Memorial held to celebrate Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda

A life committed to promoting peace through discussion

On November 23, at 1:30 p.m., a main Soka Gakkai Funeral was held at the Toda Memorial Auditorium in Tokyo, for Daisaku Ikeda, Honorary President of the Soka Gakkai and President of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI)who died on November 15, at the age of 95. The service was live-streamed to over 1000 Soka Gakkai focuses throughout Japan.

Following recitation of parts of the Lotus Sutra and the chanting of Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, gratitude was revealed by Senior Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda on behalf of the Ikeda household, and nationwide Women’s Leader Kimiko Nagaishi and Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada provided homages.

Harada specified that the acknowledgement messages gotten from kept in mind figures around the world vouch for Ikeda’s biggest accomplishment of “creating bonds, bringing individuals together and linking the intrinsic goodness in their hearts, going beyond race, ideology, and faith.” He stressed that Soka Gakkai members are figured out to continue Ikeda’s tradition of paving a course for peace, intending towards the company’s 100th anniversary in 2030.

In his homage, Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, previous UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative, composed, “He has actually offered humankind hope and instructions to confront with nerve the intricacy and obstacles these days’s world. I commemorate his imaginative energy and his intellectual stretch to elaborate and articulate the measurements of human worths and suitables to draw out the very best among every one people.”

Daisaku Ikeda was a Buddhist theorist, peacebuilder, teacher, author and poet who committed his life to promoting peace through discussion and led the Soka Gakkai Buddhist company’s worldwide advancement. He was born in Tokyo on January 2, 1928, and saw the scaries of World War II as a teen. The death of his oldest bro in action in Myanmar sustained his long-lasting hatred of war.

In 1947, Ikeda satisfied Josei Toda, pacifist and leader of the Soka Gakkai who had actually been sent to prison by the militarist federal government throughout the war. Ikeda took Toda as his coach and assisted spread out Nichiren Buddhism, which intended to develop a society based upon regard for the essential self-respect and equality of all individuals. Ikeda likewise promoted the principle of “human transformation”- inner-directed change that stimulates social modification.

In May 1960, Ikeda was inaugurated as 3rd president of the Soka Gakkai at 32. He motivated individuals having a hard time amidst the severe truths of life to think that they have the capability to change their fate.

From the 1970s, Ikeda carried out discussions throughout cultures with popular figures, consisting of British historian Arnold Toynbee and previous Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, to discover typical options to the complex issues dealing with mankind. Over 80 of these discussions have actually been released in book type.

He likewise promoted people-to-people exchange in between China and Japan, thinking that useful engagement with China was essential to local stability. In the mid-1970s, he likewise took part in person diplomacy in between China, the Soviet Union and the USA, to assist pacify Cold War stress.

An enthusiastic supporter of the abolition of nuclear weapons, Ikeda was a company follower in the main function of the United Nations as an online forum for peace. From 1983 to 2022, he authored yearly peace propositions using concrete recommendations towards developing a long lasting culture of peace.

Check out complete homage here

The Soka Gakkai is an international community-based Buddhist company with 12 million members. Daisaku Ikeda (1928-2023) was President of the Soka Gakkai from 1960-79 and establishing President of the SGI from 1975.

###

Contact:

Hiro Sakurai
SGI Office for UN Affairs
(917) 513-6538
[email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and viewpoints revealed in this short article are those of the authors and do not always show the main policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.