One of the world's great religious traditions, Buddhism evolved from the life and mind of Siddhartha Gautama, later called Buddha, who lived in India some 2,500 years ago. This volume tells the story of Buddhism's origins and its development into three major schools of thought and presents the particular beliefs and practices of those schools of Buddhism that still flourish today. This revised edition also explores the concept of the "socially engage Buddhist," the growth and practice of Buddhism in America, and the current situation of Buddhism in countries under communist rule.