Practiced today by more than 500 million adherents, Buddhism emerged from India between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE. Based around the original teachings of the Buddha, key texts emerged to promote a true understanding of Buddhist ethics and spiritual practices. The Buddhist traditions created a vast body of mythological literature, much of it focused on the life of the Buddha. Buddhist Myths discusses these tales as well as cosmology, the life of the Buddha, various teachings (such as the Pali Canon), divine and extraordinary beings, and kings, heroes, and saints.
