Some 2500 years ago in ancient Northeast India, a young, brilliant and courageous man discovered the sublime answer to how the mind works and how to realise unconditioned happiness and bliss. For the next 45 years, he devoted his life to teaching the doctrine that helped bring unparalleled happiness, peace and relief to numerous people long after his death. In time stories began to emerge proclaiming his greatness and his near-divinity status. Over generations and into distant lands, those stories took on a life of their own. Eventually the real man is buried under a mountain of beautiful fantasies and magical tales. Scholars in Buddhist studies have never lost sight of the historical Buddha. There is a beautiful story to tell about the real man but the materials never quite made it to the mass market because academic books are generally hard to read and appreciate. This book seeks to bring the historical Buddha back into the popular psyche. That story is as intriguing, and is perhaps even more inspiring than the best fantasy story that had ever been woven....

“Go now and wander for the welfare and happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the benefit, welfare and happiness of gods and men. Teach the Dhamma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle and good in the end, with the meaning and the letter. Explain a holy life that is utterly perfect and pure. There are beings with little dust in their eyes who will be lost through not hearing the Dhamma. Some will understand the Dhamma.”...

Abbreviations for Pali Canon texts | i Map | ii Author’s request | iii Foreword | ix Life as a Layman | 1 From Home to Homelessness | 29 Enlightenment: Nibbana! Release! | 55 Legend of the Seven Weeks | 89 Unveiling Dhamma | 119 Spreading Dhamma |135 Reaching Out to the Lay Community | 159 Buddha's Foremost Lieutenants | 175 Return to Kapilavatthu |193 Glossary |229...