August 2009

Chair Watanabe Attends 22nd Anniversary of Religious Summit on Mount Hiei

Under the auspices of the Tendai Association of Religious Cooperation for International Peace, the 22nd Interreligious Gathering of Prayer for World Peace was held in front of the Konpon Chudo Hall of Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei, Shiga Prefecture, on August 4. About a thousand religious leaders from around the world took part, representing Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Shinto, and Japan's new religions. Rissho Kosei-kai was represented by Rev. Yasutaka Watanabe, chair of the board of trustees; Rev. Takeshi Kawabata, director of the General Affairs Bureau; and Rev. Kenichiro Nakamura, minister of the Kyoto Dharma Center.

Recitation of the Heart Sutra was followed a plea for peace delivered by Ven. Kojun Handa, head priest of the Tendai Buddhist Denomination. Ven. Handa expressed concern about the proliferation of nuclear weapons and said U.S. President Barack Obama's call for the abolition of nuclear weapons offers a ray of hope to those who pray for world peace.

For the subsequent prayer for peace, 14 representatives of Buddhism, Christianity, established Shinto, Sectarian Shinto, and Japan's new religions mounted the platform, including Rev. Watanabe as a representative of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan). Standing side by side, they offered a prayer for world peace.

All the participants then observed a moment of silence to pray for world peace, and Jean-Louis Pierre Cardinal Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, delivered a message of peace.

The first Religious Summit Meeting on Mount Hiei took place in 1987, hosted by Ven. Etai Yamada, Enryakuji's 253rd head priest, to keep alive the spirit of the Day of Prayer for World Peace held in Assisi in 1986 at the initiative of Pope John Paul II.

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