# BuddhaUR - Learn Early Buddhism Through Conversation

> A mobile app that teaches early Buddhist wisdom through AI-powered conversation,
> grounded in authentic texts with tappable citations you can verify.
> Everything in the app is free. Optional support plans exist for those able to give.

## What is BuddhaUR?

BuddhaUR is a mobile-first Buddhist learning and practice companion that teaches
early Buddhist wisdom through conversation. Users ask real questions about life,
meditation, ethics, and Buddhist doctrine, and receive thoughtful answers with
tappable citations to the earliest Buddhist texts (suttas).

This is not a generic AI chatbot. BuddhaUR uses retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)
to ground every response in authentic early Buddhist sources, preventing hallucinations
and ensuring teachings align with the Pali Canon.

## Core Value Proposition

Learn Buddhism the way the Buddha taught it: through conversation, questions, and practice.

Unlike static Buddhist apps, BuddhaUR creates an interactive learning experience where
every teaching is cited, every claim is verifiable, and every conversation adapts to
your personal journey.

The promise: a curriculum where every teaching traces to the suttas, personalized to
your life, delivered in a way that lets you verify it for yourself. Not a creed. A method.

## Key Features

### 1. Conversational AI Teacher
- Ask any question about Buddhism, meditation, ethics, or life challenges
- Warm, patient, Socratic teaching style
- Adapts to your experience level and interests
- Uses stories, metaphors, and practical examples
- Unlimited — no message caps

### 2. Authentic Citations
- Every response includes tappable citations [1], [2], etc.
- Citations link to SuttaCentral.net translations
- Sources include Bhikkhu Sujato's scholarly translations
- Knowledge base covers the four main Nikāyas:
  - Dīgha Nikāya (Long Discourses)
  - Majjhima Nikāya (Middle-Length Discourses)
  - Saṃyutta Nikāya (Connected Discourses)
  - Aṅguttara Nikāya (Numerical Discourses)

### 3. Structured Lessons
- 47+ numbered Buddhist frameworks available as guided lessons
- Categories include:
  - Core Teachings (Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path)
  - Ethical Training (Sīla) - Five Precepts, Right Speech, etc.
  - Mental Development (Samādhi) - Concentration, Hindrances
  - Insight & Wisdom (Paññā) - Three Characteristics, Aggregates
  - Stages of Awakening
  - Practical Wisdom
  - Advanced Practices
- Each lesson is chat-driven, not static text
- Includes follow-up suggestions and story mode

### 4. Daily Dhamma Talk
- Personalized AI-generated daily teaching
- Draws from your lesson history, quiz performance, and interests
- Saved to conversation history for later review
- Free and unlimited for everyone

### 5. Practice Quizzes & Adaptive Practice
- Topic-based quizzes aligned with the 47+ lesson frameworks
- Multiple choice format with immediate feedback
- Adaptive Practice: AI selects questions based on your weaknesses
- Tracks attempts, scores, and improvement over time

### 6. Meditation Timer
- Clean, distraction-free timer
- Presets: 2, 5, 10, 30, 45, 60 minutes (or custom)
- Alert options: Gong, vibration, or silent
- Session notes and reflection logging
- "Chat about this session" integration

### 7. Meditation Lessons (9 topics)
- Concentration (Samatha)
- Insight (Vipassanā)
- Loving-Kindness (Mettā)
- Breath Awareness (Ānāpānasati)
- Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna)
- Working with Hindrances
- Divine Abodes (Brahmavihārā)
- Absorption States (Jhānas)
- Posture & Daily Practice

### 8. Explore the Dhamma Map
- Interactive mind map visualization
- Browse all 47+ numbered frameworks
- See relationships between teachings
- Deep link from map nodes to lessons

### 9. Personalization & Memory
- App remembers your journey (profile, preferences, challenges)
- Personalized conversation starters
- Contextual follow-up suggestions
- Memory is user-controlled and private

### 10. Progress Tracking
- Daily practice streaks
- Lesson completion tracking
- Quiz performance history
- Meditation session logs
- Achievement milestones

### 11. Shareable Teachings
- When a teaching lands, users can save it as a citation-backed card
- Cards can be shared with a friend wrestling with the same thing
- Recipients can read the exact teaching on the web at https://buddha-ur.com/shared

