This book is not meant to convince people to become Buddhists. That is a decision people have to make on their own. That is why you won't see Buddhists coming to your door handing out pamphlets trying to encourage you to join their temple. This is not a religion that is solicited to people or pushed upon people in any way. If it were, then it would fail, because people have to be willing to accept Buddha's teachings on their own and try to change their lifestyle in order to accommodate it. You will never see a Buddhist church or anything like that. Since it is a non-theistic religion, Buddhists don't even worship a God. They only consider Buddha as a teacher and follow the message he gave to the world about ending suffering and finding eternal happiness. Those who become Buddhists want to learn about this message and apply it to their own lives. You won't be able to convert to Buddhism overnight by listening to this book, but you will learn the basics of the religion's history and what becoming a Buddhist would entail if you were to become one.

Aside from learning about Buddhism, you may learn about how to deal with your own suffering or the suffering of those around you. There is a misconception sometimes where people think that you have to become a Buddhist in order to heal suffering. The truth is anyone from any religion or belief system can help stop suffering. But if you don't know how to stop suffering, then perhaps you can take a few lessons from Buddha himself by learning about his teachings on the subject. This doesn't mean you have to believe that you will achieve Nirvana and find eternal happiness in the afterlife for being a good person. It just means that you want to do good things in this world for yourself and those around you. That is the overall message of Buddhism and people from all walks of life should learn how to do this. Let this book put you on the path to doing just that.