March 2009

Language Service Begins 2009 Program

On March 7-8, Rissho Kosei-kai's Language Service (LS) held the first class of its 2009 intensive training program for fifteen volunteer members at the Second Group Pilgrimage Hall at Rissho Kosei-kai's headquarters in Tokyo.

Rissho Kosei-kai set up LS in preparation for the twenty-fifth World Congress of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF). The congress was held in 1984 mainly at the Buddhist organization's headquarters in Tokyo. LS volunteers provide assistance in English to Rissho Kosei-kai participants at various international conferences and serve as interpreters for visitors from overseas, explaining Japanese religions and culture.

On March 7, the participants took a class in English conversation and attended a lecture on the Zoroastrian view of peace, ecology, and interreligious dialogue by Dr. Homi Dhalla, founder and president of the Cultural Foundation of the Zarathustra World in Mumbai, India, and an IARF International Council member and trustee. On March 8 they attended a lecture on Rissho Kosei-kai's international activities in the spirit of Buddhism by Rev. Keiichi Akagawa, head of the organization's External Affairs Group (Interfaith).

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