Walpola Rahula (1907–1997)

". . . a true Buddhist is the happiest of beings. He has no fears or anxieties. He is always calm and serene, and cannot be upset or dismayed by changes or calamities, because he sees things as they are." (p. 27)

The author, the Venerable Dr. Walpola Sri Rahula, was a Buddhist monk trained in Ceylon. His doctoral thesis was on the history of Buddhism in Ceylon. He did his own translations of the Suttas and verses from the Dhammapada included here.

I found the book difficult to understand, despite Dr. Rahula's history as a professor, probably because it packs two thousand years of teaching and commentary into one small package for the beginner. Ironically, though, it was by reading this book that I gained my first real understanding of Theravada, or The Way of the Elders, after decades of fiddling around the edges of Buddhism. And it was after reading this book that I decided to quit fiddling and become a Buddhist.

The book is organized into eight chapters, covering the Buddhist attitude of mind, the Four Noble Truths (Chapters II-V), the doctrine of no-soul, meditation, and the relevance of Buddhism in the modern world. With 47 pages of selected texts, a Pali-English glossary, and nine blank pages in the back for your notes, it is a complete introduction for the studious person hoping to understand Buddhism. If I were teaching a college course on this, I would take it for my text.… (mehr)

4 stars

A fine starting point for people who want to find out more about their spirituality by applying various Buddhist doctrines and ideas to their life. It inspired me to start doing yoga and meditating daily, which helped me a lot physically and mentally at the time and is worth trying.
It contains a large amount of Buddhist philosophy, but some definitions may seem somewhat superficial – it’s a book for beginners after all.

I’d suggest it to anyone who has heard little about Buddhist ideas that the name of its figurehead, Buddha. It’s quite inspiring and enlightening at the same time.… (mehr)