The Buddhism first presented to the Western world was the Theravada or Southern School. Its rigid interpretation of the canon and striving for individual escape from this world of sorrows caused most European scholars to consider Buddhism as pessimistic, negative, and atheistic. This view was held for years until the Mahayana spread its beliefs in the Occident, and simultaneously appeared books primarily on Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. With this awakening of the Western public to the existence of Mahayana came the concept of compassion, its portrayal of love, service, and personal sacrifice, and its absolute tolerance of other religions. The path of enlightenment is the heart of every savior's message, though few religious faiths stress spiritual attainment for all living beings.
All lives follow it as the natural course of universal evolution.
For man, because of his consciousness of self, there comes a particular moment when he realizes that he can self-direct his evolution. The discipline is not out of reach of the least of us. The sorrows arising from selfishness and greed, which lead to separateness, have become almost overwhelming. To govern our lives in concert with the growth and becoming of all creatures is the compassionate path lighted by successive Buddhas from dawn till twilight of universal existence.