Dharma World

November-December 2003, Volume 30

November-December 2003, Volume 30(PDF)

Dividing Good From Evil

Reflections

The Importance of a Bonding Sutra by Nikkyo Niwano

This essay is part of a continuing series of translations from a volume of inspirational writings by the late founder of Rissho Kosei-kai. Dharma World will continue to publish these essays because of their lasting value as guidance for the practice of one’s faith in daily life.

Nikkyo Niwano, the late founder of the Buddhist association Rissho Kosei-kai, was an honorary president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) and was honorary chairman of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan) at the time of his death in October 1999.

True Human Warmth by Nichiko Niwano

The Buddha said, “Put the welfare of others before your own.” Buddhism teaches that your own benefit and that of others are one and the same.

Nichiko Niwano is president of Rissho Kosei-kai and the Niwano Peace Foundation, a president of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP), and vice-chairman of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan).

Essays

Many Paths, One Mountain by Richard Boeke

Although there are many paths up the mountain, they all lead to the same goal. Our paths may be different, but we share the mountain as well as the goal.

Richard Boeke is the Secretary of the World Congress of Faiths, which is now based at the London Interfaith Centre (www.worldfaiths.org). After studies at the Harvard Center for World Religions, in 1959 he entered the Unitarian Universalist ministry. Dr. Boeke served as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, California, and in 1995 moved to England, becoming minister of the Unitarian Church of Seven Oaks and serving as Secretary to the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists.

Dividing Good from Evil: Buddhist Reflections on the New Holy Wars by David R. Loy

David R. Loy is professor in the Faculty of International Studies at Bunkyo University, Chigasaki, Japan. His specialty is comparative philosophy and religion, particularly comparing Buddhism with modern Western thought. His books include Nonduality: A Study in Comparative Philosophy (1988) and A Buddhist History of the West: Studies in Lack (2002). He has practiced Zen Buddhism for many years. The original version of this article is included in his new book, The Great Awakening: A Buddhist Social Theory (Boston: Wisdom, 2003).

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra

A Great Treasure Is Very Near by Gene Reeves

Having a good attitude toward life means seeing everything that comes to us as a gift, more especially as an opportunity, as what we call a “learning experience.”

Gene Reeves is currently studying, teaching, and writing on Buddhism in Tokyo. A consultant and teacher at Rissho Kosei-kai, he was recently a research fellow at Rikkyo University and prior to that retired from the University of Tsukuba. Before coming to Japan in 1989, Dr. Reeves was the head of Meadville/Lombard Theological School and professorial lecturer in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.

Interviews

Gandhi and Buddhism

An interview with Sanskrit scholar Naresh Mantri

While promoting cultural exchange between India and Japan as president of the Sarvodaya Indo-Japanese Culture Center in Tokyo, Dr. Naresh Mantri has been engaged in the translation of Kumarajiva’s Chinese version of the Lotus Sutra into Hindi. During a recent interview with Dharma World in Tokyo he emphasized the need to understand the Gandhian philosophy of nonviolence as a guiding principle for the twenty-first century.

Look Upon All with a Mother’s Eyes

An interview with Ven. Nyichang Rinpoche

Nyichang Khentul Rinpoche was born on the eighth day of the second month of the Wood Boar year (by the Western calendar, April 10, 1935) in the Kyidong valley of southwestern Tibet. He was born in a small village of fewer than 30 dwellings that lay amid the mountains near the border with Nepal. The villagers were mostly devotees of esoteric (Tantric) Buddhism, and his family maintained the post of head priest of the village temple. At the age of seven he was sent to Drepung, one of the three great Gelug colleges, but shortly thereafter his father removed him from Drepung and placed him under the tutelage of the great yogini Shugsep Jetsun Lochen Chonyi Zangmo Rinpoche of Shugsep Temple. His recognition by this realized teacher-practitioner as a tulku (reincarnated lama) was later acknowledged by Drukpa Thukse Rinpoche, who pronounced him to be the reincarnation of Drukpa Sangye Dorje–a great poet and the main disciple of Padma Karpo, sixteenth-century head of the Drukpa Kagyu sect. He also studied at the Nyingma head temple of Mindrolling as well as the small but excellent Nyima Changra Monastic College (from which his name, Nyichang, derives), and was able to receive instruction under Chodrak Rinpoche, Poba Tulku Rinpoche, Khenpo Tsenden Sangpo Rinpoche, and, after fleeing occupied Tibet, Dudjom Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (who were both former heads-in-exile of the Nyingma School), His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV, and others. For more than a quarter of a century, he has lived in Japan, to which he came at the request of the Dalai Lama, and where he transmits the Dharma to all who are sincerely interested, regardless of nationality, with absolute fidelity to tradition, while he remains one of the greatest living scholar-monks of the Nyingma tradition. On behalf of Dharma World, Ven. Nyichang Rinpoche was interviewed by Stephen Comee, our copy editor and his student, at Rinpoche’s residence in the suburbs of Tokyo in May and June.

