Special Series:
The Challenge of Global Transformation—
Humanity and the Environment (2)Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker
Daisaku Ikeda
Following the last issue, The Journal of Oriental Studies presents the
final installment of the dialogue between German environmentalist Dr.
Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker and Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka
Gakkai International (SGI) and founder of the Institute of Oriental
Philosophy.
Since they first met in Tokyo in March 2010, the two have continued
their discourse by correspondence. Consisting of eight conversations,the series was published in Japanese in October 2014 under the title
Chikyukakumei eno chosen: ningen to kankyo o kataru (The Challenge
of Global Transformation—Humanity and the Environment).
Dr. Weizsäcker is currently a co-president of the Club of Rome and
Mr. Ikeda is the global think tank’s honorary member. Mr. Ikeda has
also engaged in and published dialogues with Club of Rome cofounderAurelio Peccei (Before It Is Too Late) and honorary president Ricardo
Díez-Hochleitner (A Dialogue Between East and West: Looking to a
Human Revolution).
With extensive references to Dr. Weizsäcker’s work, Factor Five, thisissue discusses such subjects as the concept of resilience in disasterprevention and relief, the Transition Towns movement aimed to achievea sustainable society, and the importance of market efficiency andliberation from market fundamentalism.
FortiFying Disaster resilience
Ikeda: We have exchanged meaningful thoughts throughout our
dialogue on the challenges we face in such realms as the environment
and energy, two of the most pressing issues of our century. In the courseof this discussion, I have learned much from you, Dr. Weizsäcker, as tothe path Japan must choose going forward to overcome these challenges.
By way of concluding our dialogue, in this final installment, I would3

4

the challenge of global transformation (2)like to focus on what we can do to establish a way of life and societyoriented to building a sustainable global society.
In recent years, a series of abnormal weather events have caused
serious damage worldwide. In a study it released in July 2013, theWorld Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported, “The world
experienced unprecedented high-impact climate extremes during the
2001–2010 decade.”1
The report cited such meteorological extremes as Hurricane Katrina,
which hit the United States in 2005, the 2010 floods in Pakistan, andlong-term droughts in the Amazon Basin, noting that during the ten
years from 2001 to 2010, more than 370,000 people died as a result ofabnormal climate conditions, a figure 20% higher than in the decadefrom 1991 to 2000.2
In 2013, typhoons of record ferocity devastated large areas of thePhilippines and Vietnam, while heavy rains produced flooding in India
and Canada, and many regions of the northern hemisphere experienced
record heat waves. In Europe, torrential rains caused major rivers andtheir tributaries to overflow. The flooding in Germany, the Czech
Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia received extensive media
coverage in Japan. I quickly sent messages of condolences to thestricken countries and the SGI members who live there. Japan was
struck by torrential rains as well, and preparing for not only earthquakes
and tsunamis but also such extreme weather events became an urgent
issue for countries around the world. Have the 2013 floods raised
awareness of extreme weather in Germany?
Weizsäcker: First, please allow me to express my sincere thanks foryour concern about the flooding in Germany. The extreme weather
events taking place around the world are also a source of great concern
to me. The heavy rains and flooding in India and Canada were indeed
disastrous, and one cannot help but be astonished at the horrific damage
inflicted by the typhoons that struck the Philippines and Vietnam.
Though by comparison the flooding in Germany claimed far fewer
lives and caused much less damage, the Danube River overflowed its
banks, flooding hundreds of square kilometers. The worst affected were
the Elbe River and its tributaries. For example, the railway bridge
between Hanover and Berlin was destabilized, and it took a half-year toreopen it. Since the nineteenth century, we in Germany have built rightup to our rivers’ banks, but it is now becoming clear that that was a
mistake.

