These days the Buddha is everywhere. You can see his image perched on the mantelpiece of TV soaps, gracing the pages of brochures for exotic holidays, and adding a touch of class to the ideal homes of the glossiest magazines. The Buddha has entered Western culture.

His teaching too is in the public eye as film stars and rock musicians, the icons of our society profess themselves to be Buddhists.

But who is the Buddha? What does it mean to be a Buddhist? Here, a leading Western buddhist looks at these questions from several angles. We see the Buddha in historical context, as the Indian warrior prince who went forth in search of the truth. We see him in the context of the evolution of the human race, in the context of karma and rebirth, in the context of time, and in the context of eternity.

Above all, we meet the Buddha as a man who struggled to understand the mysteries of life, suffering, and death. He won that understanding by transcending human life altogether, and becoming a Buddha -- 'one who knows, who is awake'.

Because he had the courage to make the journey into the heart of life -- and to describe the route he took -- anyone prepared to make the effort can attain what he attained. For thousands of years people in the East have been following his path. Now it is the turn of the West.

Who Is the Buddha?, Sangharakshita, Windhorse Publications, Paperback, 184 pages, $18.95

A respected translator and author of over fifty books, Sangharakshita began studying Buddhism at the age of 16. After 20 years studying in India he returned to England and set up the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order which has over 65 centres worldwide, including the USA.