The Gospel of Buddha is a classic religious studies text by Paul Carus that focuses on the life and teachings of the Gautama Buddha and contains this passage: "Lest the fundamental idea of the Buddha's doctrines be misunderstood, the reader is warned to take the term "self" in the sense in which the Buddha uses it. The "self" of man translates the word atman which can be and has been understood, even in the Buddhist canon, in a sense to which the Buddha would never have made any objection."