The Splendour of Asia

the long version

"26 centuries have brought about many changes in Buddhism but the essentials of its ethics and wisdom have been proved by the passage of time to be permanent and enduring. For many it is not merely a religious system but a fundamental philosophy and L. Adams Beck was greatly impressed by its nobility and scientific austerity. It was her contention that a complete awareness and total understanding of its vital spirit would surely ensue from an investigation into the life of the founder of the faith and so she set down in this book an outline of the philosophy in a form that might be readily understood and assimilated. Whatever his religious convictions, the reader cannot but be greatly impressed by the great ventral figure of Gotama the Buddha. The beauty of his life, the serenity of his spiritual teaching are implicit in this reverent and faithful biography."