What we today call a religion is the remains of what was once a complete civilisation. This is the theme of Professor Ling’s study of the Buddha and his teaching.

Far from being a recluse concerned only with an inner mystical experience, the Buddha always involved himself closely in the social and political world of his time. If he preached detachment from many of the things by which ordinary men are tied, he did so as a means of enriching life rather than escaping from it.

Trevor Ling describes the India into which the Buddha was born, recounts what is known of his life and the development of his teaching, and then follows the course of Buddhism through succeeding centuries in India and Ceylon.

He describes how it achieved a peak of influence through the conversion of the emperor Asoka, how it proved itself capable of forming the basis of a noble civilisation, but how in the end it lost its influence over public life in India, though it remained influential in Ceylon until the domination of that country by the Europeans.

Throughout the book Professor Ling reveals the intimate links between religious thought and the society in which it exists.

Contents: Map. Part 1 Perspectives: Buddhism and religion; Religions and civilizations. Part 2 North India In The Sixth Century BC: The physical, economic and social environment; Monarchy, the city and individualism; The religious and ideological environment. Part 3 Buddhist Civilization In Principle: Profile of the Buddha; The new wisdom; The new society. Part 4 Buddhist Civilization In Practice: The Ashokan Buddhist state; The Buddhist state in Ceylon; The fate of Buddhist civilization in India; The survival of Buddhist civilization in Ceylon; Epilogue - Beyond the present horizons.

Reviews: 'Probably the most important English contribution to writing directly concerned with the Buddha in the last thirty or forty years ... an admirable and useful book.' New Statesman

'Intensely stimulating ... it is to be hoped that a work so intellectually assured and authoritative, yet so agreeably lucid and perceptive, will be read by many general readers.' New Society

'Cheerful, unstuffy scholarship characterises the absorbing work ... Prince Gotama, the Buddha, his background and thought are meticulously but not ponderously examined. The Buddhist religion is discussed with warmth and understanding.' Sunday Telegraph

'A solid, highly readable and enthralling contribution to a hitherto little-understood subject. It deserves wide distribution and careful study.' Buddhist Quarterly