism.
But Buddha taught that all things are connected. What affects one, affects all.
The way you treat others shapes the peace you feel within.
Kindness isn’t just moral—it’s practical. It soothes the nervous system, lowers anxiety, and brings a sense of wholeness.
When you’re struggling, ask: how can I be a source of peace in someone else’s day?
Often, that ripples back to you.
9. Inner peace is a practice, not a destination
We often chase peace like it’s a prize—something we’ll feel once we figure everything out.
But peace is more like a muscle. You strengthen it by returning to it again and again, especially when it’s inconvenient.
There’s no finish line. Just this moment. And then the next.
Buddha didn’t teach perfection. He taught presence.
What would change if you stopped trying to “arrive” and just chose peace one breath at a time?
A quiet metaphor for inner peace
Imagine a snow globe.
When shaken, everything is cloudy and chaotic. You can’t see clearly.
But if you set it down, the flakes settle. The scene becomes visible again.
Your mind is the same.
Inner peace doesn’t come from controlling the storm.
It comes from learning how to pause long enough to let the storm settle on its own.
The middle path—Buddha’s great teaching—isn’t about never getting shaken.
It’s about knowing how to return to stillness.
Final thoughts
Buddha’s teachings weren’t designed for monks alone.
They were meant for all of us—for parents, teachers, artists, entrepreneurs, wanderers, and worriers alike.
You don’t need to change your life to find peace.
You just need to meet your life with more balance. More stillness. More gentle curiosity.
Start with one teaching.
Sit with it. See how it feels in your real, messy, beautiful life.
That’s where the peace begins.
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