For the Sake of Peace: A Buddhist Perspective for the 21st Century

by Daisaku Ikeda

Based on 20 years of university lectures and proposals to the United Nations, this book addresses the issue of peace from the Buddhist perspective of compassion, interconnectedness of all life, and absolute respect for human life. Informed by the teachings of Nichiren, the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist teacher and reformer, this book considers peace from various angles, including economics, the environment, disarmament, religion, and culture. Asserting that nothing is more precious than peace, this guide affirms that through self-mastery, dialogue, and belief in the sovereignty of the people, the world may come to know a peaceful existence.

Genres: Buddhism

272 pages, Hardcover

First published February 2, 2001

About the author

Daisaku Ikeda was a Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, educator, author and poet. He was the third president of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist organization and the founding president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), which is today one of the world's largest and most diverse lay Buddhist organizations, promoting a philosophy of character development and social engagement for peace.

Ikeda was the founder of the Soka (value-creation) schools, a nondenominational school system based on an ideal of fostering each student's unique creative potential and cultivating an ethic of peace, social contribution and global consciousness. The school system runs from kindergarten through graduate study and includes a university in Tokyo, Japan, and another in California, U.S.A.

Ikeda was a staunch proponent of dialogue as the foundation of peace. Since the 1970s he has pursued dialogue with a wide range of individuals around the world in political, cultural, educational and academic fields. Over 50 of these have been published in book form, with people such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Elise Boulding, Joseph Rotblat and André Malraux. In furtherance of his vision of fostering dialogue and solidarity for peace, Ikeda has founded a number of independent, nonprofit research institutes that develop cross-cultural, interdisciplinary collaboration on diverse issues: the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century, the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research and the Institute of Oriental Philosophy. The Min-On Concert Association and the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum promote mutual understanding and friendship between different national cultures through the arts.

Ikeda was a prolific writer who has published more than 100 works, ranging from Buddhist philosophy to biographical essays, poetry, children's stories and photographic collections.

Reviews

[Beverly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would not normally read a book such as this--not that I have anything against Buddists or peace, I'm just not intellectually minded enough to tackle it. However, I am big on lists and this happened to be on a suggested list of reading materials and I'd read everything on this up to this so...what the heck!! I will say that overall I actually enjoyed it and like the ideas presented, I just don't think that the world is willing to do what it would take to accomplish the task. Here's what Amazon had to say about it. "Based on 20 years of university lectures and proposals to the United Nations, this book addresses the issue of peace from the Buddhist perspective of compassion, interconnectedness of all life, and absolute respect for human life. Informed by the teachings of Nichiren, the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist teacher and reformer, this book considers peace from various angles, including economics, the environment, disarmament, religion, and culture. Asserting that nothing is more precious than peace, this guide affirms that through self-mastery, dialogue, and belief in the sovereignty of the people, the world may come to know a peaceful existence."

[Mikell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ikeda's book is based on more than 25 years of lectures and proposals to the United Nations. His description of his mother's sorrow - as well as his - when his brother went off to war - is powerful.

I am familiar with Gandhi and King's perspective on peace and it is helpful to have another view from the Buddist perspective. My most startling revelation was "according to archeologists, humankind has engaged in organized war, meaning clashes between groups, for only about 10,000 of the 4 million years of human existence on earth."

The Ikeda/Gandhi/King exhibit is coming to our area on October 1 - 12, 2007 and I needed to have a better understanding of his message. He believes that peace is the prize of self-mastery and sincere dialogue.

My copy has notes all through it and is circulating among the Gandhi King Non-Violence Coalition or I would gladly share it!