The author shares his quest to experience Martin Luther King's "beloved community" and his discovery, in mid-life, that King's dream was being realized by the Japanese Buddhist philosopher and peace worker Daisaku Ikeda. Over the years, Carter was disheartened to watch the radical cosmic vision at the heart of King's message gradually diluted and marginalized.

Carter knew that King had been inspired by Ghandi, a Hindu. And now Ikeda, a Buddhist, was showing Carter how King's message of justice, equality, and the fundamental dignity of life could be carried to millions of people around the world.