No creator god. No ultimate beginning to the universe. Existence is a beginningless cycle of dependent origination (pratityasamutpada). The universe arises, persists, and dissolves through natural processes of cause and effect. The Buddha considered cosmogonic speculation unhelpful (the 'poisoned arrow' parable).

The Five Precepts, the Noble Eightfold Path, and the cultivation of the Brahmaviharas (loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, equanimity).

To end suffering (dukkha) by attaining Nirvana — the cessation of craving, aversion, and delusion. The Bodhisattva ideal (Mahayana) extends this to liberating all sentient beings.

Suffering (dukkha) is the First Noble Truth — inherent in conditioned existence. Caused by craving (tanha) and ignorance (avijja) via dependent origination. Not punishment but a natural consequence of the human condition. The entire Buddhist path is a response to suffering.

The Buddha's teachings (Dharma) will gradually decline over 5,000 years. The future Buddha Maitreya will appear to restore the Dharma. The universe itself passes through cycles of expansion and contraction. No final end — the process is endless. Individual 'eschatology' is Nirvana — exit from the cycle.