Becoming then means a personal growth or maturing, becoming a true human being. It is this sense that Buddhism directs us to attain this crossing of the vertical axis and horizontal axis which is a life of becoming, a life of awakening. Buddhism teaches us to question the very foundation of our human life and the way we live. Through the Dharma, he teaches us of the possibility of change, that each of us can realize change and it allows us to mature and grow. Through learning the Dharma, little by little, we become a true being.
Religions generally begin with a presumption of the existence of an absolute god or being.
We are taught to follow the teachings and heart of that absolute being, and to live in a relationship with that absolute being. In a sense then we take on an identity solely dependent on the absolute being or god. Buddhism is completely in contrast to this way of thinking. Rather, the Buddha teaches us to question ourselves, and thereby become ourselves. This concludes the discussion of the Fundamental Principles of Buddhism in a very limited sense.