## Public Website Surfaces

### Field Guide (https://buddha-ur.com/field-guide)
- 12 free field-note pages for everyday stuck patterns (anger, resentment,
  anxious forecasting, doubt, grief, shame, and more)
- Each entry connects a lived situation to a sutta lens and a one-day practice
  experiment, with a citation to the source text
- Designed as a recognition-first entry point, not diagnosis or therapy

### Blog (https://buddha-ur.com/blog)
- Accessible essays on early Buddhist teachings, grounded in the Pali Canon
- Written in a student-sharing voice, not a teacher voice
- Topics include the Five Hindrances, dukkha (the First Noble Truth),
  the Eight Worldly Winds, and anattā (not-self)

### Daily Sutta Challenge (https://buddha-ur.com/challenge)
- A free daily one-question challenge drawn from the numbered frameworks
- Answerable on the web with no account; explanations cite the source sutta

### Explore the Dhamma (https://buddha-ur.com/explore)
- Interactive web map of the 47+ numbered frameworks and their relationships

## Target Audience

1. **Buddhism-curious beginners** wanting an accessible entry point
2. **Meditators** seeking consistency and doctrinal context
3. **Practitioners** wanting depth with source verification
4. **Busy people** applying Buddhist tools to real-life challenges
5. **Skeptics** who appreciate cited, verifiable teachings

## Pricing

**Everything in BuddhaUR is free for everyone. There are no feature gates,
no daily limits, and no paywalled content.**

- Unlimited lessons and quizzes
- Unlimited conversations with the suttas
- Unlimited Daily Dhamma talks
- Meditation timer and guided practices
- Conversation history, streaks, and adaptive practice

The app follows a dāna (generosity) model: optional support plans exist for
those able to give, and support unlocks nothing — the goal is access, not
gatekeeping.

- Support plans: $5/month, $40/year, or $100 lifetime
- Supporters keep the servers running and the teachings accessible to everyone

## Download

- iOS App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/buddhaur-find-peace/id6752915041
- Google Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skylark.buddhaur

## Technical Implementation

- **Frontend:** React Native (Expo) for iOS and Android
- **Backend:** Node.js Express API with MongoDB
- **AI:** OpenAI models for teaching responses, grounded via retrieval
- **Embeddings + Vector Search:** semantic search over the sutta corpus
  (MongoDB Atlas Vector Search)
- **Knowledge Base:** ~10,000+ text chunks from early Buddhist sources
- **Citation faithfulness:** every citation a teaching emits is checked against
  the actually-retrieved sutta sources — the app never invents a citation

## Knowledge Base Sources

BuddhaUR's knowledge base includes:

1. **Early Buddhist Suttas**
   - Translations by Bhikkhu Sujato (SuttaCentral.net)
   - Creative Commons licensed
   - Chunked for precise retrieval (~300 words per chunk)

2. **Numbered Frameworks**
   - 47+ Buddhist numbered lists and frameworks
   - Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path, Five Precepts
   - Five Aggregates, Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
   - Five Hindrances, Seven Factors of Enlightenment
   - Four Foundations of Mindfulness, Four Brahmavihārās
   - And many more

## Company

**Developer:** Skylark Creations
**Founder:** David Kooi (mathematician, statistician, empiricist)
**Contact:** hello@buddha-ur.com
**Website:** https://buddha-ur.com

## Philosophy

BuddhaUR is built on principles:

1. **Authenticity:** Grounded in the earliest Buddhist sources
2. **Transparency:** Every teaching cited and verifiable
3. **Accessibility:** Everything free for everyone; support is optional dāna
4. **Practice:** Not just theory—meditation, quizzes, daily habits
5. **Personalization:** Adapts to your unique journey

## What BuddhaUR is NOT

- NOT medical or mental health advice
- NOT "mindfulness lite" or generic self-help
- NOT a replacement for a teacher or sangha
- NOT affiliated with any specific Buddhist lineage or sect
- NOT freemium — there is no paid tier of features; support is a donation

## Social

- Website: https://buddha-ur.com
- Support: hello@buddha-ur.com

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Last updated: 2026-07-07