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Peace, Ecology and Mahayana Spirit

Du JiwenI

have always considered Buddhism a religion possessed of a powerfullife force. The entire history of Buddhism, spanning more than 2,500
years, demonstrates how it has been propagated and developed without
the aid of armed force, and with not compulsion by any state, in fact
without relying even on the organization of Buddhism itself. How can
we put the power of the Buddhist organization to better use, despite thefact that no other of the world’s major religions is as loosely structured?
This very looseness can make Buddhism appear weak in the extreme.
During his lifetime, Shakyamuni Buddha was unable to protect his own
tribe from extermination, while Chinese Buddhism could not stop thedevastation wrought by the sanbu-isso (san wu yi zong) (persecution ofBuddhist devotees by four Chinese emperors). Buddhism, which had
developed to a considerable extent in many regions and among manydifferent ethnic groups, was ultimately fortunate even to retain any of its
historical sites.
All this however did not stop the advance of Buddhism. Buddhism
continues to flourish today, enjoying a revival in various parts of theEast, and burgeoning popularity in various parts of the West. The influence of Buddhism, particularly on people’s way of thinking, extends far
beyond its devotees, and cannot be readily gauged in numerical terms.
In my view this influence can be attributed to the powerful life force ofBuddhism.
There is nothing mystical about this life force of which I speak. In its
most simple terms, it constitutes a sincere, tireless compassion for people, combined with an outstanding ability to choose the biggest problems threatening and endangering mankind and the people requiring themost compassion, at different times and in different places, and makethese a serious concern of one’s own. Even if this meant no more thancaring for people in response to situations at certain times and places,
Buddhism would still undoubtedly possess its life force. This life force
is none other than bodhisattva practice.
From a monotheistic perspective, Buddhism is atheistic—because in97J/Orient/02 03.1.17 1:26 PM ページ 98

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the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism, it appears to be not a deity ofsome description but humans who rank most highly. The activities ofhuman beings create the world, and create human beings themselves.
The state of the world, and the state of human lives, are ultimately
determined by the activities of human beings themselves. It follows that
all human activity, including movements aiming to alienate, and to liberate, is directed at humans. Hinayana Buddhism reflects the “suffering” of the world and of human lives, however in Hinayana release fromthis human “suffering” is found in the unknowable next world, the nirvana on the other side. This type of concern for mankind belongs, to use
a popular term, in the realm of “final” concern, and has left people disappointed in the present, and resulted in them losing the present. Amajor factor in the ascendancy of Mahayana Buddhism was its dissatisfaction with the pessimistic nature of this concern and advocacy insteadof a universal concern, at the same time shifting the focus of that concern to the realities of life, in a proactive approach to the world and toliving. Buddhism is rich with ideas of this nature, and in present-day
China alone, we are seeing the emergence of new doctrines such as jinsei Bukkyo (ren sheng fo jiao “Buddhism for living”) and ningen
Bukkyo (ren jian fo jiao “social Buddhism”) (translator’s note—the Chinese “ren jian” although written in the same characters as the Japanese“ningen” [human being] refers not to human beings but to the world inwhich human beings live, their social reality). The overall goal of theseschools of thought, which have developed with the times, is to build awonderful world of universal happiness for all mankind, in association
with everyone else concerned about the fate of mankind. If Buddhism
devotes itself tirelessly to the pursuit of this ideal, it will retain its eternal youthfulness, and demonstrate and utilize its own life force.
The 20th century was a great century that saw human civilization
reach hitherto unprecedented levels of sophistication. The labor of workers and advances in science and technology created unparalleled wealthin society, providing for us all materially and feeding our minds in ways
our forebears could never have imagined. However, we must never forget that this same 20th century also saw the outbreak of two world wars,
and a host of local conflicts that continue to this day. The global environment, on which mankind should be able to depend for its survival, hasbeen subjected to devastation on an unprecedented scale, devastation thatis growing apace. Creative human endeavor, the breathtakingly rapid
advance of science and technology, and the earnest labor of billions ofpeople are now employed irresponsibly for the slaughter of mankind
itself, and to destroy the natural conditions for the survival of mankind.

