The Little Buddha
The bestselling book series of The Little Buddha isn't about the Buddha nor about Buddhism, but instead they are stories about a little Buddha that we all carry within us. A curious traveller who roams the world and always observes life with great fascination. It doesn't matter in which situation he finds himself or who he meets - a question is never far away. Can you be always happy? Is that actually desirable, being always happy? And why do so many people choose fear over courage?
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In every book, The Little Buddha asks questions about a different life subject. First about happiness, then about love. And soon there will be translations available for books three to six, which have already been published in Germany. The further topics are change, time, home and peace.
over 300,000 sold copies worldwide
The Little Buddha around the world
Germany
Russia
India
Sweden
Korea
gift book
Czech Republic
paperback
The Little Buddha encourages and
makes you think. A true gem for any age!
(Uwe Schmidt, Berliner Morgenpost)
Spain
The journey of the book
The journey of the Little Buddha began in August 2007. Claus and his 4-year old daughter used to go walking near a Buddhist temple and his daughter asked him questions about Buddha. Eventually Claus had the idea to collect the conversations he was having with his daughter and to write a book about it. Shortly after the title was born: THE LITTLE BUDDHA.
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Three months later the first draft was finished. The result: Not a book about the Buddha nor a book about Buddhism, but instead the story of a pretty normal Buddha who embarks on a journey to discover life. Inspired by Claus’ travels to India, it’s a timeless book about friendship, curiosity and the art of being simply happy.
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Since most of his friends didn’t understand the original German version Claus decided at the beginning of 2008 to translate the book into English. Afterwards he was looking for a good illustrator to do the cover but initially he didn’t have any success. He sent off the German version to several German publishing houses yet all he got back was a huge pile of rejections. So for a while the Little Buddha disappeared in a draw…
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In spring of 2010 the manuscript found its way back into Claus’ hands and he decided to self-publish the book. Destiny or pure luck, just around that time he got to know the Andalusian artist ROSIE MAY HARRISON who did some amazing illustrations for the Little Buddha. The book quickly became a favourite amongst its readers and so in January 2011 the German version was released through self-publishing too.
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Marketing, distribution, accountancy – the price Claus paid for the success was that he suddenly didn’t have any more time for what he actually wanted to be doing: writing. So again he tried to find professional support for the Little Buddha and this time he succeeded: In Januray 2012 he got taken on by the literary agency PETRA EGGERS in Berlin and one week after signing the agency agreement he received an offer from the HERDER publishing house. One year later, in January 2013, THE LITTLE BUDDHA was republished with a new cover – a different face but the same heart.
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Since then, five sequels of THE LITTLE BUDDHA have been written and published and over 300,000 copies have been sold in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Korea, India, Russia and the UK. In 2024 the first part of the series will be published in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Spain. And so the journey of THE LITTLE BUDDHA continues…
Other published books by the same author
Fridays for Frida
A call from the unknown