GREAT DISCIPLES OF THE BUDDHA  

Great Disciples of the Buddha is a unique book-a collection of biographical profiles of some twenty-four extraordinary men and women whom the Buddha himself named his most outstanding disciples. The stories of their lives presented here based On the Pali Canon and its commentaries, offer a comprehensive record of the most ancient traditions concerning the Buddha's own direct Dharma heirs.   
In these engaging tales, told with an eye to the details of ordinary human concerns, you will meet a fascinating and diverse array of people-thinkers and seekers, princes and queens, merchants and house-wives, even a serial killer-whose lives were transformed by their encounter with the Buddha. This is not a book merely to be read once and then laid aside, but a work to return to again and again for a vivid picture of the life of discipleship under the Awakened One.  
In his Editor's Introduction, Bhikkhu Bodhi encourages you to approach this book "as an exercise in contemplation rather than as an enterprise of objective scholarship. The Buddha says that contemplation of the noble disciples is an essential part of the meditative life.  To contemplate the noble ones, who broke the bonds of egotism and reached the heights of purity and wisdom, is a great encouragement for those who still find themselves far from deliverance. By their examples these exalted persons inspire us with confidence in the emancipating power of the Dhamma.  The stories of the great disciples are just as much a part of the Buddhist heritage as the formal doctrines and practices of Buddhism: not mere fragments of ancient history, dead and vapid, but a living and luminous legacy that has come down to us at this critical juncture of human history, when our very survival hinges on the capacity for self-transcendence these disciples so vividly demonstrate in their lives."    
Great Disciples of the Buddha is a compilation of twenty-four life stories of the closest and most eminent of the Buddha's personal disciples. Drawing from a wide range of original sources, three leading contemporary scholars of Pali Buddhism provide intimate portraits of these first-generation Buddhists who contributed so much to the formation of the Buddha's teachings. The profiles, set against the colorful social and cultural background of ancient India, bring to life such near-legendary names as Sariputta and Moggallana, Ananda and Mahakassapa, and more, enabling us to participate in their breakthroughs, achievements, and activities in spreading the Dharma. An unforgettable book, Great Disciples of the Buddha delivers an inspiring confirmation of the human potential for awakening and spiritual transformation.  

"I am grateful for the publication of this book. With great admiration for and trust in the authors, I recommend Great Disciples to friends and students alike." 
- Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Living Buddha, Living Christ  

"A truly excellent and unique new addition to the literature from the Pali texts. This is a rich source book, offering lucid stories and translations and brilliant scholarship." 
-Jack Kornfield, author of a Path with Heart  

"In a way that is both scholarly and inspiring, this book brings to life the struggles, practice, and realization of the great disciples of the Buddha. Through the book's many stories and teachings, we begin to connect their spiritual journeys with our own." 
-Joseph Goldstein,  author of Insight  Meditation