Reflections on the Global Civilization: A Dialogue

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Globalization has brought different civilizations and peoples into new and closer contact. But this novel intimacy has not always led to greater understanding. There is an urgent need to work towards a global civilization based on principles of peace, mutual respect and tolerance. It is precisely that goal which the participants attempt in this classic dialogue. Inspired by the encounters between Buddhism and Islam as they exchanged ideas and goods along the Silk Road, it brings together a Sufi Muslim from Iran and one of the world's most influential lay Buddhist leaders to explore the vibrant areas of common ground between the Islamic and Buddhist traditions. Coloured by Sufi philosophy and by Buddhist thought and practice, and drawing on a diverse selection of thinkers - including Rumi and Hafez, Rabindranath Tagore, Jurgen Habermas and Antonio Gramsci - Reflections on the Global Civilization offers a profound meditation on conflict, loss and injustice, as well as the vitality of interfaith discussion. It shows that Islam and Buddhism have much to offer, not only to each other, but also to the world as a whole.

Author Bio

Daisaku Ikeda is the spiritual leader of Soka Gakkai International, a world wide lay Buddhist organization. Called by Time Magazine 'the most powerful man in Japan', Ikeda has conducted over 1500 dialogues during the past 40 years with such world figures as Zhou Enlai, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela. He is author of over 80 books on Buddhist themes. This volume is a sequel to his dialogues with Arnold Toynbee and Johan Galtung. Majid Tehranian is Professor of International Communication at the University of Hawaii and director of the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research. He is author of numerous books on international relations, and he edits Peace and Policy.