The Buddha is renowned as the founder of one of the five world religions. This is all the more astonishing because he never claimed to be a prophet. Unlike Mohammed, Moses or Jesus he promises human beings no afterlife in Paradise. Nor does he have any stories of God or God's grace. He simply shows us how we can free ourselves, by our own efforts, from fear and attain to the experience of 'Nirvana'. His concern is Man's self-salvation. He formulates his key idea in the doctrine of the 'Four Noble Truths'.
To live always means also to suffer, runs the first 'Noble Truth', because, says the Buddha: "Ageing is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, to be parted from loved ones is suffering..." The second truth then explains the causes of this suffering. These are, above all, our own wishes and needs for pleasure, youth, attractiveness, health, eternal life and happiness. If we succeeded in freeing ourselves from these things then, the Buddha's third Noble Truth runs, the suffering would end. The fourth Noble Truth, finally, describes the famous 'Eightfold Path' that we need to follow in order to achieve "liberation", "awakening" and "serenity" vis-à-vis our own needs.
The book "Buddha in 60 Minutes" explains this fascinating doctrine in an easy-to-follow way, especially the key idea 'nirvana'. The Buddha, indeed, arrived at his Four Noble Truths and the nirvana experience only through meditation. But his doctrine can be grasped simply through reason. Are the Four Truths correct? Is the Eightfold Path one we can actually travel? Can the nirvana experience actually help us to achieve a redeeming serenity? Here, the Buddha's key ideas are explained using over a hundred of his most important quotations. The book appears as part of the popular series "Great Thinkers in 60 Minutes" which has now been translated worldwide into six languages.
