title: What the Buddha Taught
text: # What the Buddha Taught
  
  What the Buddha Taught, by Theravadin Walpola Rahula, is a widely used introductory book on Buddhism. Using quotes from the sutras, Rahula gives his personal interpretation of what he regards to be Buddhism's essential teachings, including the Four Noble Truths, the Buddhist mind, the Noble Eightfold Path, meditation and mental development, and the world today.
  
  ## Background and reception
  
  Rahula's book is an example of "Protestant Buddhism," the Sinhalese version of Buddhist modernism. Due to its rational presentation of Buddhism, which suited western expectations, What the Buddha Taught is a widely read and highly influential introduction to Buddhist thought.
  
  ## Publication data
  
  * Rahula, Walpola What The Buddha Taught, Oneworld Publications: Oxford, (1959) (revised 1974). ISBN 0-8021-3031-3
  