Nichidatsu Fujii
Encyclopedia
Nichidatsu Fujii was a Japanese Buddhist monk, and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji
order of Buddhism. He is best known world-wide for his decision in 1947, to begin constructing Peace Pagoda
s in many locations around the world, as shrines to world peace
.
Fujii was born into a peasant family in the wilderness of the Aso caldera
. At the age of 19, he was ordained a monk in the unusually ascetic and intellectual tradition of Hōon-ji in Usuki, Ōita
. Reading of Nichiren
's declaration that the Lotus Sutra
would one day be preached in India, he decided to go there. He arrived in Calcutta in January 1931 and walked throughout the town chanting the daimoku and beating a drum, a practice known as gyakku shōdai.
In 1933 he met Mahatma Gandhi
at his ashram
in Wardha
. Gandhi was honored by his presence, and added the daimoku to his ashram's prayers. Initially, Fujii wrote a letter to Gandhi defending the Japanese invasion of Manchuria as just war
. Around this time Fujii sent monks to preach to Chinese people during the Nanking Massacre
, out of his belief that Chinese and Japanese people could find unity in Buddhism. However, after Japan's defeat in 1945, Fujii realized that Japanese imperialism had produced nothing but suffering and anger, and that Japan had been much more peaceful during the Heian period
when Buddhism was widespread.
period, he preached noninvolvement and did hunger strikes for peace. He wrote:
The first Peace Pagodas were built as a symbol of peace in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki where the atomic bombs
took the lives of over 150,000 people, almost all of whom were civilian, at the end of World War II
. Fujii returned to India and built a World Peace Pagoda in Rajgir
, in 1965. He also built a Japanese style temple in Rajgir which is still inhabited today.
By 2000, at least 80 Peace Pagodas had been built around the world in Europe, Asia, and the United States, though not all are due to his movement.
While the Pagodas have been one expression of their call for peace, Nipponzan Myohoji also has carried its prayers to the world in numerous walks. Since 1976, when a group joined the Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social Justice across the United States, their presence has been an important part of many movements for peace and justice. "We must go out among the people." Fujii taught. "In the Sutra there is a line that states, 'So this man, practicing in the world, shall disperse the gloom of living.' Religion, which does not 'go' will not be able to provide the relief which must be brought about." The prayers of the Daimoku are to disperse this gloom. "Religion becomes isolated from the happenings of the world because it tends to be occupied in seeking solutions to one's own spiritual matters. If we fall to prevent a nuclear holocaust one's desire for security is nothing but a dream. All must be awakened."
Nipponzan-Myohoji
Nipponzan Myōhōji , founded in 1917 by Nichidatsu Fujii, is a new religious movement that emerged from the Nichiren sect of Japanese Buddhism....
order of Buddhism. He is best known world-wide for his decision in 1947, to begin constructing Peace Pagoda
Peace Pagoda
A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii , a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order...
s in many locations around the world, as shrines to world peace
World peace
World Peace is an ideal of freedom, peace, and happiness among and within all nations and/or people. World peace is an idea of planetary non-violence by which nations willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that prevents warfare. The term is sometimes used to...
.
Fujii was born into a peasant family in the wilderness of the Aso caldera
Mount Aso
is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world...
. At the age of 19, he was ordained a monk in the unusually ascetic and intellectual tradition of Hōon-ji in Usuki, Ōita
Usuki, Oita
is a city located on the east coast of Ōita Prefecture, Japan. It is famous for its Usuki Stone Buddhas, a national treasure, and its soy sauce production. Recently it has become known for having the look and feel of a Japanese castle town...
. Reading of Nichiren
Nichiren
Nichiren was a Buddhist monk who lived during the Kamakura period in Japan. Nichiren taught devotion to the Lotus Sutra, entitled Myōhō-Renge-Kyō in Japanese, as the exclusive means to attain enlightenment and the chanting of Nam-Myōhō-Renge-Kyō as the essential practice of the teaching...
's declaration that the Lotus Sutra
Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sūtra is one of the most popular and influential Mahāyāna sūtras, and the basis on which the Tiantai and Nichiren sects of Buddhism were established.-Title:...
would one day be preached in India, he decided to go there. He arrived in Calcutta in January 1931 and walked throughout the town chanting the daimoku and beating a drum, a practice known as gyakku shōdai.
In 1933 he met Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...
at his ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
in Wardha
Wardha
Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows at the North, West and South boundaries of district. Founded in 1866, the town is now an...
. Gandhi was honored by his presence, and added the daimoku to his ashram's prayers. Initially, Fujii wrote a letter to Gandhi defending the Japanese invasion of Manchuria as just war
Just War
Just war theory is a doctrine of military ethics of Roman philosophical and Catholic origin, studied by moral theologians, ethicists and international policy makers, which holds that a conflict ought to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria.-Origins:The concept of justification for...
. Around this time Fujii sent monks to preach to Chinese people during the Nanking Massacre
Nanking Massacre
The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, was a mass murder, genocide and war rape that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing , the former capital of the Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the Second...
, out of his belief that Chinese and Japanese people could find unity in Buddhism. However, after Japan's defeat in 1945, Fujii realized that Japanese imperialism had produced nothing but suffering and anger, and that Japan had been much more peaceful during the Heian period
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...
when Buddhism was widespread.
Peace pagodas
Beginning in the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
period, he preached noninvolvement and did hunger strikes for peace. He wrote:
- The reason I came to espouse nonviolent resistance and the antiwar, antiarms position was not because I met with Mr. Gandhi. Rather, it was because the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent women and children, burning and poisoning [the population], a tragedy without precedent in human history, leading Japan to sue for unconditional surrender. In this we see the mad, stupid, barbaric nature of modern warfare.
The first Peace Pagodas were built as a symbol of peace in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Nagasaki where the atomic bombs
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
took the lives of over 150,000 people, almost all of whom were civilian, at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Fujii returned to India and built a World Peace Pagoda in Rajgir
Rajgir
Rajgir is a city and a notified area in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Rajgir was the first capital of the kingdom of Magadha, a state that would eventually evolve into the Mauryan Empire. Its date of origin is unknown, although ceramics dating to about 1000 BC have...
, in 1965. He also built a Japanese style temple in Rajgir which is still inhabited today.
By 2000, at least 80 Peace Pagodas had been built around the world in Europe, Asia, and the United States, though not all are due to his movement.
While the Pagodas have been one expression of their call for peace, Nipponzan Myohoji also has carried its prayers to the world in numerous walks. Since 1976, when a group joined the Continental Walk for Disarmament and Social Justice across the United States, their presence has been an important part of many movements for peace and justice. "We must go out among the people." Fujii taught. "In the Sutra there is a line that states, 'So this man, practicing in the world, shall disperse the gloom of living.' Religion, which does not 'go' will not be able to provide the relief which must be brought about." The prayers of the Daimoku are to disperse this gloom. "Religion becomes isolated from the happenings of the world because it tends to be occupied in seeking solutions to one's own spiritual matters. If we fall to prevent a nuclear holocaust one's desire for security is nothing but a dream. All must be awakened."
Quote
"Civilization is not to kill human beings, not to destroy things, not to make war; civilization is to hold mutual affection and to respect one another." -Nichidatsu FujiiExternal links
- Dharmawalk.org Information on Nichidatsu Fujii (Guruji) and the continuing work of the order that he founded.
- Some photos of Hōon-ji