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This is civilization in regression, and the vestiges of barbarism.
Mankind stands poised at the beginning of a new century, and how
we reflect on the experiences of the previous century and absorb theirlessons, and guarantee a better way of life with more joy for mankind
will be critical as we build a new civilization in the 21st century.
Numerous scholars have made prescient comments about the 21st century, giving rise to many different versions of the future. All these aredeserving of our attention. However in my opinion, the most important
issues for our future will be stopping and preventing wars, and protecting the environment and restoring the balance of our global ecosystem—because war and the destruction of the environment are problems
threatening the whole world, and the whole of mankind. If we do notfind solutions to these two mammoth problems, any aspiration to build aso-called civilized world will come to nothing.
I have heard two schools of thought on these problems of war and theenvironment. The first contends that “the evil in the world today has its
origin in the development of science and technology, which excite
human greed and cause moral decay in society. Science and technology
enable wars to be waged on a wider scale, and increase the capacity forslaughter. Science and technology infiltrate everything, from the heavens to the ground on which we walk, and even our bodies, destroying
the natural ecosystem.” This school of thought therefore opposes science, criticizes reason, and calls for people to go back to nature andtheir primeval state. In my opinion however, views of this type upset therelationship between cause and effect. The whole of human civilization
has been built on the ability to use tools and to make tools, and scienceand technology have always been the driving force behind the advanceof civilizations. This century will undoubtedly see science and technology advancing at an even faster pace, and labor productivity rising ineven greater leaps and bounds. These developments are inevitable, andcannot be stopped. To oppose science and reason is quite simply to risk
being left behind as times move on, and isolated from society as a consequence, perhaps to encounter all kinds of new suffering we cannot
even imagine. From a different perspective however, views of this typedo act as a warning to us, albeit an extremely radical one, that unless wecontrol the irresponsible use of scientific and technological achievements and the fruits of our labor effectively, mankind will in effect bebringing about its own extinction, to which returning to our primeval
state and to nature is preferable. The most important issues for the newcentury therefore will be to develop science and technology further, andstop and prevent the irresponsible use of science and technology. We

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must demand such action first of all from our politicians, but at thesame time, these are responsibilities that rest with the whole ofmankind.
The second school of thought is as follows: “Conflict in the world isunavoidable, so we cannot avoid war, or the destruction of the environment.” This view holds that at the deepest level, the diversity of culturesin the world makes war and environmental devastation unavoidable. Toa certain extent this does appear to be the case. Our globe is divided
into this one, that one, this culture, that culture, with some in conflict,and others perennially at war. This is not confined to the constant use ofviolence within countries in the name of culture and beliefs: between
countries, one country uses the supposed superiority of its own culturalvalues as an excuse to interfere with, pressurize and in the end invade
other countries. It is easy therefore for people to make the connection
between this sort of pretext and a certain type of prevailing worldview
used to start wars in the last century: the idea that “some races are superior and others inferior, culture can be high or low. Superior races
exploit inferior races like slaves, and ‘advanced’ cultures conquer‘backward’ cultures. This is biology, the law of nature, so there is reason even to plundering, to burning people alive, to invasion.”
Current proponents of this theory of the clash of cultures have broadened the scope of their argument to assert that in general, if there aredifferences in culture, this will inevitably lead to political and military
clashes. It is hardly surprising that the very idea of this is enough tosend a chill down most of our spines. Of course, people who argue inthis vein do not all have some kind of fascist connection, and some areprobably warning us with the best of intentions. Without a doubt however this view does mirror a danger signal of sorts for society, namelythat there are inarguably certain people using the cultural diversity of
the world to deliberately ignore the predominant trends of interaction,
mutual aid and harmony between cultures, and exaggerate the differences between cultures to the extent that people cannot “live together”
and coexist, creating confusion, and plotting to profit from it. Similarly
there are some that use cultural differences to sell their own country’sconcepts of value and political ideologies. The history of all human civilizations is one of cultural diversity existing precisely because of cultural differences, demonstrating also that this is what accounts for thegreat variety in human lifestyles. Culture is furthermore something thatdevelops over time, and every ethnic group and every nation, if it is toensure the continued existence and advancement of its culture in thisworld, needs to and must accept the influence of cultures from other

