Chinese Culture University in Taiwan Holds 2024 International Forum on Daisaku Ikeda’s Philosophy
Researchers from diverse fields presented their research and expressed their visions for the future based on Mr. Ikeda’s philosophy.
On March 2, 2024, the Chinese Culture University (CCU) in Taipei, Taiwan, held its 15th international forum on the research of Daisaku Ikeda’s peace ideals. The theme for this year’s forum, the first since the passing of Mr. Ikeda in November 2023, was “Peace, Culture and Education: The Great Light of Peace and Dignity.” At the forum, attended by 300 students and faculty members, 19 researchers from 17 universities presented papers on their visions for the future based on Mr. Ikeda’s philosophy of the dignity of life. They also addressed current social issues as they relate to their areas of expertise.
The forum was hosted by CCU’s Daisaku Ikeda Research Center. The center, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023, has published translations of Mr. Ikeda’s dialogues with prominent figures from around the world as well as research papers on his philosophy. CCU and Soka University, which was founded by Mr. Ikeda, also signed an academic exchange agreement in 1995.
At the opening ceremony, former CCU president, Dr. Lin Tsai-Mei, reflected on the 30 years since the first in a series of dialogues that took place between Dr. Chang Jen-hu, former chair of CCU’s Board of Regents, and Mr. Ikeda. The series was later published in traditional Chinese and in Japanese as Kyoiku to bunka no odo (The Noble Path of Education and Culture). She emphasized that it is important for us to implement practical solutions that will lead humanity toward happiness, as Mr. Ikeda had demonstrated through his dialogues for peace.
Referring to the theme of the forum in his message
to the event, SGI Vice President Hiromasa Ikeda noted that the annual peace proposals
issued annually beginning in 1983 by his father, Mr. Ikeda, concluded in 2022
with this same theme. In these proposals, he said, Mr. Ikeda put forward
concrete ideas for the resolution of critical issues that must be addressed for
the sake of future generations. Echoing Dr. Lin’s opening remarks, he said that
Mr. Ikeda firmly believed that concrete proposals followed by action are
crucial for the peace and progress of humanity.
CCU President Wang Tzu-Chi, who, together with Xu Xing-Qing, former CCU president, attended the January 30, 2024, memorial for Mr. Ikeda held in Tokyo, Japan, spoke about how the passing of Mr. Ikeda had highlighted the significance of continuing the annual event.
In his keynote speech, Taiwan Institute for
Sustainable Energy Chairman and President Eugene Chien, spoke on the theme
“Trends and Development of Net-Zero Transformation.” He discussed issues such
as climate change from the perspective of renewable energy, as well as the
importance of the principle of “leaving no one behind” in actualizing inclusive
and equitable policies and measures.
Dr. Lin Tsai-Mei
also delivered a keynote speech on Mr. Ikeda’s educational philosophy and the
impact of education for global citizenship on corporate sustainability.
Soka University Vice President Koichi Kandachi and
Taiwan Soka Association General Director Lin Chao also spoke at the forum,
which included breakout and Q&A sessions.
[Adapted
from an article in the March 2, 2024, issue of the Seikyo Shimbun, Soka Gakkai, Japan]
