PART 1: BUDDHA, SHOWING THE WAY: The teachings of a smile: the life of the Buddha -- Different flavors, one taste: the teachings travel to different lands -- Interfaith: same mountain, different trails -- The newest petal of the lotus: Western Buddhism -- PART 2: DHARMA: TRUTH, AND THE WAY TO TRUTH: Gem of refuge, ennobling truth -- Buddha's way: the eightfold path -- Take Karma, make Dharma: key points -- Conscious conduct: precepts for a path with a heart -- PART 3: SANGHA: JOINING THE PATH: Stepping into freedom: establishing a practice -- Meditation: base camp -- Look within: insight meditation -- Gate to the source: Zen -- The way is easy and wide: Buddha's pure land -- Diamond way: Tibetan Buddhism -- PART 4: BUDDHISM IN ACTION: APPLICATIONS IN EVERYDAY LIFE: Bringing it all back home: relations -- It's not just a job, it's life itself: right livelihood -- Food for the heart: the meal of life -- Everybody's doing it: Buddhism and popular culture -- Awakening ways of seeing and being: Dharma art -- Life within us and without us: Buddhism and science -- Is happiness an individual matter?: engaged Buddhism -- APPENDIXES: A: Buddhism in a one-page book: quick reference -- B: The vocabulary of silence: a Buddhist glossary -- C. From the trees to thee: further reads

"You're no idiot, of course. You know that Buddhism is an ancient spiritual practice followed by billions of people. But when it comes to understanding the basic teachings of Buddhism and how they can give you comfort and peace, you struggle to pave your own faithful path"--Page 4 of cover