What the Buddha Taught

In 1958, Walpola Rahula reflects on the public’s growing interest in Buddhism, which prompted the publication of numerous books on Buddhism. However, not all of these resources are reliable. He laments that many interpretations of Buddhism, even by those educated in the topic, are full of inaccuracies and misinterpretations.

Rahula explains that What the Buddha Taught will focus on communicating the Buddha’s actual teachings as recorded in the Pali texts of the Tipitaka. Instead of simplifying Buddhism for a modern Western audience, Rahula will use as much of the Buddha’s own phrasing as possible to communicate his teachings as accurately as he can in an English translation.

What the Buddha Taught will address all of the main tenets of Buddhism, such as The Eightfold Path, The Four Noble Truths, The Five Aggregates, Karma, rebirth, and more. The author will also explain the two main schools of Buddhist thought, Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. While these two forms of the religion hold differences, they agree on the Buddha’s teachings as Rahula will describe them.