In the Footsteps of the Buddha

"The Buddha, it seems, is back in fashion, muses author Marc de Smedt at the beginning of his book In the Footsteps of the Buddha, and he proceeds to show the reader exactly why this is so.

De Smedt's insights and thoughts are revealed as he makes his own personal pilgrimage, following the physical and metaphysical journey that Prince Siddharta Gautama made from his birthplace in Lumbini (modern day Rummindai), towards Enlightenment and finally death, almost eighty years later, in Kusinagara. In doing so, de Smedt travels some 3,000 km through modern day Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India, and to Nepal. The author's own experiences are interwoven with the Buddha's life and writings; de Smedt also draws on material from other leading writers on Buddhism.

The development of Buddhist thought is placed in its historical and cultural context through de Smedt's visits to such places as Nalanda, once a spiritual and scholarly centre in the fifth and sixth centuries CE, and the still thriving Ayodhya and Varanasi, both sacred cities on the banks of the Ganges. Through the retelling of Prince Gautama's journey towards Enlightenment, de Smedt presents the chief tenets of Buddhist philosophy in an accessible and intelligent way and relates them to contemporary society. In doing so, de Smedt shows that the Buddha's teachings are as applicable to life today as they were some 2,500 years ago. - Aruna Vasudevan

'A lively account of the author's responses to travelling, it is an informative description of the culture and scenery of the regions he passes through ... Most importantly though, the story is one of the spiritual voyages of both the Buddha and the author. Marc de Smedt interweaves the words of the present day Buddhists he meets with his own musings on the nature of Buddhism and the meaning of the Buddha's life and message,'Publisher

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