This book is the fruit of a lifetime study on Buddhism made by Zhao Puchu. In the form of questions and answers, the book addresses and answers most of the questions raised by Buddhism over the past 2,500 years; It provides the laymen readers a proper introduction to Buddhism, while giving to the scholars inspiration and points of entry into in-depth study of Buddhism and furnishes non-Chinese native speakers a comprehensive outline of Buddhism.

赵朴初先生本着极其严谨的态度来写作这本小书。他在前言中称："我喜欢'小题大做'，而不愿'大题小做'，更害怕'有题空做'。"正是因为这样的情怀，作者将佛教两千多年的历史源流、高深的教理教义、浩如烟海的经典著作，深入浅出地概括成为"常识答问"。这本书虽冠以"常识"之名，却实为一部佛学入门大纲，对于希望了解佛学常识以及对佛学感兴趣的读者而言，是一部不可多得的启蒙读物。本书自初版以来，在中国大陆已印行达几十万册，还被译成英文、日文、韩文等多个外语版本，是当之无愧的佛学经典著作。