Walpola Rahula (1907–1997) was a Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. He is one of the Sri Lankan intellectuals of the 20th century. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to hold a professorial chair in the Western world. He also once held the position of Vice-Chancellor at the then Vidyodaya University (currently known as the University of Sri Jayewardenepura). He has written extensively about Buddhism in English, French and Sinhalese. His book, What the Buddha Taught, is considered by many to be one of the best books written about Theravada Buddhism.
This book is mostly written to disprove some of the traditional Buddhist customs (Theravada) using materialistic logic and personal interpretations. Inner understandings of the author or teachings from the ancient Buddhist texts (e.g. Pali canon) of major Buddhist traditions (Theravada or Mahayana) are not used in this book to back the author's opinions. Writing style of the author may be highly appealing to the modern logical thinker who is lazy to practice meditation. It is better not to read this book alone and shape the lifestyles without reading the detailed criticisms.