SGI promotes Peace, Culture & Education. Is promoting Peace,
Culture & Education unorthodox??? Is helping others to attain
absolute happiness unorthodox??? I do not understand why??? Can
someone answer me???
WHY PEACE?
Peace is more than the mere absence of war. Soka Gakkai's peace
movement is predicated on a belief that an enduring peace is
achievable through a dynamic, interactive process that channels
humanity's destructive urges toward creative and constructive ends.
A true grassroots effort involving millions of people, the movement
features various activities, from exhibitions to heighten public
awareness to refugee relief campaigns.
Underlying Soka Gakkai's commitment to the pursuit and promotion of
peace is the Buddhist mandate bestowing life with the highest
dignity. Life's sanctity is based on the view that life in its
infinite diversity inherently possesses unparalleled virtue and
wisdom. Buddhism therefore rejects all forms of violence as an
assault on the harmony that underlies and binds the web of
being.
While it has traditionally been perceived as a pacifist religion,
Buddhism is often regarded as a socially inert, rather than
engaged, religion. Nichiren, a 13th-century Buddhist teacher in
Japan, was among the original proponents of an "activist Buddhism"
through his insistence that the overriding social mission of
religion is to encourage and help expedite the conditions for
ordinary people to enjoy a peaceful life. Today Soka Gakkai--which
owes its philosophical foundation to Nichiren's spiritual
legacy--holds that it is in fact the duty of all religions,
regardless of sectarian differences, to strive for lasting
peace.
Our commitment to peace is not idle idealism; it has been forged
through the courage and vision of our organization's first three
presidents--Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda.
Soka Gakkai founder Mr. Makiguchi was among the few Japanese to
denounce the nation's invasion of Asia in World War II; he died in
jail a prisoner of conscience in 1944. At the height of the Cold
War, second president Toda termed the use of nuclear weapons under
any circumstances criminal and called upon the youth of the world
to work for their abolition. Mr. Ikeda, who now heads Soka Gakkai
International (SGI), has tirelessly pursued an ongoing series of
initiatives--from conducting dialogues with scholars, citizens and
activists around the world to issuing annual peace proposals--to
establish a viable framework for global peace in the 21st
century.
As a result, Soka Gakkai's peace activities have developed over the
years to become a truly multi-faceted movement. On one level, we
help spread the message of peace in Japan through holding numerous
exhibitions and forums on issues concerning war and peace, the
environment and human rights. At another level, Soka Gakkai works
with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization (NGO) to
aid refugees the world over. Organizations affiliated with Soka
Gakkai, such as the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century and
the Toda Institute of Global Peace and Policy Research, promote
peacebuilding and dialogue on common values among scholars and
activists from around the world.
Yet Soka Gakkai believes its most profound contribution to peace
lies at the individual level. Based on Nichiren Buddhism, which
eludicates that personal happiness is contingent upon one's work
for the welfare and fulfillment of other people, Soka Gakkai
members strive to encourage one another, their friends and family,
to challenge all adversity and, by tapping the unparalleled virtue
and wisdom in their lives, to channel their energies toward
creative and constructive ends. Through this inner-directed
reformation and revitalization--a dynamic and dialogic process
known as "human revolution"--they hope to contribute to the
betterment of their communities and the world in true grassroots
fashion.
WHY CULTURE?
To promote exchange between peoples of diverse cultures and
celebrate their diversity, Soka Gakkai has sponsored numerous
activities--including exhibitions and goodwill exchanges with other
countries. Also, links are included to cultural, non-profit
affiliated organizations that share Soka Gakkai's humanistic
ideals.
Nichiren Buddhism believes that all individuals inherently possess
the ability to create value in their lives and society, and achieve
harmony between themselves and their environment. Culture is an
expression of this uniquely human potential, education the
cornerstone for its development.
Soka Gakkai therefore maintains that culture is a manifestation of
human creativity and a medium that serves to help people appreciate
the dignity of their lives. It is capable of linking the hearts of
people throughout the world by imbuing life with richness and
inspiration. Cultural exchanges, meanwhile, promote the spirit of
coexistence and mutual appreciation, not just for the arts but for
the vast body of human thought and vision.
Organizations affiliated with Soka Gakkai, such as the Min-On
Concert Association, the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and the Institute of
Oriental Philosophy, are engaged in various activities to promote
exchange between peoples of diverse cultures and celebrate their
diversity. Soka Gakkai has also sponsored numerous activities,
including exhibitions and goodwill exchanges with other countries,
as part of our multi-faceted movement to respect and share
humanity's cultural heritage.
WHY EDUCATION?
Above all, Buddhism is a religion that encourages continual and
lifelong self-development. As such, Soka Gakkai strives to create
educational opportunities for citizens of all ages and backgrounds
through discussion forums, seminars, exhibits, intercultural
exchanges. Soka Gakkai has affiliations with a number of
educational institutions, including primary and secondary schools,
as well as institutions of higher learning.
Nichiren Buddhism views that all individuals inherently possess the
ability to create value in their lives and society and achieve
harmony between themselves and their environment. Education is the
key to developing this uniquely human potential.
The emphasis on developing this limitless capacity highlights the
importance of a lifetime of learning. Whatever form this may
take--from formal education to leisurely reading of great literary
works--education nurtures the ability to think critically, make
informed choices, and appreciate life in all its diversity. In its
appeal for the development of the whole human being, Soka Gakkai
strives to create educational opportunities for citizens of all
ages and backgrounds through discussion forums, seminars, exhibits
and intercultural exchanges and the founding of several affiliated
educational institutions.
Soka Gakkai's predecessor was the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value
Creating Education Society) founded in 1930 by educator Tsunesaburo
Makiguchi. Mr. Makiguchi wanted to give young people in early 20th
century Japan an alternative to the rigid and repressive
pedagogical environment designed to emphasize conformity over
creativity. He believed that the purpose of life is the creation of
value, central to which he posited the values of beauty, goodness
and benefit, that would enable the individual to attain personal
happiness. Education's role then, is to help develop the unique
creative potential of each child to prepare him or her for a
life-long pursuit of value.
A concrete expression of this philosophy has been found through the
establishment of a system of schools and an educational fund that
seek to nurture independent thinkers who are morally and socially
responsible, and who can dedicate themselves to the welfare of
society.
REALLY I ABSOLUTE DO NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY THAT PROMOTING
PEACE, CULTURE & EDUCATION IS UNORTHODOX???
