In the winter of 1974, in the Yanki district of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China, close to a 1000-Buddha Temple, forest workers accidentally discovered 44 leaves of the manuscript remains of a Tocharian A (an extinct Indo-European language) version of the Maitreyasamiti-Nataka, one of the most important works of Buddhist literature from Central Asia. This volume presents the complete text of the 44 leaves, i.e., 88 pages which are now kept at Urumqi. Although they are far from complete, they are the longest manuscript remains of the text discovered till now. The original manuscripts are written in Central Asian slanting Brahmi. The volume comprises a facsimile of the fragments, the transliterated and partly restored texts, translations, and notes, together with indices and a full glossary, thus making the work accessible for experts and students. The book will serve as a major research tool for specialists in Buddhist and Tocharian studies as well as for Indo-Europeanists and Turkologists.

本書以對談形式，載錄了季羡林、蔣忠新與池田大作三人交談的精華片段。

序章交代了本書的緣起，並細述三人不屈不撓的求生、求學、求和平、求智慧的個人歷程。正文主要分兩大部分：

一、圍繞佛陀及佛教大乘經典《法華經》的內容、精神，互相交流心得；

二、暢論東、西方文化的特徵、異同，及“天人合一”的東方智慧對人類社會的種種貢獻。

三位對談者皆是中日兩國有分量的學者、教育家，接受過大時代的洗禮，有不尋常的個人體驗及心路歷程，對談中充滿智慧哲理，希望您能從中有所受益。