The spirit with which this book has been written is one of profound respect for Gautama Buddha. Buddhists of South East Asia, where this edition is being published, should find in this book much that will provoke thought. Most importantly, they will find nothing in it which, viewed objectively, should cause offense.

". . . What struck me most while reading Imran's magnificent book was the lucidity of, and clarity in, the treatment and almost awe-inspiring simplicity of style with which the argument has been presented by the author at first to expound and then to critically appraise what, after all, is a highly complex philosophical conception of religion by which a considerable bulk of humanity of today claims to regulate its life....the principal points made in this book tend to show an amazing and original mind at work. For that reason this book is likely to be ranked as one of the most significant contributions that have been made to the literature of comparative religion...." [A. K. Brohi, an eminent Muslim jurist] - from Amzon