September 2011

Rissho Kosei-kai Members Prays for Victims of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks

On September 11, the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, which killed some 3,000 people, including 24 Japanese, Rissho Kosei-kai members at Dharma centers in Japan and the United States held memorial services for the victims and prayed for world peace.

At Rissho Kosei-kai of New York's 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Memorial Service, a statement from Rissho Kosei-kai International of North America (RKINA), in Irvine, California, was read out, and the participants prayed for the victims and lasting world peace. RKINA and Dharma centers in other American cities also held memorial services with prayers for peace on the same day.

On the shore of the Hudson River, near the National September 11 Memorial (formerly known as Ground Zero), the Buddhist Council of New York and the Interfaith Center of New York held a traditional Japanese floating paper lantern ceremony (toro nagashi) to commemorate the victims. Four members of Rissho Kosei-kai of New York attended the ceremony. Participants floated paper lanterns with prayers for peace written on them.

Earlier, on September 9, Rev. Masamichi Kamiya, minister of Rissho Kosei-kai of New York, attended the UN General Assembly's Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at UN Headquarters. Representing Buddhism, Rev. Kamiya mounted the stage along with the representatives of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and lit a candle.

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