January 2019

January 27, 2019

During the last thirty years, out of Shinmeizan’s activity in the field of interreligious dialogue, two groups have come into being. One group gathers persons of the various religious Traditions Shinmeizan has come in contact with, who have become friends and partners in dialogue.  Since 25 years these friends and partners in dialogue have been meeting once every two years at Shinmeizan for a half a day of prayer for peace, taking inspiration from the meeting of Assisi called in 1986 by Pope John Paul II.

 Each person or group offers a prayer or performs a ritual for peace in the world according to his or her own religious Tradition in the presence of the others, then all together to sign a declaration of commitment to work for peace in the world.  Such meeting has always been held on the first Sunday of October, the Sunday closest to the feast of saint Francis of Assisi whom we consider the model and patron of interreligious dialogue.  Last year it was to be held on October 7^th, and already the representative of 12 different religious groups had pledged their participation, but… the approaching typhoon n. 25, obliged us to cancel it, or better to postpone it…

A second group was born in 1991 on the occasion of a conference held by Ven. Tairyu Furukawa, head of the Seimeizan-Schweitzer Temple of Tamana and Fr. Franco Sottocornola at the Catholic church of Tetori in Kumamoto. This group is known as the “Kumamoto group of interreligious dialogue”.  After four years of study and preparation,

the group began its activities in 1995, gathering usually four times a year for a prearranged and prepared visit to a Buddhist Temple or a Shinto shrine or the headquarters of some other religious organization, spending some hours together for mutual knowledge, creating friendship among the followers of different religious Traditions.

This year, on January 27, for the first time, the two groups gathered together, and met at the Tetori church in Kumamoto for a joined meeting.  The pattern of this meeting was, this time, a sort of ‘symposium’:  an exchange of communications on the part of seven representatives of various religions about their experience of interreligious dialogue.

• Michio Uemura, a Catholic and former President of the “Kumamoto group of interreligious dialogue”, spoke about the origin and the activity of this group.
• Oshio Komorita, in charge of contacts and relations with other religious Traditions on behalf of the lay Buddhist organization Risshokoseikai in Kumamoto, spoke about the various interreligious activities of this wide spread association, very active in the field of dialogue for peace among the religions.
• Onin Hara, Head of the Choen Temple (Nichiren Buddhism) of Kumamoto, told the audience about his recent experience of an interreligious meeting held in Germany by the German Branch (Daiseionji) of the Myokenkaku temple of Osaka (Nichiren Buddhism).
• Gisho Nakayama, Head of the Jokoku Buddhist Temple (Soto Zen) of Kumamoto, gave an account of his participation in the annual symposia organized by the interreligious committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan, which, since about ten years are held in various cities of Japan with the active participation of representatives of various religions on topics of social concern, like the role of religions in the aging trend of Japanese society, in promoting peace, in the age of internet, etc.
• Hirotaka Inoue, Head of the Koen Buddhist Temple (Pure Land Buddhism) of Kita Kyushu, informed the audience about the “Group for interreligious exchange” of Fukuoka, which gathers Buddhists and Christians for a study session once every two months, in which, after one of the members of the group has presented a topic or subject for conversation, all take part in a friendly exchange among the participants.
• Yoichi Fukuda, gave a report on the interreligious activities of the new religion Byakkoshinkokai he belongs to, especially about its campaign to erect ‘peace poles’ all over Japan and also abroad, and to organize the so called ‘Flag ceremonies” during which, while the flags of the various nations of the world are carried to the stage or shown to the public, an invocation for that Country, in in its own language, is made by all the people present, asking for peace in that Country.
• Finally, Fr. Franco Sottocornola, briefly recalled the Assisi event of 1986, with the traditions born from it: first of all, the meeting of religious representatives from all over the world called, every year, by the Community of Saint Egidio, in different cities of Europe, for a few days of reflection and prayer for peace in the world; then the “summit of religions” held every year at Mount Hiei, Kyoto (Japan), at the headquarters of Tendai Buddhism, on August 4, with the participation of representatives of the major religious Traditions present in Japan; and… the meetings of prayer for peace held at Shinmeizan once every two years among its friends and partners in dialogue on the first Sunday of October..

The meeting held on January 27 started with a message from the host, the Pastor of the Tetori church, who humorously spoke about his ancestors belonging to various religious Traditions,  and was concluded by a prayer for peace offered on behalf of all by the Pastor of the Lutheran church of Kumamoto, Rev. Yoichi Sugimoto.  Mr. Satoshi Nagahama, the President of the Kumamoto Group for interreligious dialogue, acted as moderator. About seventy people attended. The attention and lively participation of all present, belonging to various religious Traditions, made the three hours’ meeting a meaningful experience of interreligious dialogue.  Truly we could experience the truth of what Saint John Paul II writes in his Encyclical “The mission of the Redeemer”: “Dialogue is a path toward the kingdom and will certainly bear fruit, even if the times and seasons are known only to the Father.” (n. 57)