In This Magisterial Study Of The Social Élan Of Early Buddhism, Nalin Swaris Argues That The Radical Thrust Of The Buddha S Teaching Is Based On His Realisation That The Individual Is A Fiction Of Human Craving. The Buddha S Decision To Found A Community Of Compassion And Sharing Was The Practical Expression Of His Conviction That Individualism Is The Principal Obstacle To Human Happiness. The Buddha S Way Was Not Discovered And Preached In A Social Vacuum. Orthodox Hinduism Classifies Its Sacred Traditions Into Srutis (Sacred Truths Of The Vedas Heard By Ancient Rishis While In A Trance) And Smritis (Codes Of Conduct). In Deliberate Counterpoint To The Brahman Tradition, The Majority Of The Buddha S Discourses Begin With The Declaration: Evam Me Sutam Thus Have I Heard... . Swaris Argues Persuasively That Buddha S Teachings Are Not Esoteric, But Grounded In Everyday Life. The Dhamma Is Not A Revealed Truth That Humans Could Not Have Discovered By Themselves. It Is Like A Light Brought Into A Darkened Room So That People Could See What Is Already There, Once The Fog Of Delusion Is Dispelled.

In A Style That Would Appeal To Both Lay Readers And Scholars, Swaris Shows How The Buddha Anticipated Marx, Derrida And Foucault By Centuries.