This book looks at three texts, two Theravada and one Mahayana. These ancient texts are discourses the Buddha gave to villagers, some followers of the Buddha's teaching and some not. Together they outline the lay follower's moral precepts, how to clear the mind of greed, anger and delusion and how to meditate. They also clarify some contentious questions such as the role of belief.
Together they answer three important questions:
What makes a worldly person a Buddhist?
What does the Buddha's teaching mean for the world today?