For the Sake of Peace

For the Sake of Peace, Daisaku Ikeda, Middleway Press, 2001

This book is based on many years of lectures and proposals to the United Nations, looking at the subject of peace from the Buddhist perspective of respect for human life and the interconnection between all things. Ikeda is the head of Soka Gakkai International, a worldwide Buddhist organization that follows the teachings of a 12th century reformer named Nichiren.

Any societal change must start within each of us, learning compassion and tolerance and being able to see the negative in ourselves. Then comes dialogue, which, among other things, can open closed minds and transform opposing viewpoints. Education is always very important, not only to show the threat of nuclear weapons, but to fight world hunger and poverty and to get people out of the mindset of ethnic world views. Communities need to get together to build an international system of hope and justice and to get away from the "survival of the fittest" ethos of competition. One way to build such a system is through art, which connects us with each other, with nature, and with the universe.

The author feels that it is time for the United Nations to get involved in education on a global scale and to move away from the usual military-centered conceptions of security. Disarmament is about overcoming the hatred, distrust and debasement of humanity of the 20th century.

This book is surprisingly good. Having survived World War II in Japan, Ikeda has seen the horror of war up close and personal. He has written a clear and easy to understand book, that doesn't lack for passion, on a subject near and dear to everyone. For a different perspective on the world around us, and the world inside each of us, this is definitely worth reading.