Making The Dream of Global Peace Come True

See Nichidatsu Study Group for Latest Messages Translations

Especially this post with Longest Walk Speech


See some websites offering Fujii Guruji's legacy messages at:
http://www.atlantadojo.org and
http://www.newenglandpeacepagoda.org

[above updated September 6, 2018]

Date Below Posted: Wednesday, August 27, 2003

The Most Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii on "Making The Dream of Peace Come True"

Offering the sunlight of truth
reaching every human heart
for Global Peace Now!

Last night I skimmed over the marvelous e-book Ross Wilcock compiled and sent "out of the blue" about the Most Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii and his proven and effective interfaith Message of Peace for these times of great chaos in the world. I have uploaded the second draft .pdf file for access and review where it is live-linked from bottom of this posting and will replace with successive drafts as this moves towards finalization. Those interested may view or print latest draft from link at bottom of this page to https://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/Fujii2.pdf
(first draft with miscellaneous semi-related extra and extraneous somewhat outdated links compilation in appendix pages after the e-book itself, is at https://www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/Fujii.pdf)

[Note: If you have problems opening this .pdf file from this site you may want to download it first to your hard drive for easier viewing to avoid Adobe Acrobat glitches I experienced on my older computer]

Ross' work on this, and Guruji's life itself, are fine examples of US Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich's broader global peace campaign slogan, to inspire Americans to take lead of the global peace movement, "One Person Can Make a Difference!"

This e-book draft that he sent is very well assembled and thought out, logically presenting so many of Fujii Guruji's speeches and messages translated into English, messages very little known in the United States but warranting close scrutiny by followers of all religions, as well as those who do not identify their faith with any particular religion.

While he was indeed one of the 20th Century's most accomplished Buddhist Monks, as symbolized by his close relationship with Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu who led history's first nonviolent spiritual political revolution empowered by taking up from him the drumming prayer practice of what Guruji taught is the universal medicine word prayer whose power is "beyond religion" but is ever so simply rooted and available in the dynamics of the human mind itself when used by human beings of pure-hearted intentions, no matter what if any religion they embrace.

During Guruji's visits to the United States to participate in the spiritual peace walks here in 1978 (The American Indian Movement's "Longest Walk"), the 1980 Long Walk for Survival (both from San Francisco to Washington DC) and the 1982 World Peace March, I was surprised to feel the passion of his critical remarks to his disciples in private talks in the small Nipponzan Myohoji temples and dojos that he visited in the various cities around the country, because he repeatedly and strongly criticized his disciples for, in so many words, being "proud to be Buddhists" rather than taking the attitude of humility and gratitude that they were fortunate enough in their lives to have such opportunity to bring out to the world the essential meaning and value of developing strong religious faith in the absolute nature of truth, no matter what religion if any that people embrace -- he taught of the universal value of religious faith itself in the absolute nature of truth itself.

The reader will note in his speeches the careful distinction he makes between religion and spirituality, eg, from his Longest Walk speech message that the solution to the problems of our times is the development of the spiritual civilization at whose core is the religious civilization, ie, a global culture of peace to replace the prevalent military nation-state system based on a culture of domination by violence and the threat of violence, the long prevailing human culture of war.

I will be very surprised to learn if any reader of this e-book is not moved to tears of joy and appreciation at learning of the very existence of such an inspiring human being as Nichidatsu Fujii and the simplicity with which he presents such complex universal religious and spiritual principles as they apply to the practical task of correcting the mind of humankind, and thereby correcting the governments of the world which rely on violence and the threat of violence to enforce their rules and regulations as "law" while ignoring the inviolable sovereignty of the natural "cosmic" law order depicted by the Myo Ho syllables in this universal medicine word mantra, Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.

