A Proposal for Peace - Buddhist Talk in Newport

(A better link is https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-proposal-for-peace-toward-a-more-humane-world-tickets-33147774887/amp).

A Proposal for Peace – toward a more humane world 

A talk by Robert Harrap 

This talk introduces the work of Buddhist Philosopher Daisaku Ikeda, who calls for greater efforts to protect human rights, safeguard the planet’s ecology, and the urgent need to ban all nuclear weapons. 

Humanistic scholar, author and peace-builder Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a worldwide lay Buddhist organisation, has written and published a Peace Proposal every year since 1983, submitting these to the United Nations as part of his lifelong commitment to dialogues supporting world peace and the realisation of human potential.

The Isle of Wight members of the socially engaged Buddhist movement SGI-UK* are hosting a talk, followed by question, answer and discussion about the ideas underpinning 2017 Peace Proposal: ‘The Global Solidarity of Youth: Ushering in a New Era of Hope’, by Daisaku Ikeda. Ikeda’s contribution has earned him profound respect and more than 200 honorary doctorates and awards from universities, educational institutions and peace groups around the world.

Each proposal focuses on key themes and global issues that concern politicians, policy makers and individuals alike. Through each he promotes the idea of a world in which ‘no one is left behind’, and suggests ways that individuals can contribute towards, and thereby participate in, shared action which will lead to greater solidarity and the elimination of suffering. This year he particularly highlights the ‘role of youth’; ‘laying foundations to overcome division and inequality’; ‘abolishing nuclear weapons’; ‘restoring hope in the hearts of refugees’ and ‘building a culture of human rights’.

The talk will be delivered by Robert Harrap, SGI-UK General Director since 2013, and a Barrister in the areas of employment, social housing and human rights. Robert also appears regularly on the BBC Radio 2’ Programme ‘Pause for Thought’.

When: Monday, 8 May 2017

Time: Talk 6.15 -7 pm, followed by Q&A 7 – 7.30pm (doors open 6pm)

Where: Island Innovation VI Form Campus Upper St. James Street, Newport, PO30 1LJ

This is a free event As places are limited please register your attendance in advance on https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-proposal-for-peace-toward-a-more-humane-world-tickets-33147774887/amp

For more information: contact: Harry Vernon 07854 005042
See www.daisakuikeda.org
Read a synopsis of the proposal
http://www.sgi-uk.org/global-solidarity-youth-ushering-new-era-hope
Read full text of proposal
http://www.sgi-uk.org/sites/default/files/peace-proposal/PeaceProposal_2017.pdf

International Day of Peace

Today is the United Nations International Day of Peace.

The day is marked by the striking of the Japanese Peace Bell. Traditionally, the Bell is rung twice a year. It is tolled on the first day of Spring at the time of the vernal equinox, in celebration of the annual Earth Day ceremony initiated by Earth Day Founder, John McConnell. 

It is also tolled on every opening day of the UN General Assembly's yearly session in September, coinciding with the International Day of Peace established by the General Assembly in 1981. This occasion is observed by the Secretary-General.

The bell tower was modelled after the Hanamido (a small temple decorated with flowers) that symbolises the place where Buddha was born.

The Buddha at Christmas

One of our Sangha members is a keen runner so even when visiting his daughter for Christmas still has to have his morning run. He snapped this when passing the London Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park.
 

International Day of Peace

Today is the U.N. International Day of Peace. Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples.



This year, world leaders, together with civil society, local authorities and the private sector, will be meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to renew political commitment to long term sustainable development.

It is in the context of the Rio+20 Conference that “Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future” is the theme chosen for this year's observance of the International day of Peace.

There can be no sustainable future without a sustainable peace. Sustainable peace must be built on sustainable development.

The Buddha in Kenya

Now this is a bit different......
 
Two tall Samburu warriors light the fire for the World Peace ceremony in Kenya in front of a reclining Buddha statue.

The 10th anniversary of the UN Global Peace Initiative of Women (GPIW) was celebrated in Laikipia, Kenya earlier this month.

The Global Peace Initiative has a three-fold focus: Deepening inter-religious dialogue; leadership training for youth and raising environmental concerns. It also aims to raise awareness of global issues such as climate change, environmental degradation, poverty and conflict.

Following the lighting of the fire a Fire and Water ceremony was performed by Her Holiness Shinso Ito head of the Shinnyo-en school of Japanese Buddhism. The ceremony created by Shinso Ito is based on an ancient fire ritual (Homa) performed in various forms in Hindu, Tibetan and Japanese Buddhist and Jain traditions.

Total Eclipse Over Peace Pagoda, New Dehli

I subscribe to a daily email called "Astronomy Picture of the Day" and a recent photograph was this amazing time lapse shot of a total lunar eclipse taken over the top of the Shanti Stupa Peace Pagoda near the centre of New Delhi, India. The red tint of the eclipsed Moon was created by sunlight first passing through the Earth's atmosphere, which preferentially scatters blue light (making the sky blue) but passes and refracts red light, before reflecting back off the Moon.

The Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most (though not all) have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii (1885–1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myo-ho-ji Buddhist Order. Fujii was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to World peace.

The first Peace Pagodas were built as a symbol of peace in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
where the atomic bombs took the lives of over 150,000 people, almost all of whom were civilian, at the end of World War II. By 2000, eighty Peace Pagodas had been built around the world in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

The Shanti stupa in New Delhi was inaugurated on 14th. November 2007 by monks and nuns of Nipponzan-Myo-ho-ji, the Dalai Lama and the Lt. Governor of Delhi. It is situated in Millennium Indraprastha Park, North-East of Humayun's Tomb, adjacent to Delhi Ring Road. A traditional Japanese garden has been constructed in the area around the stupa. The garden is a joint project by the Fujii Guruji Vishwa Shanti Stupa Committee and the Delhi Development Authority.