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Humanizing Religion, Creating Peace
In his 2008 peace proposal issued on January 26 to
commemorate the anniversary of the SGI’s founding in 1975,
SGI President Daisaku Ikeda calls for the humanization of
religion as one path toward peace.
Commenting that the current trend toward fundamentalism is
found not only in the religious sphere, but also in
excessive attachment to national or ethnic identity and even
to market principles, Mr. Ikeda
stresses the need to put the human being at the center of
all issues. He identifies dialogue as key in combating
fanaticism, mistrust and dogmatism.
"Does religion make people stronger, or does it weaken them?
Does it encourage what is good or what is evil in them? Are
they made better and more wise--or less--by religion?" Ikeda
writes. "These are the
questions we need to ask of all religions, including of
course Buddhism, if we are to succeed in fully ‘humanizing’
them."
He also makes concrete proposals toward protecting the
planet’s ecology, upholding human dignity and creating the
infrastructures of peace.
He suggests that the UN Environment Programme be upgraded to
the status of a specialized agency and calls on the Japanese
government to share technology with the goal of making East
Asia a model region for energy conservation and efficiency.
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The cover of
Daisaku Ikeda's 2008 Peace Proposal |
Noting that 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, Mr. Ikeda stresses the need for
a global culture of human rights, urging that an
international conference on human rights education centered
on civil society groups be held as soon as possible.
Drawing attention to the potential of Africa, he proposes
that the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African
Development, to be held in May, focus on the empowerment of
youth.
In the area of peace, he supports the call for an Arctic
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone as an important step toward
establishing the illegality of nuclear weapons.
He suggests ways of strengthening infrastructures for peace
in East Asia and welcomes the Japanese government’s program
to invite 6,000 young people from East Asian countries to
Japan, concluding that
working with youth is the best way to build grassroots
solidarity for peace.
"Humanizing Religion, Creating Peace" is the 26th annual
peace proposal issued by Mr. Ikeda, sharing Buddhist
perspectives on current issues facing humanity and proposing
concrete solutions. See the full
proposal at:
www.daisakuikeda.org
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