Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

CITATION with one of these prominent people led to a crucial book, ChooseLife ,A Dialogue, Arnold Toynbee and Daisaku Ikeda. It is a record of their questionings and conversations over the period 1971 to 1974. Their exchanges of ideas deal with a host of problems and issues, some of them traditional questions in most cultures, such as the mind-body relationship and the relation of life on earth to the life force in the universe, together with other topic s arising from modem conditions: pollution of our environment, organ transplants, and the exploration of space. The book is remarkable for its effort to understand differences, to discuss issues from different and often compatible cultural standpoints, and to reach agreement, the whole informed by good w i l l and broad humanistic learning. Dr. Ikeda has emerged as a prolific inspirational writer and poet, using his Buddhist faith and thought to explore problems in contemporary life around the globe. Hand in glove wit h his prolific writing and tireless other work in the cause of world peace goes the belief expressed in the epigram to his Symphonic Poems With Nature: 'Poetry is the heart that binds together human beings, society and the universe.' He has here the rationale for a similar insight by the great contemporary French poet, Yves Bonnefoy, who told an interviewer that 'Poetry can save the world.' In Symphonic Poems, a lavish collection of his poetry with photographs o f matching sensitivity as well as fine technical accomplishment, Ikeda assumes many voices. Even the weeds growing on the windy dunes of Shizuoka's shores are given an urgent voice, making them sturdy, unpretentious witnesses to life's great force. He speaks in his poem 'Autumn' with the voice o f one who, as a child growing to adolescence, witnessing the horror of war and militarism, turned away from violence and hatred: In the midst of the net of good and evil the inmost thoughts of the poet remain pure. Yet he is not unrealistic. He knows we are all caught in that net. Art can bind us also, but bind us together as sentient human beings, appreciative o f creative thought and feeling, because art's foundation is our common humanity. Art, he writes, thus forms 'a rainbow bridge linking together all humankind’. The cultural exchange that great art offers us is now crucial to our survival, for art is a way of knowing. In his annual peace proposal released in January 2000, 'Peace Through Dialogue: A Time to Talk —Thoughts on a Culture o f Peace', Dr. Ikeda proposed an international conflic t resolution committee within the United Nations to propagate internationa l humanitarian law in regions suffering from conflicts. It is wholly in accord with Ikeda's thinking that the United Nations has declared the year 2001 the ‘Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations'. Dr. Ikeda outlines his seminal ideas in the addresses he has given in many universities and collected in his book, A New Humanism. In ‘The Magnificent Cosmos', delivered i n 1994 at Moscow Lomonosov State University, he stresses the inner power that derives from honestly examining the self. We must listen to the rhythm of change that is within us to discover 'the humility and generosity of spirit that have been at the core of ethical behaviour since ancient times'. It is with this firm belief that Dr. Ikeda devotes himself to the education and nurture of young people, working from a strong base, his inspirational concept of revolution from within oneself, encouraging people to become self-reliant individuals, as they advance into the twenty- first century. Dr. Ikeda's lifelong dedication to human understanding, education, the spread of peace, and the promotion of happiness of spirit have been recognized officially by many awards. He holds honorary doctorates from over 50 universities and i s an honorary citizen of more than 140 cities worldwide, besides having had honorary professorships in some 40 universities. Apart from his Humanitarian Award o f the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 2001 44