the challenge of global transformation (2)5During the last ten years, opinion has gradually come to prevail that itis better to leave open space around our rivers to reduce the damage
even when large areas adjacent to rivers are flooded. The German
government has taken safety measures at the local level for dealing withfloods and water damage, but as weather changes create more extreme
conditions, the government is increasingly aware of the threat, andpublic perception of imminent dangers is also growing.
Ikeda: The growing awareness of the need to reserve open space aroundrivers to prevent water damage is a noteworthy development. Interest in
the concept of resilience in disaster prevention and relief has been
growing, which I believe is a significant step forward. As you know, theidea of resilience in this context is based on the recognition that natural
disasters and extreme weather can occur at any time or place, and thatsteps must be taken to reinforce society’s ability to resist such conditions, thereby limiting or containing the resulting damage. Resilience
further underscores the need to strengthen the capacity of society torecover after such disasters or extreme conditions strike.
As the floods that beset Europe in 2013 and the super typhoons that
hit the Philippines and Vietnam all show, extreme weather conditions are
not problems limited to a single nation but affect entire regions. With
this in mind, in the peace proposal that I issued in January 2014, I called
for the establishment of cooperative mechanisms at the regional level—
for example, in Africa and Asia—to reduce the damage wrought byextreme weather.
I also urged that this resilience be reinforced in parallel with themeasures being developed on a global scale by the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). At the 19th
session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in November
2013, an agreement called the Warsaw International Mechanism for
Loss and Damage—the two major themes, loss and damage associatedwith climate change, were discussed—was adopted.
But such response strategies remain insufficient, and I believe wemust continue to devise numerous additional mechanisms. The same canbe said regarding steps to counter global warming, an area in which
negotiations appear to be stalled. At the conference in Poland, the WMO—while admitting that it was difficult to establish a direct link between
climate change and individual tropical cyclones—warned that continued
emissions of greenhouse gases would inevitably contribute to risingtemperatures and a growing number of extreme weather events.

6

the challenge of global transformation (2)Germany announced at the beginning of 2014 that it had achieved thetarget for greenhouse gas reduction that it agreed upon in the Kyoto
Protocol. We cannot but hope that other nations will follow Germany’s
example and be as engaged in doing the same.
rising Water levels threaten coastal cities
Weizsäcker: In the Kyoto Protocol, Germany committed itself to an
average greenhouse gas emission reduction of 21 percent for the period
from 2008 to 2012, compared to the base level of the year 1990. In fact,
the country achieved a reduction of 23.6 percent, exceeding its target.3
On the other hand, numerous individuals persist in spreading the
fairytale that global warming has stopped over the past fifteen years.
In some sense that is correct. Certain areas have not experienced
additional warming during the last fifteen years. But many others have.
In particular, the water of the oceans has warmed very, very significantly, especially around and under the Greenland ice, creating an
increasingly dangerous situation. In several places, the ice has broken
off in a catastrophic fashion or, at the very least, is starting to do so.
Newspapers are reporting that the melting of the permafrost has also
led to major coastal changes, particularly in east Siberia. With thesechanges, travel by ships is now possible along the northern coast ofEurasia and North America, thereby opening new avenues for excavating more coal, oil, and gas—making things worse, of course.
Ikeda: As of July 2012, as you say, 97 percent of the Greenland ice
sheet revealed surface melting, 4 and its underside melting is also
accelerating. The thawing of the sheet is an ongoing threat, and additional international monitoring of the process is needed.
In the lectures you gave throughout Japan, you frequently discussed
the melting of the Greenland ice sheet and the accompanying rise of sea
levels. Noting that many of the leading cities of Japan and Asia are at ornear sea level and situated along coastlines, you stressed the dangers
that rising sea levels present to the Japanese.
Weizsäcker: Many years ago, I was reading an article by Michael
Tooley, a British paleogeologist, in the British science magazine Nature(November 1989) about the significance of changes in sea levels.
According to that article, sea level changes can be traced over the last
20,000 years or so, and in a period from about 7,800 years to 7,700