Buddhist Living

Grateful for the Gift of Life by Yasuyo Iijima

A young woman whose family has long had close ties to Rissho Kosei-kai describes how taking the Buddha’s teaching to heart helped them to overcome difficult times.

Yasuyo Iijima is a member of the Mito Branch of Rissho Kosei-kai in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Gotama Buddha (63)

Pukkusa’s Acceptance of the Buddha’s Teachings by Hajime Nakamura

After he heard the Venerable Master describe his own experience in learning tranquillity, the youth of the Mallas rejected his former faith as if a torch had been raised in the darkness, and took refuge in the Dhamma.

The late Dr. Hajime Nakamura, an authority on Indian philosophy, was president of the Eastern Institute in Tokyo and a professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo at the time of his death in October 1999. This ongoing series is a translation of Gotama Buddha, vol. 2 (Tokyo: Shunjusha, 1992).

The Threefold Lotus Sutra: A Modern Commentary (73)

The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law
Chapter 7: The Parable of the Magic City (4) by Nikkyo Niwano

This is the seventy-third installment of a detailed commentary on the Threefold Lotus Sutra by the late founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, Rev. Nikkyo Niwano.

Dharma World

  1. Autumn 2023, Volume 50

    Religion and the Family

  2. Spring 2023, Volume 50

    Religion’s Role in Peacebuilding

  3. Autumn 2022, Volume 49

    Religion and Happiness

  4. Spring 2022, Volume 49

    The Impact of Cyberspace on a Variety of Religious Traditions and Practices

  5. Autumn 2021, Volume 48

    Religion's Potential for Advancing Sustainable Development

  6. Spring 2021, Volume 48

    What Is Prayer?

  7. Autumn 2020, Volume 47

    Religion’s Role in Building an Inclusive Society

  8. Spring 2020, Volume 47

    Violence in Buddhism

  9. Autumn 2019, Volume 46

    Manga, Anime, and Contemporary Religion

  10. Spring 2019, Volume 46

    Is Emptiness the Goal?

  11. July-December 2018, Volume 45

    The Buddhahood of Plants and Trees: The Environment and Buddha-Nature

  12. January-June 2018, Volume 45

    Buddhism’s One Vehicle in a World of Many Religions

  13. July-December 2017, Volume 44

    Religions Tackling Extremism

  14. January-June 2017, Volume 44

    Religion and Animals

  15. October-December 2016, Volume 43

    Features: Listening

  16. July-September 2016, Volume 43

    Contemporary Ideas about Karma

  17. April-June 2016, Volume 43

    Buddhism and Food

  18. January-March 2016, Volume 43

    Dual Religious Identity: Can One Practice Two Religions?

  19. October-December 2015, Volume 42

    The Modern Significance of Meditative Practices in Religions

  20. July-September 2015, Volume 42

    Religious Rituals and Their Meaning for Today

  21. April-June 2015, Volume 42

    Religion's Contributions to Society

  22. January-March 2015, Volume 42

    Cultivating Hearts That Welcome the Other

  23. October-December 2014, Volume 41

    Buddhism and Language

  24. July-September 2014, Volume 41

    Life After Death

  25. April-June 2014, Volume 41

    Building an East Asian Community: Roles of Religions

  26. January-March 2014, Volume 41

    Aging Societies and Religion

  27. October-December 2013, Volume 40

    Nuclear Power and Contemporary Religion

  28. July-September 2013, Volume 40

    Where Does the Buddha Live Now?

