The Living Buddha

An intimate portrayal of one of history's most important and obscure figures, the Buddha, this chronicle reveals him not as a mystic, but a warm and engaged human being that was very much the product of his turbulent times. This biographical account traces the path of Siddhartha Gautama as he walked away from the pleasure palace that had been his home and joined a growing force of wandering monks, ultimately making his way towards enlightenment beneath the bodhi tree, and spending the next 45 years sharing his insights along the banks of the Ganges. The Buddhist canon is expertly harvested to provide insight into the Buddha's inner life and to grant a better understanding of how he came to play his pivotal role as founder of one of the world's largest religions.

Daisaku Ikeda is the author and coauthor of more than 60 books on Buddhism and the founding president and leader of the Soka Gakkai International, one of the largest lay Buddhist organizations in the world. He is the recipient of the United Nations Peace Award, the Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award, and the International Tolerance Award of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Burton Watson is a translator of Chinese and Japanese literature. His translations include Chuang Tzu, The Lotus Sutra, Ryokan, Saigyo, and The Vimalakirti Sutra. He received the PEN Translation Prize in 1981.