the challenge of global transformation (2)7years ago, an enormous change occurred in a nonlinear fashion—astunning and alarming message indeed.
In that hundred-year period, sea levels rose seven meters. Though we
can date the sea level rise to that particular century, the actual change
could have occurred in a decade or even a single year within that larger
time frame. The author attributed this nonlinear event to the catastrophic
breaking off of the two- to three-thousand meters thick ice cap thatstretched from the Hudson Bay over the Labrador Sea to Greenland.
This indicates that if ocean temperatures around and below theGreenland ice are getting warmer, the danger is indeed increasing forthe ice to break off—not to melt, but to break off—causing a sea level
rise of perhaps another six to seven meters. And if the same happens
with the west Antarctic ice plate, sea levels could rise 14 meters,
meaning that much of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hamburg, Amsterdam,
Alexandria, Bangkok, Calcutta, and Mumbai would be under water. The
same would happen to all the major Chinese seaports, as well as Manila,
Jakarta, and coastal cities in the United States—New Orleans, Los
Angeles, New York, and Boston.
These cities could be submerged much too quickly to build any sortof protective dams. Even if there were time, it is quite a challenge tobuild dams 14 meters high. That’s why I believe that the real danger,
probably after the end of this century, could be a nonlinear rise of sea
levels. In the face of this very real possibility, we cannot afford to relax
our vigilance.
Ikeda: You are reminding us that we must not forget the sudden rise in
sea levels that followed the sundering of a massive chunk of glacial ice
in northeastern Canada.5 A rise in sea levels of just a few centimeters
can have dire effects. As a UN report put it, “A half-meter sea level riseby 2050 would flood almost a million square kilometers—an area thesize of France and Italy combined—and affect some 170 million
people.” The report goes on to note, “The impact will be largest in East
Asia and the Pacific, where more than 63 million people are likely to beaffected.”6
Though it will be difficult to avoid such natural causes of rising sea
levels as sundered ice caps, it is vital for nations to cooperate to the
maximum extent possible in addressing man-made causes. Earlier, younoted that the melting of the permafrost would open “new avenues for
excavating more coal, oil, and gas—making things worse.” This has
serious ramifications that we cannot afford to overlook.

8

the challenge of global transformation (2)liFestyles oF PriDe anD FulFillment
Ikeda: In our dialogue, we have agreed upon the need to abandon thepresent model of a society bent on the voracious consumption of resources and establish in its place a sustainable society. In this context, I
strongly agree with your advocacy in Factor Five, in which you cite theimportance of every individual deriving a sense of spiritual fulfillment,
and scientific and technological initiatives as the keys to successfully
freeing ourselves from a resource-wasting society. You state that we arenow entering a time in which people are rediscovering the virtues offrugality, a culture and mindset of being content with what we possessthat our forebears had recognized and appreciated. Furthermore, yousuggest that “frugality” may be understood in our day as “sufficiency
based on efficiency.” The real challenge for those in public office, inyour view, is to convince their fellow citizens of the value of frugality
and incorporate it into the economy and government.
You also advocate that rather than viewing this path as a “poor lifestyle,” we should take pride in embracing such a sustainable way of life.
I find this belief, which expresses a new vision for a sustainable society,indicative of the depths of insight that you and your Factor Five coauthors offer. We could thus say that a lifestyle of living in appreciationof what one already has not only helps to expand the ethos of frugality
in society, it also encourages people to ennoble their lives spiritually andinspires a deep sense of personal fulfillment.
Weizsäcker: In answering the question how we can respond to thethreats we face on a global scale, I have offered the ideas of efficiency
and, as you have just said, sufficiency. To restate, by efficiency, I mean
the fivefold increase of productivity, and by sufficiency, I mean agreeing
not to use more energy, water, and minerals, and feeling satisfied andhappy about that.
I freely acknowledge that frugality and sufficiency are closely
connected to the wisdom of religion. A vast majority of religions of theworld naturally have, as a central value, simplicity and frugality. In acertain sense, one could say that the movement away from a religious toa secular ethos has led to the abandonment of the values of frugality andsufficiency.
Ikeda: I believe that we are entering an age when religion will be called
upon to play a greater role in establishing such values as frugality andsufficiency in society. However, in the promotion of these values, ifthe challenge of global transformation (2)9people come to regard frugality, for example, as something negative, asa lifestyle that is forced upon them, as has often been the case, it will bedifficult to win public endorsement of such values and expand this wave
of social transformation. For the majority of people to feel personallymotivated in making this lifestyle change and adhering to it, I think that
it is imperative, as you note, for our notion of sufficiency to beunderpinned by the sense of pride we can feel in doing what is right.
The reason that energy conservation efforts have received such wide,
positive acceptance in Japan is that people believe their actions do notdisadvantage anyone and are the right thing to do. Can you think of any
other examples of successful social movements or changes that havebeen motivated by such pride and this sense of sufficiency?
Weizsäcker: I think the Transition Towns movement founded by Rob
Hopkins, an environmental activist in Ireland, is an example.
To the best of my knowledge, there are numerous transition towns inexistence in the world, mostly in English-speaking countries but also in
Germany. The residents in such towns do not depend on goods received
from outside sources and, while they lead relatively simple lives, they
have chosen to focus on social interaction within the community.
The number of towns in Germany engaging in this social experimentis on the increase. The city of Freiburg is a good example. After the endof the Cold War, when French troops left the Vauban Barracks outside
the city, Freiburg decided to transform a large area occupied by theformer barracks into a new town section, which they named Vauban.
Four out of five families in Vauban, I am told, don’t own a car—not
because they can’t afford one, but because they find car ownership thewrong answer to the need for personal mobility. Their point of view isthat they have a convenient tram running every three to five minutes,
they have bicycles, and they have access to car sharing in cases where
they really need a car. In this way, a new quality of life has emerged in
Vauban, a lifestyle with few cars.
Vauban is recognized as a German urban area with a high level of
personal happiness and a relatively large number of children, because
families with children find it particularly agreeable to live in the Vauban.
The fact that there are no car accidents is important in their quality oflife. Vauban stands as an example of the possibility of living without
energy imports, eating locally grown foods, wearing locally produced
clothing, and residing in locally constructed buildings.
I believe that the residents of such communities are leading active
social lives based on the principle of mutual assistance. Aware of their