  29. April-June 2013, Volume 40

    Modern Meanings of Festivals

  30. January-March 2013, Volume 40

    Transforming Greed

  31. October-December 2012, Volume 39

    Religions Coping with Prejudice

  32. July-September 2012, Volume 39

    The Significance of Religious Communities

  33. April-June 2012, Volume 39

    Buddhist Teachings on Spiritual Liberation

  34. January-March 2012, Volume 39

    The Meaning of Modern Pilgrimage

  35. October-December 2011, Volume 38

    The Evolution of Funerals in Japan

  36. July-September 2011, Volume 38

    Buddhism in North America

  37. April-June 2011, Volume 38

    Religion and the Power of Women

  38. January-March 2011, Volume 38

    What Is True Wealth?

  39. October-December 2010, Volume 37

    Dialogue Draws Religions Closer

  40. July-September 2010, Volume 37

    Tackling the Question "What Is the Lotus Sutra?"

  41. April-June 2010, Volume 37

    Religion's Role in Abolishing Nuclear Weapons

  42. January-March 2010, Volume 37

    Help in Overcoming Alienation

  43. July-September 2009, Volume 36

    Religion and Prayer

  44. July-September 2009, Volume 36

    Religion and Media

  45. April-June 2009, Volume 36

    Religion and Health

  46. January-March 2009, Volume 36

    The Changing Forms of the Family and the Role of Religion

  47. October-December 2008, Volume 35

    The Meaning of Giving in the Contemporary World

  48. July-September 2008, Volume 35

    Buddhism in the Face of Environmental Crisis

  49. April-June 2008, Volume 35

    The Many Forms of the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin

  50. January-March 2008, Volume 35

    Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution

  51. October-December 2007, Volume 34

    Buddhism and Bioethics

  52. July-September 2007, Volume 34

    Respect for Ancestors

  53. April-June 2007, Volume 34

    Self-Examination and Peace Work

  54. January-March 2007, Volume 34

    Buddhism and Social Responsibility: Boddhisattva Practice Today

  55. October-December 2006, Volume 33

    Buddishm in Dialogue

  56. July-September 2006, Volume 33

    Religions Working for Peace

  57. April-June 2006, Volume 33

    Creating the World of the One Vehicle: The Centennial of the Birth of Rev. Nikkyo Niwano

  58. January-February 2006, Volume 33

    The Human Condition and Religion: A Global Future?

  59. November-December 2005, Volume 32

    Remembering Hiroshima

  60. September-October 2005, Volume 32

    Spirituality and Development

  61. July-August 2005, Volume 32

    Women in Contemporary Japanese Religion and Society

  62. May-June 2005, Volume 32

    Rissho Kosei-kai 67th

  63. March-April 2005, Volume 32

    "Thousand Buddhas," Sanbanggulsa Temple, South Korea

  64. January-February 2005, Volume 32

    Emerging Forms of Spirituality

  65. November-December 2004, Volume 31

    Peace Building Through Multi-Religious Cooperation

  66. September-October 2004, Volume 31

    The Increasing Importance of Dialogue and Cooperation

  67. July-August 2004, Volume 31

    Paths to Reconciliation

  68. May-June 2004, Volume 31

    Religion in Crisis

  69. March-April 2004, Volume 31

    Spiritual Friendship

  70. January-February 2004, Volume 31

    Resolving Conflict

  71. November-December 2003, Volume 30

    Dividing Good From Evil

  72. September-October 2003, Volume 30

    Common Truths: Cooperation Among Religions

  73. July-August 2003, Volume 30

    Niwano Peace Foundation

  74. May-June 2003, Volume 30

    Religionists United in Prayer for Peace

  75. March-April 2003, Volume 30

    Life is Larger Than Globalization

  76. January-February 2003, Volume 30

    Emerging Forms of Spirituality

  77. November-December 2002, Volume 29

    Roundtable Disscussion at the World Congress of the International Association for Religious Freedom

  78. September-October 2002, Volume 29

    Sixth Assembly of the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

  79. July-August 2002, Volume 29

    The Most Reverend Samuel Ruiz Garcia, Recipient of the 19th Niwano Peace Prize

  80. May-June 2002, Volume 29

    National Treasure Tapestry Illustrating Shakyamuni Sermon to the Faithful

  81. March-April 2002, Volume 29

    Celebration of the Anniversary of Shakyamuni's Birth

  82. January-February 2002, Volume 29

    Religious Delegates Gather in New York for WCRP Symposium

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