The Little Buddha
The bestselling series The Little Buddha isn't about the Buddha or about Buddhism itself. Instead, they are stories about the little Buddha we all carry within us — a curious traveller who roams the world, observing life with endless fascination. Whatever the situation or the people he meets, a question is never far away: Can you be happy all the time? Is that even desirable? And why do so many people choose fear over courage?
In each book, the Little Buddha explores a different aspect of life. The first book reflects on happiness, followed by love, change, time, home, peace, and the meaning of life. Parts One and Two are now available in English and Spanish, with the rest to come — for now, books three to seven have only been published in Germany.
Over 350,000 copies sold worldwide.
The Little Buddha around the world
Germany
Spain
India
Sweden
Korea
gift book
Czech Republic
The Little Buddha encourages and
makes you think. A true gem for any age!
(Uwe Schmidt, Berliner Morgenpost)
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
Since then, five sequels of The Little Buddha have been written and published and over 350,000 copies have been sold in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Korea, India, Russia and the UK. In 2024 the first part of the series has also been 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