10

the challenge of global transformation (2)personal responsibilities, considerate of the community’s children andtheir neighbors, they are striving to build sound human relations.
transition to a resource-recycling society
Ikeda: It is an excellent example of a sustainable lifestyle in which one
can take pride and a wonderful case study of one of the world’s first ecotowns or eco-cities. My understanding is that the Transition Towns
movement aims to move away from dependence on oil in order toachieve a new, sustainable society. In practical terms, it calls forcommunity residents to work together to reduce energy consumption
and to promote usage of local resources.
I’m told that a SGI member in the United Kingdom has been involvedin this movement, working to enhance greater environmental awarenessamong children and citizens. The point that I find particularly wonderfulregarding this movement is that individuals are sharing a worthy causewith their neighbors where they live now and are voluntarily engaged insuch activities.
The SGI, which shares the same awareness of the problem, hasdeveloped exhibitions such as “Seeds of Change: Earth Charter andHuman Potential” and “Seeds of Hope: Visions of Sustainability, Steps
toward Change,” which have been shown around the world. The exhibitions encourage each individual to embrace environmental issues asa personal challenge and to take action in which each can take pride forthe future’s sake.
In addition, from 2011, we have sponsored “The Earth and I,” anenvironmental exhibition held throughout Japan to raise consciousness
at the grassroots level. One section of this exhibition features environmentally friendly cities of the world that have achieved positive results
through the cooperative efforts of government, business, and residents.
Freiburg is introduced as a remarkable city that rid itself of privately
owned automobiles through a municipal Environmental Card program(replaced with the RegioCard in 1991).7
To reexamine our behavior and culture as consumers and rediscover
the true value of happiness in the process of this reexamination; to findfulfillment in working with our neighbors to tackle environmental issues
and drawing upon it to better our lives; and for this sense of fulfillment
to serve as a foundation for the continuity of our civic action—these are
the driving forces that will enable us to make the transition from aresource-wasting society to a resource-recycling society.

