China now attracts global attention in direct proportion to its increasing economic and geopolitical power. But for millennia, the philosophy which has shaped the soul of China is not modern Communism, or even new forms of capitalism, but rather Confucianism. And one of the most striking phenomena relating to China's ascendancy on the world stage is a burgeoning interest, throughout Asia and beyond, in the humanistic culture and values that underlie Chinese politics and finance: particularly the thought of Confucius passed on in the Analects. In this stimulating conversation, two leading thinkers from the Confucian and Buddhist traditions discuss the timely relevance of a rejuvenated Confucian ethics to some of the most urgent issues in the modern world: Sino/Japanese/US relations; the transformation of society through education and dialogue; and the role of world religions in promoting human flourishing.Exploring correspondences between the Confucian and Buddhist world-views, the interlocutors commit themselves to a view of spirituality and religion that, without blurring cultural difference, is focused above all on the 'universal heart': on harmony between people and nature that leads to peace and to a hopeful future for all humanity.

Chapter One: The Starting Point for PeaceChapter Two: Life-changing Encounters with MentorsChapter Three: Learning and the YouthChapter Four: Leaning as a Way of LifeChapter Five: Dialogue of CivilizationsChapter Six: Dialogues for ChangeChapter Seven: The Social Role of Religion Chapter Eight: Buddhism and Confucianism for a Better WorldChapter Nine: A Century of Great HarmonyChapter Ten: Globalization of Peace CultureChapter Eleven: Confucian Humanism and Buddhist HumanismChapter Twelve: Analects and a Dialogical CommunityChapter Thirteen: New Horizons in HumanismChapter Fourteen: The Unity of Heaven and Humanity vs. the Oneness of the Self and the UniverseChapter Fifteen: Buddhist and Confucian Wisdom-A Full Flowering of Humanity Chapter Sixteen: Sino-American RelationsChapter Seventeen: Toward a Dialogical CivilizationGlossaryBibliographyIndex