Twenty-four of the Buddha’s most distinguished disciples are brought to life in ten chapters of rich narration. Drawn from a wide range of authentic Pāli sources, the material in these stories has never before been assembled in a single volume. Through these engaging tales, we meet all manner of human beings—rich, poor, male, female, young, old—whose unique stories are told with an eye to the details of ordinary human concerns. When read with careful attention, these stories can sharpen our understanding of the Buddhist path by allowing us to contemplate the living portraits of the people who fulfilled the early Buddhist ideals of human perfection. The characters detailed include:

• Sāriputta
• Nandā
• Mahāmoggallāna
• Mahākassapa
• Ānanda
• Isidāsī
• Anuruddha
• Mahākaccāna
• Aṅgulimāla
• Visākhā
• and many more.