December 2011
58th Conference on Religion and Modern Society Held in Kyoto
The 58th Conference on Religion and Modern Society, held December 26-27 in a Kyoto hotel, addressed the theme "The Aging Society and Religious Culture." Eighty-three religious practitioners and scholars took part. Rissho Kosei-kai was represented by five officers, including Dr. Munehiro Niwano, president of its Gakurin Seminary; Dr. Koichi Kawamoto, director of the Chuo Academic Research Institute; and Rev. Katsunori Yamanoi, a former chair of the board of trustees.
On December 26, Dr. Fuminobu Ishikura, an associate professor at Osaka University, spoke on "The Problems Surrounding Men in the Super-aging Society" and Dr. Eisho Omura, professor of Soai University in Osaka Prefecture, spoke on "The Super-aging Society and Religious Culture." The next morning the conference theme was discussed by a panel moderated by Dr. Hidenori Hoshino, professor of Taisho University, in Tokyo. The panelists were Dr. Niwano; Dr. Kokyo Murakami, an associate professor at Taisho University; Dr. Yasuo Furuya, a professor in the graduate school of Seigakuin University, in Saitama Prefecture; and Dr. Minoru Sonoda, a professor emeritus at Kyoto University.
Dr. Niwano delivered a paper on Rissho Kosei-kai's social welfare work in Japan's aging society. Explaining an intergenerational communication program led by the organization's Social Ministry Group, he reported on the activities of Rissho Kosei-kai's Takaoka Dharma Center in Toyama Prefecture, the Tachikawa Dharma Center in Tokyo, and the Ryonuma Dharma Center in Fukushima Prefecture. He said the elderly are important role models for children, and their praise and appreciation of children teaches children the preciousness of their own lives. Dr. Niwano also spoke of the importance of religious communities as places to promote intergenerational exchanges, saying "offering a caring heart to the elderly is an important practice that nurtures gratitude to the gods and buddhas in the hearts of younger people."
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