the challenge of global transformation (2)11Weizsäcker: In our society today, people are submerged in the ideologyof the market and are living amid an overflowing mass of goods. In thatlifestyle, one is easily fooled into thinking that sitting in front of yourcomputer online is a substitute for actually interacting with and caring
for other people.
But that is clearly wrong. What we need to create is a civilization inwhich a self-centered life is recognized as unacceptable and unethical,
and in which instead caring for one’s neighbors and family members is
recognized as good and right.
In my home, three generations are living together, enjoying pleasantand satisfying human relations. One of our daughters and her husband,as well as their three children, are all living together under the same roof
with my wife and me. We are delighted to have our grandchildren close
by, and they also seem very happy to have their grandparents around. Of
course, the same is true of the middle generation, my daughter and herhusband. I hope that my grandchildren will experience the same good
fortune that I have had in my life. What I mean to say is that from mypersonal experience, family relationships are an important source of
happiness and satisfaction.
Ikeda: I also regard family ties as a foundation for building a lifestylefilled with satisfaction. What you’ve just said reminds me of a point you
make in Factor Five that, in striving to put the principle of sustainability
into action in our lives, the question we should ask ourselves is whether we can justify our behavior as consumers to our children andgrandchildren. This, I believe, is an extremely important guideline for
us all.
I say this because, while our concern for future generations may be
genuine, it is only by relying on such tangible, specific motivational
measures as our heartfelt concern for our families that we can reinforce
and regulate our every action and behavior on a daily basis.
Are there any other areas that you want to emphasize from theperspective of family?
imProving social conDitions For Women
Weizsäcker: One of my best friends is from India, former president of
the Club of Rome Ashok Khosla. Through his company, Development
Alternatives, he has created roughly three million jobs in rural India,
which is a huge achievement. At one point, he looked at the happiness12

the challenge of global transformation (2)and the attitudes of the people who were affected by the programs ofDevelopment Alternatives.
One of the most striking things he learned is that women who found amodest job through Development Alternatives—for instance in paper
manufacturing at the village level—were actually happier. Anotherinteresting fact he discovered was that, compared to women who lived
in impoverished communities with high birthrates, women with jobs
were very, very happy with only one or two children. In other words, thesocial security that women obtain through their jobs can make them feelhappier and lead to stabilizing the population.
In the developed nations, however, happiness can be increased by
reducing the amount of time that parents work, allowing them more time
for their children. Social security systems could also be restructured sothat parents agreeing on a reduction of work time in exchange for moretime with their children will not suffer any losses in their social security
pension.
Ikeda: Improving working conditions and ensuring social security for
women and mothers is a significant issue for many nations. I exchanged
opinions on this subject with Mankombu S. Swaminathan, the Indian
agricultural scientist known for his contributions to the “ever-green
revolution,” which saved Asia from famine. We spoke of alternative
development methods to cope with poverty, carried out not by governments but by local communities, methods that are becoming widely
accepted around the world.
Speaking of the need for popular reform movements, Dr.
Swaminathan urged:
The challenge today is to carry the benefits of individual experiments or individual development models to more and more
people—to women, the poor and the socially and economicallyunderprivileged. There are many affirmative sparks—the task
at hand is to unite them into a great flame to illumine the wholeworld.8
If women are allowed to fully demonstrate their strengths, theircontributions to social change will be immeasurable. When women are
truly content with the quality of their lives and cast the light of joy upon
their families, communities, and all of society, the seeds of happinessare sure to flower majestically everywhere.

the challenge of global transformation (2)13reassessing economic Priorities
Ikeda: While stressing the need to develop technologies that will makeour use of resources more efficient, you also point out the importance of
avoiding the “rebound effect”—having all efficiency gains outstrippedby a rise in consumption, as has always happened in the past. You makea pointed observation, and I heartily concur with it.
To avoid the rebound effect, it is vital for people to be aware of theproper justification for enhancing resource efficiency. To win social
acceptance for this effort, I believe we need to promote the underlying
thinking behind it, rooting in each individual such perspectives thatenrich the overall quality of our lives.
This is crucial because human greed tends to expand without limit.
The Buddhist philosophy of life refers to this limitless desire on numerous occasions. For example, “Even a shower of gold cannot quench
the passions.”9 Another Buddhist text states: “And were the mountain allof shimmering gold, / Not e’en twice reckoned would it be enough / For
one man’s wants.”10 Another Buddhist scripture warns against the waythat the desires we assume we have controlled can intensify before weare aware, eventually consuming us: “He who desires different sense
objects . . . , passions will overpower him, dangers will crush him andpain will follow him as water leaks into a wrecked ship.”11
This may accurately describe the reality of the human condition
today. And these insatiable human desires, enabled by the advances inmodern science and technology, compel us to waste our natural resources and destroy the environment.
Weizsäcker: The rebound effect, or Jevons paradox, is an empiricalphenomenon that has been observed during the last 150 years: Efficiency creates added demand—typically at lower prices, for goods andservices and commodities. A part of my answer to the challenge of therebound effect is to reverse this trend by making energy, mineral
resources, and water more expensive.
In order to avoid social disruption, this should be done in a ping-pong
fashion—following an increase in energy productivity by an increase inenergy prices, following an increase in mineral or water productivity byan increase in resource costs—with the end result that the amount you
pay on average for your energy, mineral, and water remains the sameeach year. That, I believe, would make this shift tolerable.
Overcoming greed, to prevent a reoccurrence of the rebound effect,
requires us to explore deeply such anthropological questions as how we

