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Synopsis This work brings together in a single volume the translated essays of Buddhadasa Bhikku, the major interpreter of Theravada Buddhism in southeast Asia. "This is an excellent exposition of present day Theravada Buddhism by a native Thai master. A book of this nature is quite rare to find, especially coming from a living scholar and practitioner. Buddhadasa's interpretation is innovative and thus controversial to traditionalists but it deals frankly with contemporary issues of the world, such as wars, social unrest and ecology. The topic is as old as Buddhism - the focus on the non-self (anatman) doctrine, but its contemporary orientation and analysis is excellent in introducing new approaches and slants ralative to the issues at and." Kenneth K. Inada, State University of New York at Buffalo. "It makes Buddhism accessible to a Western audience by presenting translation of an appealing cross-section of essays from one of Thailand's leading monks. Buddhadasa's strength, attested to by his enormous lay following is that his essays are designed for a general audience and many are directed specifically at Westerners. This and the fluidity of the translation makes the difficult and 'exotic' topic of Theravada Buddhism accessible to a Western audience." Christine E. Gray, Temple University.