Russian Edition of Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death Published
Russian edition of Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia: St. Petersburg Centre for Oriental Studies Publishers has released a Russian edition of Unlocking the Mysteries of Birth and Death, a work by Daisaku Ikeda offering perspectives on the fundamental questions of life and death from the viewpoint of Nichiren Buddhism. This publication was translated from the English edition.
In this work, Mr. Ikeda investigates the “four sufferings” that Buddhism holds are universal to all living beings—birth, illness, aging and death. He contends that confronting the sufferings that arise from the transitory nature of existence is in fact indispensable to leading a meaningful and contributive life. “If we do not understand the nature of our lives—the fleeting aspect as well as the eternal—we can neither live meaningfully nor die in peace.” Delving into each of these four “themes,” Mr. Ikeda offers insights on how the unavoidable sufferings of life can be transformed into sources of wisdom and personal fulfillment. In the process, he unpacks several Buddhist concepts such as the Ten Worlds and the Nine Consciousnesses and explores the meaning of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, the heart of Nichiren Buddhism.
First released in Japanese, the book has now been translated into 12 languages: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, Romanian, Indonesian, Hungarian, Swedish, Catalan, Portuguese and Russian.
[Adapted from an article in the May 15, 2020, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai, Japan]
