Ikeda Research Institute for Soka Education
Issue 4/ March 18, 2022

Report onIkeda Studies in Education
PurposeThe Report on Ikeda Studies in Education iscompiled and circulated by the Ikeda ResearchInstitute for Soka Education (IRISE) of Soka
University. The Report serves as an informationsharing tool for scholars and researchers of this fieldof study, with the aim of facilitating on a global basis,
further advances in the research of and activities
relevant to Ikeda studies in education.

News Update
USAHarvard Gutman Library holds online book talkon Hope and Joy in Education
On October 14, 2021, the Harvard Graduate Schoolof Education’s Gutman Library hosted a virtual booktalk for Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging
Daisaku Ikeda Across Curriculum and Context (seelink below for further details). The multi-author
work was developed in association with the Ikeda
Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue andpublished by Teachers College Press. The event wasattended by some 200 participants from 17 countries,
including Costa Rica, Italy, Brazil, Indonesia, India
and Mexico. It featured presentations by anddialogue with co-editors Drs. Isabel Nuñez, director
and professor of the School of Education at Purdue
University Fort Wayne, and Jason Goulah of DePaul
University, who directs DePaul’s Institute for
Daisaku Ikeda Studies in Education.
Prof. Goulah shared that Daisaku Ikeda gave two
addresses at Harvard University, one on “the Age ofSoft Power” in 1991, and the other on “Mahayana
Buddhism and 21st Century” in 1993. Noting that“many of the themes [Mr. Ikeda addressed then] arestill relevant today,” Prof. Goulah explained thatfor Mr. Ikeda “education and Buddhism are two
aspects of the same reality” in that they “both seek toenhance our humanity.” In Mr. Ikeda’s view, “weonly become human when we make tenacious efforts
to live as human beings” and that “this idea ofbecoming fully human cannot be overemphasized,”
said Goulah.
In her presentation, Dr. Nuñez, describing“illness, death, racism and violence” as “multiplepandemics,” shared the difficulties of putting thebook together in a stricken world. At the same time,
however, she noted that “the act of teaching itself is
an expression of hope, a manifestation of hope. But
when the work of teaching had become so much
more difficult, there was a real need to reconnect
with that hope ... to reconnect with that hope and joy.”According to the library’s website, the Gutman
Library Book Talks, serve as “a venue for critical
discussion and engagement with current issues in thefield of education research, practice and policy.”
Video: Hope and Joy in Education Book Talk
(panopto.com)
Ikeda Center article: Harvard Book Talk Celebrates
Hope and Joy in Education | The Ikeda Center forPeace, Learning & Dialogue | Cambridge, MAJapan
Daisaku Ikeda’s annual peace proposal publishedin JapanOn January 26, 2022, Daisaku Ikeda released his
40th annual peace proposal entitled “Transforming
Human History: The Light of Peace and Dignity,” tocommemorate the founding of the Soka Gakkai
International.
In his latest proposal, Mr. Ikeda called for theprompt adoption of an international treaty tofacilitate the prevention, preparedness and responseto current and future pandemics. Moreover, as partof the global post-pandemic recovery process, heurged the building of “an economy that inspires hopein young people and enables women to shine withdignity.”
Referring to second Soka Gakkai president Josei
Toda (1900-58), who expressed the idea of global
citizenship some 70 years earlier, Mr. Ikeda
reiterated his commitment to education andidentified “three key issue areas that require prompt
resolution for the sake of current and futuregenerations.” The first among these areas is “toensure and enhance the provision of learning
opportunities for children and adolescents,” an issueof particular importance as an estimated 1.6 billion
students worldwide have had faced disruptions totheir schooling during the pandemic. Citing theTransforming Education Summit that the UN will
convene in September this year, which he describes
as “a perfect opportunity for productive discussions
on such themes as education in emergencies andinclusive education.” And he concludes: “I strongly
believe that the adoption of a global action plan forthe learning, growth and happiness of all children at
the Transforming Education Summit … will
constitute a vital foundation for safeguarding thedreams and hopes of children today, and all those yetto be born.”
2022 SGI Peace Proposal full text:
https://www.daisakuikeda.org/assets/files/peaceprop
osal2022.pdf
ThailandThailand’s Thammasat University and Soka
University hold joint seminar
On February 14, 2022, Thammasat University ofThailand and Soka University in Japan held
Thammasat University – Soka University Joint
Seminar 2022, a joint online seminar with SDGs andEducation as its theme.
Thammasat University Dean of the Faculty of
Liberal Arts Asst. Prof. Dr. Passapong Sripicharn
and Prof. Noranit Setabutr, President of theThammasat University Council, offered the opening
remarks. They were followed by Soka University
President Prof. Yoshihisa Baba, who reiterated his

institution’s commitment to the SDG promise of“leave no one behind” as it strives to contribute to
the welfare of all humanity and the advancement of
lasting peace worldwide.
Next, four other scholars from the twouniversities gave their presentations. Thammasat’s
Faculty of Economics Asst. Prof. Chol Bunnag
spoke on SDGs and the roles of universities, while
Faculty of Liberal Arts lecturer Ajarn Anant Utchinpresented insights on the importance of gender
diversity in university settings and its constructive
influence on society in general.
They were followed by Soka University Dean of
the Faculty of International Liberal Arts Prof.
Laurence MacDonald, who underscored the value of
information communication technologies inproviding a quality education. Prof. Satoshi Sasakiof Soka’s Faculty of Nursing then spoke on global
citizenship education and SDGs.

Daisaku Ikeda on Education“ Be Creative Individuals” (A speech delivered at
Soka University’s third entrance ceremony, the firstattended by the author, held on April 9, 1973.)

This Issue’s Selected Writing
Edited by Isabel Nuñez (Purdue University FortWayne) and Jason Goulah (DePaul University) andpublished by Teachers College Press in association
with the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, andDialogue, Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging
Daisaku Ikeda across Curriculum and Context
includes 18 chapters from more than 20 scholareducators from diverse disciplines.
Teachers College Press, Hope and Joy in Education
https://www.tcpress.com/hope-and-joy-ineducation-9780807765104

Postscript⚫

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We welcome comments regarding this Report aswell as suggestions on specific material that itshould feature in future issues. Contact: Ikeda
Research Institute for Soka Education (IRISE) ofSoka University (IRISE-access@soka.ac.jp)
This Report is distributed on a bimonthly basis, with
the next release tentatively scheduled for May 18,2022.