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nations and ethnic groups, use those imported cultures to cultivate andenrich itself, and incorporate their best elements organically within
itself. Cultural exclusivity and arrogance signal a debility of the self.
Cultural differences and diversity are therefore the conditions for interaction between the peoples of different countries, that enable them tolearn from each other, and together walk the path of prosperity and happiness. They must not be used to justify viewing each other with hostility and the use of violence. However, what we should remind ourselvesof here is that people must initiate interaction of their own accord, andthat interaction must benefit both sides, and the power to decide what toreject and what to accept rests solely with the people, and the nation inquestion. Similarly, this right is sacred and not to be interfered with.
Respect for other people’s cultures and beliefs is also respect for thecreation of mankind, and a bulwark of the dignity of mankind.
Religion is the particular form of culture affecting the greatest proportion of the world’s population. While religion is confronted withnumerous challenges for the 21st century, the problems of war and theglobal ecosystem involve the earth as a whole, and everyone on it. For
this reason they are problems in which religion should perhaps take anespecially serious interest. For Buddhism this means revealing and elevating its own unique Mahayana spirit to a sufficient extent, and by
doing so potentially contributing incomparably more than other groups
working for the benefit of society.
What then is the Mahayana spirit? If I were to describe the Mahayana
spirit in detail, there are so many aspects that not even several essays
would cover them all. I do believe however I can describe in a few
words the nucleus of this spirit as whole. This is nothing more andnothing less than protecting and working for the benefit of all living
beings. The bodhisattva practice that the Buddha gave us as a model ispure, complete altruism through and through, careful to show compassion for all living things, protecting the way of life of every life, andhelping it to live in even better ways. The first of the Ten Wholesome
Deeds of Buddhism is “abstention from killing,” while the first of the“Five Moral Precepts” of Buddhism is a prohibition on killing. There isa saying—“It is better to save the life of one person than build a sevenstory pagoda.” All this is common sense in Buddhism. If we say that
Mahayana Buddhism demands an attitude of great compassion to allliving beings, then expanding this spirit to the mission of maintaining
peace in the world to prevent all mankind from suffering the misery of
war and violence becomes the obvious purpose of the spirit of
Mahayana Buddhism.

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Buddhism has an especially illustrious history, a history from time
immemorial of protecting the ecological balance and purifying the environment. This is the Buddhist tradition most widely praised among all
Buddhist traditions, in the past inspiring ancient poets and writers, and aworthy model also for environmental conservation efforts today. Thistradition may be related to a certain tendency within Mahayana Buddhism toward the idea that everything under the sun has a soul, and tocertain other Mahayana credos. Recently I have found myself thinking
constantly about the ichinen-sanzen (yi nian san qian) (“A single lifemoment possesses three thousand realms”) teaching of the wise priest
Tiantai. In my view, where this “sanzen” ([san qian] three thousandrealms) differs importantly from “sanzen-daisen [san qian da qian] (theworld)” is that while the latter is no more than a kind of scheme for theworld, the “sanzen” of Tiantai stresses the balance of the world. This
begins with the balance between people, and the balance between people and the environment. Modern Buddhism has the potential to absorb
the fruits of modern science, elevate the Buddhist doctrine of balance toa new level, and at the same time, spread its tradition of protecting theecological balance to all of society, and all the world.
In sociological terms a feature of Mahayana Buddhism is the way it
unites nyuse (ru shi) (translator’s note—the opposite of shusse [chu shi]or shusseken [to relinquish the temporal world for the path of Buddhism] meaning to participate actively in the world and society) andshusse. The significance of this lies is something only possible throughnyuse, the purpose of nyuse being to extend far beyond the self-interestof the temporal world, beyond political confrontation, to protect fairness, connect equally with different groups in society, bring harmony torelationships between people and between different ethnic groups andnations, and promote interaction, understanding and friendship. In termsof religion itself, for the time being holding firmly to the principle ofreligious freedom, and of religious tolerance, will be of paramountimportance.
Under the guidance of its chairman Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai hasrevealed and elevated the spirit of Mahayana, in the process carving outa record of achievement that has captured the attention of the world atlarge. Chairman Ikeda himself is widely respected for his personalefforts to put this spirit into practice—traveling to almost every part of
the globe to advocate peace and friendship and call on people to protect
the environment; engaging in dialogue with representatives from various cultures from both East and West; calling for dialogue and interaction, and eliminating and opposing discrimination and hostility. China

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PEACE, ECOLOGY AND MAHAYANA SPIRIT103and Japan are neighbors with a special historical relationship, andChairman Ikeda and Soka Gakkai have hailed the special friendship andsymbiotic relationship of mutual benefit between China and Japan overthe generations, becoming a force for friendship in Japan working ingood faith to prevent a recurrence of the tragedies of our history. No
one is more aware of this than the Buddhist world and Buddhist
researchers in China, so from this quarter, Chairman Ikeda and Soka
Gakkai are viewed with a special respect. Allow me to take this opportunity to express once again my great esteem for Chairman Ikeda andour friends at Soka Gakkai.
My very best wishes for the success of this meeting.