Bridging the Digital Divide
October 2000
Banner photo: ©SEKAI BUNKA PHOTO
Healing for the Millennium
The 108th Convention of the American Psychological Association was held in Washington, D.C., between August 4 and 8. The convention included a symposium on Buddhism and Psychology, held for the third consecutive year, on the theme "Healing for the Millennium: Buddhist Applications to Psychotherapy." SGI members took part in both sessions of the Buddhism and Psychology symposium--dealing specifically with insights into the positive impact Buddhism can have on channeling anger, supporting addiction recovery and controlling fear and shame.
In a message to the convention, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda discussed the Buddhist principle of the five defilements, illustrating how the root causes of the problems confronting the world can be explained by this teaching contained in the Lotus Sutra. He further explained that Buddhism takes as its essential starting point the need to employ the inherent human capacities for compassion, trust and wisdom in order to heal the alienation which stems from these defilements and transform it into harmony. The positive impact of this inner transformation to healing and harmony can change the dynamics of families, of societies and even of humanity itself.
