From 1983 to 1985 when I was in Singapore engaged in the Buddhist studies project at the Curriculum Development Institute, I was invited by the Srilankaramaya Buddhist Temple and a number of Buddhist friends to deliver four series of lectures covering some of the major traditions of Buddhism.
The lectures were popular, and thanks to the efforts of Mr. Yeo Eng Chen and others, they were recorded, transcribed and printed for limited free distribution to students of the Dharma.
In the years since, the lectures which originally appeared in the form of four separate booklets have remained popular and have even been reprinted from time to time.
Consequently, it seemed to me to be desirable to collect the four series of lectures in one volume, and after appropriate revision to publish them for the general use of the public.
In keeping with the original objectives of the lectures, this book is – as far as possible – non-technical.
It is intended for ordinary readers not having any special expertise in Buddhist studies or in Buddhist canonical languages.
Original language terms have therefore been kept to a minimum and foot notes have been avoided.
Names of texts cited are sometimes left untranslated, but this is because the English renderings of some titles are awk-ward and hardly make their subject matter more clear.
In brief I hope that this book will serve as the beginning of its readers’ Buddhist education and not the end of it.
The book can supply a general introduction to the major traditions of Buddhism, but it does not pretend to be complete or definitive.
Neither can I honestly affirm that it is altogether free from errors, and there- fore I apologize in advance for any that may remain in spite of my best efforts.
A number of original language terms and personal names which have by now entered the English language such as ‘Dharma’, ‘karma’, ‘Nirvana’ and ‘Shakyamuni’ have been used throughout the book in their Sanskrit forms.
As for the rest, Pali original language terms, text titles and personal names have been retained in parts I and IV which are largely based on Pali sources, while Sanskrit original language technical terms, text titles and personal names have been used in parts II and III which are largely based on Sanskrit and Tibetan sources.
Occasionally, this general rule has been ignored when the names of texts and per- sons referred to in a given context actually occur in another one of the canonical languages.
In as much as Pali and Sanskrit are in most cases quite similar, I trust the average reader will have no difficulty in coping with this arrangement.
I owe a great debt to a very large number of people for the realization of this book. First and foremost, I would like to thank H.H. Sakya Trizin without whom my interest in Buddhism might well have remained superficial and merely intellectual.
Next I would like to thank Yeo Eng Chen and many other mem- bers of the Singapore Buddhist community without whose help and encouragement the lectures would never have been delivered and the original transcripts on which this book is based, never made.
Then, I would also like to thank a great many friends and students in Asia, Europe and America who encouraged me to think the lectures might be useful for an even wider reader- ship. Finally, I want to thank all those who have been involved in the actual preparation of the present book.
They include, the members of the Chico Dharma study group, specially, Jo and Jim Murphy, Victoria Scott for her help with the manuscript, L. Jamspal for his help with the original language terms, my wife Krishna Ghosh for the many hours she spent checking the manuscript, and my son Siddhartha Della Santina for the cover design and formatting of the manuscript.
