Daisaku Ikeda -
Ambassador of Peace
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Daisaku Ikeda's grew up during the
2nd world war, and saw the misery of common people affected by it.
This youthful experience of the devastation of war instilled in
him a strong yearning for peace. It is this desire that continues
to inspire his activities today. Most visibly these include his
frequent dialogues with leaders in various fields from around the
world, his voluminous writings and his efforts to promote dialogue
and exchange between diverse peoples and cultures.
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Dialogue
After assuming the presidency of the Soka Gakkai in 1960, Dr. Ikeda began engaging in “Citizen's diplomacy”, an effort to talk with and encourage dialogue between leaders polarized by cold war divisions.
With unshakeable conviction that true peace can only be forged in the hearts and minds of the world’s ordinary citizens, Dr. Ikeda has engaged in dialogues with the representatives of all realms of human society. His actions stem from his faith in the ability of people to cast bridges of friendship and trust across the seeming chasms of our differences and from the convition that the accumulated weight of such endeavor will tip even the global scales towards peace.
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Dr. Ikeda’s love of Dialogue was nurtured by Arnold
Toynbee, the British historian with whom he met for the first time in May 1972. Their dialogue, entitled “Choose Life” was later published in 24 languages.
Toynbee encouraged Ikeda to seek out people of outstanding insight and wisdom in the pursuit of wide ranging dialogue for the sake of humanity.
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In the early 70's when tension between China and the former Soviet Union were massing troops along their shared border, he conducted a series of meetings with the leaders of the two countries in an attempt to ease the tension between the two countries.
He also played a part in restoring diplomatic relations between China and Japan. He has been particularly active in his attempts to build bridges of friendship with the Asian countries that suffered under Japan's wartime aggression.
Even today, Daisaku Ikeda continues to promote dialogue as the most basic starting point for peace. A number of his dialogues with notable figures have been published in book form.
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Institutions
Dr. Ikeda has founded the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century (1993) and the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research (1996) - institutions that engage in sustained efforts to foster research and intercultural dialogue on peace building.
Proposals
Every year, Ikeda publishes a peace proposal which explores the interrelation between core Buddhist concepts and the diverse challenges global society faces in the effort to realize peace and human security.
Some of his recent proposals include: the setting up of a "world disarmament fund" to collect excess funds generated by disarmament and use them to conquer poverty and promote education in developing countries.
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