14

the challenge of global transformation (2)live our lives, what we can do, what we can desire, and how we canovercome short-term, selfish attitudes. These, of course, are thequestions asked by all religions of the world, questions that are perhaps
more pronounced in Buddhism than in many other religions.
Ikeda: Regarding overcoming desire, Mahayana Buddhism teaches thatkindling the fires of earthly desires draws forth the “wisdom fire” ofenlightenment.12 This represents a way of life in which our desires do
not consume us, but rather we control, harness, and sublimate them for agreater, higher purpose. Instead of seeking to extirpate desires, it is aprocess of substantive transformation through which we employ thefundamental energy of life—the yearning to improve one’s circumstances, the fount of all desires—into a means to secure not simply
personal gain but the happiness of self and others alike. It is from thisperspective that we seek to contribute to the resolution of the problems
facing modern civilization.
Again, Mahayana Buddhism teaches the bodhisattva ideal. Bodhisattvas are those who, rather than distancing themselves from the realworld and its maelstrom of self-interest and earthly desires, leap right
into the midst of it and—without allowing themselves to be swept awayby ego or desire—embrace from the very depths of their lives the vow to
act for the welfare of others and society. SGI members seek to stay true
to such a way of life as we strive to uphold our Buddhist faith, and wehave consistently engaged in the effort to resolve society’s manifold
issues in the communities in which we live and work based on our belief
in life’s inherent worth and dignity.
I am reminded of Aurelio Peccei’s (1908–84) life. As you know, Dr.
Peccei spent half of his life as a successful businessman before
establishing the Club of Rome. He reflected that he had lived astimulating, rewarding life, not only managing a non-profit company
supporting developing nations for twenty years but being called upon to
apply his skills to revive an ailing enterprise under daunting circumstances. But in circumscribing the globe again and again—crossing theequator more than 300 times—he experienced a feeling quite separate
from the fulfillment he found in his work.
As he once wrote:
I was convinced that to reclaim a piece of desert or to build afactory here and a dam there and to develop local and national
plans are indispensable activities; but I also gradually realized thatto concentrate practically all efforts on such individual projects orthe challenge of global transformation (2)15programmes, while the larger context in which they are embedded—namely, the global world condition—is steadily deteriorating,would risk becoming an exercise in futility.13
These thoughts and feelings culminated in his establishment of theClub of Rome. Through The Limits to Growth and numerous otherreports, he built the foundations for the activities of the renowned thinktank, which brought to the foreground concerns over the future ofhumanity. This dramatic shift in Dr. Peccei’s mind—a narrative thatbegan as a fundamental question on the meaning and purpose of the
pursuit of what can be done and ended instead in the pursuit of what
ought to be done—shows us the way to build a sustainable society.
In other words, the goal must be to expand outward the bounds ofself-benefit to encompass the welfare of other people and society as awhole. In so doing, the pursuit of what one can do for oneself undergoes
a pivotal shift to what ought to be done for the benefit of both oneself
and others. As I see it, this shift in the central thrust of our lives is
crucial. This is something that can be seen, for example, in the pioneering approaches to environmental issues adopted by the German
people. I believe that if this way of life and behavior becomes firmly
rooted in society, we will have built a basis for preventing the reboundeffect from ever happening.
sPiritual soliDarity countering greeD anD comPetition
Weizsäcker: As part of this effort to expand outward the realm of selfbenefit to include the welfare of others and society as a whole, I think it
is important to strive to live in a sustainable society and to work in acompany—including profit-making enterprises—that does not operateon the premise of destroying nature. These can become pillars supporting sustainability.
Of course, people are individuals, and living in a good social environment does not automatically mean we will avoid destruction and ethicalfailings. While the individual has a very important role to play, I still
think that working for an ethically responsible company or enterprise isof great assistance in avoiding destructive attitudes.
I want to bring our dialogue to a close with one final point concerning
teamwork between Europe and Asia. The majority of the great religionsof the world recognizes and preaches that greed is bad and teaches alifestyle reflecting that truth, standing in opposition to the market
fundamentalism exhorting us that “greed is good.” I have repeatedly

