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What happens when a prince steps beyond comfort and faces suffering he can no longer ignore?
In The Gospel of Buddha, Paul Carus retells the life and teachings of Siddhattha Gotama as one flowing narrative. According to the story, the prince leaves the palace and encounters age, sickness, death, and a calm wandering monk. These sights turn his attention from comfort toward the search for an answer to suffering.
The book offers readers new to Buddhism a continuous story rather than a manual or a strict translation. The narrative follows Siddhattha through study and self-denial toward awakening and teaching. At its heart are the Middle Path, the Four Truths, and a question that reaches into daily life: how should we treat one another?
What you’ll discover
- Beyond the palace gates Follow the traditional account of a sheltered prince confronting suffering beyond his father's protection.
- A search through struggle Explore a seeker's encounters with Brahman teachers, severe fasting, and the limits of self-denial.
- The first sermon Meet the Middle Path and the Four Truths as the Buddha addresses his former companions.
- A growing community Follow the narrative from town to town as the Buddha gathers followers from varied backgrounds.
- Compassion in daily life Consider parables and sayings that place kindness toward all beings at the center of conduct.
Who will love it
Readers drawn to the Buddha's life, wisdom tales, parables and comparisons between religions will love this book. It also suits those who enjoy the four noble truths told through plain scenes.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A sheltered prince meets sorrow
- Everything changes but truth remains
- Seeing suffering changes the prince
- Awakening does not come through starvation
- The middle path becomes a teaching
- Deeds continue without a fixed self
- Ordinary life can hold holiness
- Stories make compassion easier to grasp
- Truthful living puts teaching into practice
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The Gospel of Buddha
by Paul Carus · 1894
A sheltered prince meets an old man, a sick man and a corpse, and sets out to find a cure for sorrow.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Hatred is never ended by hatred. It is ended by the absence of hatred.”
In short
What would you do if, on a single drive, you saw an old man, a sick man and a dead man for the first time? Prince Siddhattha, raised in a palace built to hide all sorrow, meets all three beside the road.
The Gospel of Buddha at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 45 min4 h 35 min fast, 6 h 50 min slow
- Length
- 82,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1894by Paul Carus
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A life and teaching gathered from scriptures
Paul Carus built this book as one narrative from many sources. Only a few chapters at the start and the end are his own.
The book has one hundred short chapters, many divided into numbered verses like a gospel. They run from the story of Siddhattha becoming the Buddha through the growth of the community, the parables and the last days.
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Which edition is right for me
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Details
- First published
- 1894
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Carus, Paul. The Gospel of Buddha. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gospel-of-buddha.
Carus, P. (2026). The gospel of Buddha. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gospel-of-buddha (Original work published 1894)
Carus, Paul. The Gospel of Buddha. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gospel-of-buddha.
@book{carus2026gospel,
author = {Carus, Paul},
title = {The Gospel of Buddha},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-gospel-of-buddha},
note = {First published 1894}
}
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What is The Gospel of Buddha about?
It tells the life of the Buddha from his birth as Prince Siddhattha to his death, and it sets out his main teachings: the four noble truths, the eightfold path, karma, and the denial of a fixed self.
Who wrote The Gospel of Buddha and when?
Paul Carus compiled it from old Buddhist scriptures and first published it in 1894. It is a compilation arranged in one hundred short chapters, with a few chapters at the start and end written by Carus himself.
Is The Gospel of Buddha a true account of the Buddha's life?
It follows the old Buddhist records closely and keeps their wonder stories where they carry a moral lesson. Carus states that it is a compilation and not a scholarly history, and a table at the back names each source.
The author
Paul Carus
1852–1919 · American philosopher
Paul Carus was born in Ilsenburg, Germany, in 1852 and died in La Salle, Illinois, in 1919. He moved to the United States and worked as a philosopher, writer, and editor. He edited The Open Court and The Monist. His books included The Gospel of Buddha, published in 1894.
“Hatred is never ended by hatred. It is ended by the absence of hatred.”
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