Life an Enigma a Precious Jewel

Life an Enigma a Precious Jewel - Daisaku Ikeda

In the author's own words, this work looks at “the relationship between the Buddhist answers to the mystery of life and the empiric solutions modern science has offered to the same questions” and “ways in which Buddhist truth may be illustrated in modern scientific terms.”

The eternity of life and life's inherent dignity are central themes in Ikeda's discussions of topics that include body, spirit and mind; individuality and self-realization; human life, nature and the cosmos; and life and death as a continuum.

The literature he cites is broad and extensive—from scientist Charles Darwin and philosopher Immanuel Kant to literary Walt Whitman and historian Arnold Toynbee—in comparing various views of the whole human being.

At the heart of his approach is the author's Buddhist perspective, which places an understanding of cosmic life within the practical grasp of daily human existence. As in many of Ikeda's writings, Buddhist philosophy not only informs but provides an inclusive framework for the diversity of knowledge about life and its environment.

Though this volume was published more than 20 years ago, the questions it addresses—what is life, what is its meaning, how do we know what we know—are perennial. It presents a timeless survey of scientific, philosophical and religious thought of both East and West. Translated by Charles S. Terry, Life: An Enigma, a Precious Jewel brings to new light humanity's aspirations to know itself.

Originally published in three volumes in Japanese, Life: An Enigma, a Precious Jewel has also been translated into Spanish, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Italian, Swahili, German, Danish, Serbian and Macedonian.