Walpola Rahula's What the Buddha Taught is a perennial backlist bestseller and has proven to be an indispensable guide to beginning Buddhism. It is renowned for its authoritative, clear, logical, and comprehensive approach. The Heritage of the Bhikkhu is a vivid account of the Buddhist's monk's role as a servant to people's needs as a follower and teacher of the basic Buddhist principles. In this fascinating and informative volume, the author emphasizes Buddhism as a practical doctrine for daily living and spiritual perfection and not simply a monastic discipline. The Heritage of the Bhikkhu is a pioneering work that deserves to stand with the author's earlier masterpiece.
Walpola Rahula's What the Buddha Taught is a perennial backlist best-seller and has proven to be an indispensable guide to beginning Buddhism. It is renowned for its authoritative, clear, logical, and comprehensive approach. The Heritage of the Bhikkhu is a vivid account of the Buddhist monk's role as a servant to people's needs as a follower and teacher of the basic Buddhist principles. In this fascinating and informative volume, the author -- a noted Buddhist monk and scholar who received monastic training and education in Sri Lanka -- emphasizes Buddhism as a practical doctrine for daily living and spiritual perfection, not simply a monastic discipline. The Heritage of the Bhikkhu is a pioneering work that deserves to stand with the author's earlier masterpiece.