Prefazione

The preface places the reissue of India and Ancient Buddhism in the broader context of the spread of Buddhism in Europe between the 19th and 20th centuries. Reconstructing the cultural and spiritual climate of the time – marked by a crisis in Western thought, a search for new religious horizons and the first translations of the Pali canon – the text highlights the figure of Giuseppe De Lorenzo, a geologist and multifaceted intellectual who, through his 1904 work, introduced to Italy a vision of Buddhism as a rational method for dealing with the problem of suffering. The preface also highlights the book's publishing success in five editions by Laterza, the criticism and recognition it has received, and its relevance today as a text that has managed to combine scientific erudition, philosophical reflection and spiritual sensitivity.