Buddhism is one of the oldest and largest of the world's religions. But it is also a tradition that has proven to have enormous contemporary relevance. Founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who came to be called the Buddha, the religion has spread from its origins in northeast India, across Asia, and eventually to the West, taking on new forms at each step of the way. Buddhism: What Everyone Needs to Know offers readers a brief, authoritative guide to one of the world's most diverse religious traditions in a reader-friendly question-and-answer format. Dale Wright covers the origins and early history of Buddhism, the diversity of types of Buddhism throughout history, and the status of contemporary Buddhism. This is a go-to book for anyone seeking a basic understanding of the origins, history, teachings, and practices of Buddhism.

Buddhism: What Everyone Needs to Know, Dale S. Wright, Oxford University Press, Paperback, 240 pp, $16.95

Dale S. Wright is the David B. and Mary H. Gamble Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of Asian Studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he has taught for 37 years. He is author of books in the field of Buddhist Studies including Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism (Cambridge University Press, 1998), The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character (Oxford University Press, 2009), What Is Buddhist Enlightenment? (Oxford University Press, 2016), co-editor of a series of Oxford University Press books on Zen Buddhism as well as author of numerous essays, articles, and reviews. Wright has served as President of the Occidental College Faculty Council, Director of the California Private Universities and Colleges Japan Study Program, and on numerous boards and steering committees in academic and non-academic contexts, including the Foundation for Global Ethics, the University of Chicago Enhancing Life Project, the Southern California Consortium for Asian Studies, the Occidental College Advisory Council, The Music Circle, the Advisory Committee to the Braille Institute, and on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion and the Journal of Buddhist Philosophy.