This book is designed to offer a concise, informative and easy-to-read description of the main features of one of the world's oldest and most popular religions -- Buddhism.

'The aim of Buddhism is happiness,' writes the Dalai Lama. This no-nonsense approach is very appealing. But the teachings of Buddhism are many, varied and sometimes highly sophisticated, so it's not always easy to convey them clearly and succinctly. What makes this book distinctive is it structure and approach -- the simple device of using numbers as a way into the subject. Here, in 10 short chapters, the most important aspects of Buddhism are set out and analysed:

TEN worlds: NINE consciousnesses: EIGHTfold Path: SEVEN seas: SIX parameters: FIVE precepts: FOUR noble truths: THREE jewels: TWO but not two: ONE-eyed turtle and the floating sandalwood log: ZERO and beyond.

You could think of this, perhaps, as a countdown to enlightenment -- hence the rather provocative subtitle.

Buddhism by Numbers: A Countdown to Enlightenment, Tony Morris, Mud Pie, Paperback, 160 pages, $8.95

Tony Morris is Chair of the Bleddfa Centre for the Creative Spirit, a Trustee of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies, and author of What Do Buddhists Believe? and Pocket BUDDHA.