Pictorial Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha

Preface for the Hindi Edition
In 1964, I read the Pictorial Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha which was
compiled and illustrated in the Thai language by Mr. Gunapayuta, a devout
Buddhist of the Thai Young Buddhist Association. The illustrations and descriptions
in the book are easy to understand. It truthfully depicts the great life of Lord
Buddha Sakyamuni based on the materials in the original Pali Buddhist scriptures
and Buddha’s teachings. It does not report bizarre myths. It is indeed a good book,
and it is a book suitable for proselytizing Buddhism. Therefore, I translated the
book into the Chinese language and published it in Taiwan. It became popular. This
book is particularly suitable for children to read. It supports the young peoples’
growth both mentally and behaviorally.
In early 1970, Mr. Yann-Fang Lee in Taiwan, a devout Buddhist and also a
watercolor artist, made slides from all the colored illustrations and showed them in
many places to promote Buddhism. Later, Professor Z. A. Lu in the USA translated
the book into English and published it in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Then the book
Pictorial Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha began to appear in a dual-language
presentation in both Chinese and English, along with rich illustrations and
descriptions. It has been reprinted multiple times. In 2013,Bhikshu Zhihan in South
America read this book about the life of Lord Buddha Sakyamuni and considered it
as the most popular biography of the Lord Buddha. He then translated it into the
Spanish language to benefit the Spanish speakers.
Now, Mr. Hrishikesh Sharan in India has translated the Pictorial Biography of
Sakyamuni Buddha into the Hindi language based on the English version. He sent
me the draft and requested my agreement to publish it in India. He also asked me to
write a short preface for the book. I am very grateful to do so. I write this preface
rejoicing in praise: “Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!”
Namo Buddhaya! Namo Dharmaya! Namo Sanghaya!…