16

the challenge of global transformation (2)stressed the importance of an alliance between Europeans and Asians,
and I also urge such an alliance in the realms of ethics and religion.
Through such a political, economic, moral, and religious alliance, we
can find the will and strength to stand up against competition as thedecisive criterion in all things, to stand up against unchecked andinhumane market forces destroying the power of the state to protect thewelfare of its citizens. And we can stand up against the destruction of
morals and the short-termism that many today seem to support andcherish, almost as a human right.
Ikeda: Your proposal carries much weight and worth. A maxim popularin the 1930s and often attributed to Mahatma Gandhi reads,“Earthprovides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed.”
The Earth does not have the capacity to sate limitless human greed.
Continuing as we are now can only result in the present generationsquandering the resources needed for future generations to survive.
It is a difficult problem, yet, as the saying goes, “The longest way
round can be the shortest way home.” I believe that to avert andultimately resolve the predicament humankind faces, we need to revise
our perception of happiness, which now equates mass consumption—
the endless pursuit of desire—with fulfillment.
As I have said, Mahayana Buddhism teaches that earthly desires are
the springboard to enlightenment. We must not allow ourselves tobecome captives of our desires, but redirect the deep-seated energies oflife underlying these base impulses toward the greater aims and valuesof harmonious coexistence and co-prosperity, toward building a better
society, redirecting our way of life toward true fulfillment and happiness, or enlightenment.
I believe a core mission and responsibility of religion is to offer
perspectives that will sustain us in the challenge of transforming thetimes. Such insights should enable us to reassess the plethora of materialistic values on which society places such a premium today andreorient every individual’s life in a more positive direction.
I am deeply grateful to have had this opportunity to engage in a frankexchange of opinions with you, Dr. Weizsäcker, one of Europe’s leading
environmental scientists, and to have learned so much in the process.
Thank you for all that you have contributed to our dialogue over the last
several years. The SGI intends to continue to work together with you
and the Club of Rome, forging stronger ties to advance together toward
our shared goal of building a society in which people can experience
true satisfaction and happiness. Our goal is to contribute to a truly
global transformation. That is our heartfelt hope.

the challenge of global transformation (2)

17

Notes
World Meteorological Organization, “The Global Climate 2001–2010,” ‹ http://
www.wmo.int/pages/mediacentre/press_releases/pr_976_en.html › (accessed on September 19, 2013).
2
Cf. Ibid.
3
Cf. German Federal Foreign Office, ‹ http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/EN/
Aussenpolitik/VereinteNationen/Schwerpunkte/VN-Klima-Kyoto_node.html › (February
25, 2015).
4
Cf. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, “Climate and global warming,” ‹ http://
japan.um.dk/en/about-denmark/gl/climate-and-global-warming/ › (March 14, 2014).
5
Around August 18, 2010, NASA satellite imagery showed that a large parcel of ice,
approximately the size of Bermuda, fractured from a massive ice shelf on Ellesmere
Island in northeastern Canada ‹ http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/huge-ice-chunkbreaks-off-ellesmere-island-1.973944 ›.
6
United Nations Development Programme, “Human Development Report 2011,”‹ http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/reports/271/hdr_2011_en_complete.pdf › (March
14, 2014).
7
In 1984, Freiburg’s Environmental Card was introduced for 38 DM (US$13 at thetime) for unlimited travel with the urban network. In 1991, it was replaced by the
RegioCard, costing 47 euros (US$61) a month.
8
M. S. Swaminathan and Daisaku Ikeda, Revolutions: to green the environment, togrow the human heart (New Delhi: EastWest Books (Madras) Pvt. Ltd., 2005), p. 69.
9The Dhammapada, trans. Eknath Easwaran (London: Penguin Books, 1986), p. 133.
10The Book of the Kindred Sayings (Sa yutta-Nikåya), trans. Rhys Davids (Oxford:
The Pali Text Society, 1996), p. 146.
11
The Sutta-Nipåta, trans. H. Saddhatissa (London: Curzon Press, 1985), p. 91.
12
Cf. The Record of the Orally Transmitted Teachings (Tokyo: Soka Gakkai, 2004),
p. 11.
13
Aurelio Peccei, The Human Quality (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1977), p. 13.
1

