November 2009
Chuo Academic Research Institute Celebrates Fortieth Anniversary
On November 8 the Chuo Academic Research Institute celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its founding in Serenity Hall at Hoju Vocational College in Tokyo. Some 85 people, including lecturers, visiting researchers at the institute as well as Rissho Kosei-kai headquarters staff members attended a reception after the institute's tenth annual academic conference.
When the institute, which is affiliated with Rissho Kosei-kai, was founded in 1969, it was called the Kosei Academic Research Institute. Its founding aim was to study how religion, especially Buddhism, can influence contemporary thought, culture, and social science by educating young people to contribute to civilization and world peace.
In 1971 it was renamed the Chuo Academic Research Institute and began studying the history and doctrine of Rissho Kosei-kai. In 1972 it also organized a steering committee to compile the Dharma talks of Founder Nikkyo Niwano. The institute's publications include Niwano Nikkyo howa senshu ("Selected Sermons by Nikkyo Niwano," 1978 - 82) and Rissho Kosei-kai shi ("A History of Rissho Kosei-kai," 1983).
The institute also launched basic research on bioethics in 1987 in reaction to criteria for the diagnosis of brain death proposed at the time by Japan's Ministry of Welfare for regulation of that diagnosis. In 1991, in the light of a survey conducted by the institute, Rissho Kosei-kai submitted "An Opinion Regarding the Issues of Brain Death and Organ Transplants" to Japan's Provisional Commission for the Study of Brain Death and Organ Transplantation, and in 1994 Rissho Kosei-kai sent "An Opinion Regarding the Proposed Law Regarding Organs and Transplants" to members of parliament and the mass media in Japan.
In recent years, the institute has undertaken research for Rissho Kosei-kai in twelve areas, including the practice of hoza and changes in public perceptions on the adaptation of family life to ongoing social change. Also, the institute sponsored a study for a definitive biography of Shakyamuni based on early Buddhist scriptural sources, by Emeritus Professor Shoji Mori of Toyo University in Tokyo. The institute also helped assemble members of other research institutes affiliated with various Japanese religious organizations, resulting in the formation in 2002 of a new organization for joint research. Starting from this December, the institute will have published a series of commemorative publications to arouse public concerns, for example, on the theme of the religion and terminal care.
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