Once in a while there emerge on the world scene certain epoch-making personalities who, through their lives and thoughts, exert profound influence extending far beyond the boundaries of place and time, and change the course of human history itself. Undoubtdely one of the greatest and unprecedented among such personalities was the Buddha. The teachings of the Buddha have in the past informed the life and conduct of peoples in both the East and the West and continue to do so even today with unabated vigour.
