Dharma World

July-August 2004, Volume 31

July-August 2004, Volume 31

Paths to Reconciliation

Reconciliation through Loving Your Adversary by Yoshiaki Sanada

If we do not strive to follow the way of God, how can we abandon vengeful hatred of our enemies and achieve forgiveness and reconciliation?

Yoshiaki Sanada is a professor of law who has taught Western legal history and comparative law based on Islamic law at Chuo University’s School of Law. Since 1994 he has been a guest professor at the Institute of Comparative Law of the China University of Politics and Law, in Beijing. He is also director of the Peace Research Institute, which is affiliated with the Japanese Committee of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.

The Reconciliation Process within the Acholi Tribe in Northern Uganda
The 21st Niwano Peace Prize Acceptance Address by John Baptist Odama

The 21st Niwano Peace Prize was awarded to the Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative (ARLPI), which works to end conflict and promote social justice, human rights, and peaceful coexistence among the peoples of the East African country of Uganda. The ARLPI is an organization in northern Uganda in which adherents of various religions and sects, including Islam and Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican), work together. Since its establishment in 1998, it has followed the path of nonviolence to end armed conflict, nurture human resources for the task of creating peace, and provide assistance to war victims through the work of over 400 volunteers, including its core membership of religious leaders, as well as individual staff members, peace committees in various districts, and peace supporters. The prize was presented in Tokyo on May 11. The following is the acceptance address by His Grace John Baptist Odama, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gulu and the current chairman of the ARLPI.

Commentary

Building a World of True Peaceful Coexistence by Masao Higa

What the world needs now is a kind of ethnocultural symbiosis in which peoples of different cultures can coexist peacefully, recognizing and respecting the differences, and pursuing a better understanding of one another.

Masao Higa, professor at Okinawa University and director of its Institute of Regional Study, is also professor emeritus of the National Museum of Japanese History. He specializes in research on the social structure and local religious rites in East and Southeast Asia. His major works include Okinawa minzokugaku no hoho (Methodology in Okinawan Folklore Studies) and Josei yui to dankei genri (Female Predominancy and the Patrilineal Principle).

Essay

Knowing How to Be Content: The Way of Life of Kanzawa Toko by Shoji Tatsukawa

Shoji Tatsukawa, born in 1927, is professor emeritus of Kitasato University. He specializes in the study of disease and medical care from the perspective of cultural history and the history of mentality. He was awarded the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities in 1980. His numerous books include Nihonjin no shiseikan (Japanese Views on Death and Life) and Taru o shiru iki-kata (The Way of Life That Knows Sufficiency).

Japanese Religion and Culture

“Vengeful Spirits” That Created Peace: A Message for Today by Kazuhiko Komatsu

Belief in vengeful spirits has weakened and is unlikely to revive. But people’s imaginative power is still confined within the narrow limits of their society, indifferent to those outside.

Kazuhiko Komatsu is a professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, specializing in Japanese folklore and the anthropology of religion. He is the author of Kami-kakushi to Nipponjin (“Spiriting Away” in Japanese Folk Culture) and Ijinron (The Stranger in Japanese Folk Society).

The Stories of the Lotus Sutra

Devadatta and Violence by Gene Reeves

There are many different versions of a wide variety of stories about Devadatta, but it is said that his evil led him to become the greatest enemy of the Buddha.

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. Before coming to Japan in 1989, Dr. Reeves was the dean of Meadville/Lombard Theological School and professorial lecturer in the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.

Reflections

Creating a World of Harmony by Nichiko Niwano

We are acutely aware of the importance of promoting harmony—not only in interactions with others, but also in world situations. What exactly is harmony when seen from the perspective of religion? What should we bear in mind in our daily lives to help us achieve a world in which it exists? The following is a translation of a recent interview with Rev. Nichiko Niwano that originally appeared in Rissho Kosei-kai’s Japanese periodical Yakushin.

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

Salvation Always Has a Cause 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 Rissho Kosei-kai, was an honorary president of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP) and was honorary chairman of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan) at the time of his death in October 1999.

Interview

Religion Empowers Us to Be Alive Now An Interview with Juan Masia

Dr. Juan Masia came to Japan from his native Spain in 1966 and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Tokyo in 1973. Since 1979, he has taught ethical theology and the history of philosophical thought in the faculty of theology of Sophia University. For ten years, starting in 1988, he taught life ethics at the faculty of theology of the Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid. During the 1970s, he was the first to introduce the concept of “liberation theology” to Japan, and has played a leading role in the field of life ethics, having published a number of books and articles on the subject. While energetically engaging in dialogue with members of Japan’s religions, he has pursued Buddhist research, and in 2003 published a translation into Spanish of The Awakening of Faith, attributed to the Indian poet and Mahayana philosopher Ashvaghosha, and is presently taking part in an effort to publish a Spanish-language version of the Lotus Sutra. In February 2004 he returned to the Pontifical University of Comillas to head its Institute of Life Ethics. Before he left Japan, he granted us an interview on the social and religious issues of our time for Dharma World.

Buddhist Living

Learning to Live with a Stronger Faith by Charlotte Higa

This article is based upon the speech that Ms. Higa delivered at Rissho Kosei-kai of Hawaii on March 14, 2004. In it, she relates how practicing her faith helped her to live her life with more confidence.

Charlotte Higa is a member of Rissho Kosei-kai of Hawaii.

Gotama Buddha (67)

Kusinagar, the Place of the Buddha’s Death by Hajime Nakamura

The desolate site of Kusinagar leaves no doubt that it is authentic. Excavations have revealed the Nirvana Stupa erected in memory of the Buddha’s demise.

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 (77)

The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law
Chapter 8: The Five Hundred Disciples Receive the Prediction of Their Destiny (1) by Nikkyo Niwano

This is the seventy-seventh 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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