Who is the Buddha?

Who is the Buddha? What does it mean to be a Buddhist? Here, a leading Western Buddhist looks at these questions. We see the historical Buddha - the Indian prince who went forth is search of the truth. We see him in the context of human evolution, in the context of karma and rebirth, in the context of time. Above all, we meet him as a man who struggled to understand the mysteries of life, suffering and death. He won that understanding by transcending human life altogether, and becoming a Buddha—'one who knows, who is awake'.

Editor's Preface
1 The Evolution of a Buddha
2 The Way to Enlightenment
3 The Hidden Teachings of the Buddha's Early Life
4 The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism
5 From Hero-worship to the Worshipping Buddha
6 The Word of the Buddha
7 Karma and Rebirth
8 The 'Death' of the Buddha
9 Who is the Buddha
Notes and References
Further Reading
Index