18

the challenge of global transformation (2)Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker
Environmental scientist. Currently co-president of the Club ofRome and a member of the European Academy of Sciences andArts. Born in 1939 in Zurich, Switzerland. Weizsäcker has served
as the founding president of the University of Kassel, the directorof the UN Centre for Science and Technology for Development,
the director of the Institute for European Environmental Policy,
the founding president of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate,
Environment, and Energy, and co-chair of the UNEP-hosted
International Panel on Sustainable Resource Use. He was a memberof the Federal Diet of Germany and also chaired its Environment
Committee. In addition, he is recognized for his co-written reports
to the Club of Rome, Factor Four: Doubling Wealth, Halving
Resource Use (1998) and Factor Five: Transforming the Global
Economy through 80% Improvements in Resource Productivity(2009). He was awarded the German Environment Prize of theGerman Federal Environment Foundation, the Commander’s Crossof the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, andmany others.
Daisaku Ikeda
President of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a lay Buddhist
organization with more than twelve million members worldwide,
Ikeda was born in Tokyo in 1928. He has founded the Soka (valuecreating) school system, running from kindergarten throughgraduate school at universities in Tokyo and California, an educational philosophy now practiced in schools around the world. He
also founded various cultural and academic institutions, from the
Min-On Concert Association and the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum
to the Institute of Oriental Philosophy and the Toda Institute for
Global Peace and Policy Research. He has offered environmental
proposals on various occasions, the latest of which is a proposal at
the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June
2012. Based on an abiding faith in dialogue, Ikeda has met withworld leaders and intellectuals in the fields of culture, education,and the arts, exchanging views on a diverse range of topics. Manyof these meetings have led to the publication of dialogues, startingwith Choose Life with the British historian Arnold Toynbee. He hasreceived 361 academic honors (as of June 2015) from the world’s
universities and institutions of higher education. He is an honorary
member of the Club of Rome.

Feature: Intercivilizational Dialogue—Toward
the Mutual Understanding of Buddhism and Islam
From the Symposium in conjunction with the 30th Annual
Conference of the IOP
On March 21, 2015, a symposium titled, “Intercivilizational Dialogue—
Toward the Mutual Understanding of Buddhism and Islam” was held at
Soka University, Japan in conjunction with the 30th Annual Conferenceof the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP).
The symposium was also a part of the ongoing collaboration between
the IOP and the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of
Malaya (UMCCD). In October 2012, the IOP and UMCCD coorganized a joint symposium titled, “Intercivilisational Dialogue
towards Peace, Harmonious Coexistence and Sustainability” held at the
University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In February 2014, theexhibition “The Lotus Sutra—A Message of Peace and Harmonious
Coexistence” was held in Kuala Lumpur, along with a conference on thetheme of “Peace and Harmonious Coexistence—an Islamic Buddhist
Dialogue.” Through these exchanges, the IOP and UMCCD have beenpromoting mutual understanding between Buddhism and Islam.
This volume contains the five papers presented at the recent
symposium.

From left: Dr. Faridah Noor Mohd Noor, Dr. Raihanah Abdullah, Dr.
Christopher Boey, Dr. Kawada (IOP Director), Dr. Kurihara, and Dr. Yamazaki

19