What is the exact source of Martin Buber's phrase, "the unconditional
mystery of life which cannot be compressed in any formula"?

Hello.

The exact source is "The Narrow Ridge" by Martin Buber, from "To
Hallow This Life" (1958) edited by Jacob Tripp.


Excerpts from "The Narrow Ridge," including the quotation "...the
unconditioned mystery which we encounter in every sphere of life and
which cannot be comprised  in any formula," appear in:
UU Church, sermons, second reading:
http://www.webcom.com/uuchurch/sermons/WalkingTheNarrow.pdf

(This document is in PDF format, so the Adobe Acrobat Reader is
required. If you don't have that, visit:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html )
 
Note that the sermon quotes the words "unconditioned" & "comprised"
instead of "unconditional" & "compressed." It would probably be a good
idea to consult the actual text to be certain which version is
correct.

If you're interested in purchasing the book "To Hallow This Life,"
it's available from sellers on Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/0837170966/all/

Or if you're planning to go a library, here's the bibliographic data
for "To Hallow This Life" from the Library of Congress:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+58010363&CNT=10+records+per+page


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search strategy:
buber "unconditional mystery"
buber "means holding ourselves"

I hope this helps.

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Request for Answer Clarification by marah-ga on 18 Jan 2004 06:48 PST

IF I could possibly have a page number, that would really satisfy the
requirements I have to meet on this. Thanks so much.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 18 Jan 2004 08:24 PST

I don't have a page number, but I can get one for you some time today
or tomorrow. Ditto for the Joan Chittister question. Please be
patient.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 18 Jan 2004 12:18 PST

Hi.

I have verified by phone that the quote is on Page 89 of Martin
Buber's "To Hallow This Life" (1958).