The Buddha (the “Awakened One”) is the title achieved by Siddhattha Gotama, who lived and taught in north India 2,500 years ago. As a young man he renounced his privileged life to seek an end to suffering and achieved a breakthrough by closely examining his experience. He taught his methods to others, founding the tradition we now call Buddhism. Maria Heim is the George Lyman Crosby 1896 & Stanley Warfield Crosby Professor in Religion at Amherst College. She is the author of Words for the Heart: A Treasury of Emotions from Classical India and one of the translators of How to Lose Yourself: An Ancient Guide to Letting Go (both Princeton).

"Heim's translation offers a wise and psychologically sensitive approach to it, encouraging both an intellectual and a workable understanding. . . . [A]n excellent manual for those engaged in Buddhist practice."

The Buddha (the “Awakened One”) is the title achieved by Siddhattha Gotama, who lived and taught in north India 2,500 years ago. As a young man he renounced his privileged life to seek an end to suffering and achieved a breakthrough by closely examining his experience. He taught his methods to others, founding the tradition we now call Buddhism. Maria Heim is the George Lyman Crosby 1896 & Stanley Warfield Crosby Professor in Religion at Amherst College. She is the author of Words for the Heart: A Treasury of Emotions from Classical India and one of the translators of How to Lose Yourself: An Ancient Guide to Letting Go (both Princeton).

"Heim's translation offers a wise and psychologically sensitive approach to it, encouraging both an intellectual and a workable understanding. . . . [A]n excellent manual for those engaged in Buddhist practice."

The Buddha (the “Awakened One”) is the title achieved by Siddhattha Gotama, who lived and taught in north India 2,500 years ago. As a young man he renounced his privileged life to seek an end to suffering and achieved a breakthrough by closely examining his experience. He taught his methods to others, founding the tradition we now call Buddhism. Maria Heim is the George Lyman Crosby 1896 & Stanley Warfield Crosby Professor in Religion at Amherst College. She is the author of Words for the Heart: A Treasury of Emotions from Classical India and one of the translators of How to Lose Yourself: An Ancient Guide to Letting Go (both Princeton).

"Heim's translation offers a wise and psychologically sensitive approach to it, encouraging both an intellectual and a workable understanding. . . . [A]n excellent manual for those engaged in Buddhist practice."