In a press release on 26 January this year, the president of the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai International (SGI), Daisaku Ikeda, called upon world leaders to increase efforts to alleviate poverty and ban nuclear weapons in the 70th year since the end of World War II. As part of its call for action, he proposed “a shared pledge for a more humane future: to eliminate misery from the earth” (Soka Gakkai International).
SGI president Daisaku Ikeda. From httpressreleases.religiousnews.com
The statement also urges the United Nations to enhance its collaboration with civil society, and to promote the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which support putting an end to poverty “in all its forms everywhere.” To eliminate the human suffering caused by poverty and conflict, Ikeda also emphasized the need for politics and economics to become more humane, based on an accord between ordinary people.
He suggested including in the SDGs, protecting the dignity and human rights of displaced persons in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and West Africa, with a strong focus on regional cooperation and empowerment.
Regarding the elimination of nuclear weapons, he urged the heads of government to attend the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference to be held from 27 April to 22 May at the UN headquarters in New York, and to pledge to eliminate the danger caused by nuclear weapons.
Stressing the importance of regional cooperation, he proposed that trilateral China-Korea-Japan summits be re-established, and hoped that the leaders of these three countries could mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II with an assurance that they would not go to war again. In March, SGI will also organize a workshop with representatives of these three countries in Sendai, Japan, where they will discuss the possibility of regional cooperation in disaster prevention, relief activities, and post-disaster recovery.
Additionally, SGI is coordinating a World Youth Summit for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, to be held in Hiroshima in September as a joint initiative with other NGOs. He hopes that the youth will engage in the prohibition of nuclear weapons. He also highlighted the importance of establishing a China-Korea-Japan youth partnership through which they can cooperate in efforts to realize the UN’s SDGs and other trilateral initiatives.
SGI logo. From cpexre.com
Every year since 1983, SGI has issued a peace proposal offering ways to tackle global challenges. It has 12 million activists around the globe who practice Nichiren Buddhism (a branch of Mahayana Buddhism based on the teachings of the Japanese monk Nichiren [1222–82]) and are involved in promoting peace, culture, and education.
“Nichiren Buddhism has truly enabled millions of people to overcome major challenges, as well as become happier, healthier, and more at peace within their own lives, and this is certainly having a major effect on societies and the world,” commented Eddie, a netizen of the online newspaper CNBC.
He added, “Of course, positive change always faces resistance from the greedy, angry, and foolish natures in people’s lives, and the millions of people practicing Nichiren Buddhism are a tiny fraction compared to the billions of people living on this beautiful planet of ours.”