Our thanks are due for all the devotion and work Ross has put into this project to get it to this stage, and to the disciple of Nichidatsu who inspired him to do so, Rev. Teresawa Junsei. I will circulate a few copies of the printout of this first draft so that others who know Nichidatsu may offer their comments and proofreading as well. I suggest we all collaborate as best we can on this in the coming few weeks so that this work by an American newly acquainted with Fujii Guruji might be offered for delivery to President Bush as soon as possible. This would be a fine gift offering to emphasize the thanks he is due for his and his father's roles in signing the legislations which enabled the creation and funding of the Little Bighorn Battlefield Park, and its National Peace Monument dedicated June 24, 2003, in memory and respect of the indigenous peoples who died during the historic Battle of The Little Bighorn, ie, "Custer's Last Stand". This monument and the ceremony that day finally have marked the symbolic end to the wars between the United States of America and its original inhabitants, the indigenous and original American peoples.

I was introduce in December 1976 to who Fujii Guruji is by one of his disciples, the late Rev. Masao Nippashi, who walked across the United States four times beating the prayer drum chanting this mantra, in 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1982. Nippashi's family, friends and students still come every year to the United States to take part in the Sundance Ceremony at Big Mountain in Arizona in respect of the culture of peace teachings of the peoples of The Sacred Pipe of Peace http://www.wolakota.org

The first page's photo was taken over Guruji's shoulder, of the large crowd gathered was at New York's Central Park in early June, Peace Sunday 1982, at the conclusion of the World Peace March with five routes converging across the USA to the United Nations after walking around the world starting with four routes to the four directions from their temple in Japan.

One million people gathered in New York's Central Park for that "Peace Sunday" event for a day-long stage presentation including rock singers, speakers, etc, on the occasion of the United Nations Second Special Session on Disarmament at the end of that World Peace March from Japan, starting in May, 1981, after the second International Conference of Religious Workers there in Japan.

They gave Guruji and The Monks three minutes of stage time, during which they all drummed and chanted and then walked off stage. I was with a group of lay practitioners watching from under the first tree on the left in the photo as you look out towards the crowd. Some other folks were up in those trees hanging on to get a better view over the sea of people.

Afterwards on the way driving away from Central Park, the radio news talked about the event and said that the city had hired thousands of extra temporary cleanup workers to police the area after the event, and clean up the expected tons of trash, but they were so surprised that it made the afternoon news that they sent them all home early because essentially nobody left any trash lying around. Such was Peace Sunday in Central Park in June 1982 when Guruji was able to chant and drum, together with a handful of the crowd including a few Americans, drumming and chanting along from the audience in cadence with the drums on the loudspekers all over the place, and he venerated a million human beings from that stage who were gathered in support of complete global disarmament.

My other initial comment would be to suggest that Guruji could well be understood as a "Prophecy Keeper" since he was very clear on the fact that he was simply following the teachings of Nichiren Daishionin (Japan's Great Saint Nichiren) which had inspired him to become a "disciple of Buddha" after being introduced to Nichiren by his Christian schoolteacher as a young man, and after his many years of deep study of the various world religions and the various denominations of Buddhism.

I should add, as a scientist myself, that Fujii Guruji strongly criticized modern science and said its demise would parallel the demise of the prevalent military nation-state culture of war because science as it has been practiced in his lifetime, and still, is based on doubt and uncertainty and the fallacious assumption that human beings must gain knowledge by testing hypotheses rather than sitting still long enough to tune in to the innately divine capabilities of the human mind to access the primordial source of knowledge itself, ie, this concept of reawakening "The Enlightened One" -- ie, "The Buddha" within all human beings as our fundamental commonality with all of life and "reality" as we see it.

Guruji said, "where ever the drum is beaten and its medicine word prayer is pronounced, there is Nipponzan Myohoji."

Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo

Gassho -- Bowing to one another with palms together venerating one another's common divine essence, The Buddha within.


David Crockett Williams 805-708-0252
Chartered Life Underwriter
BS Chemistry
www.angelfire.com/on/GEAR2000/vision.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new-energy-solutions

www.whoisleonardpeltier.info

Red Silk Road Peace March Project
USA, California, Japan, Korea, China, Nepal,
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Jerusalem,
Europe, USA, La Paz: Si, Se Puede! 2003-2004
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/silk-road-to-peace
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dharma-walks

"One Person Can Make a Difference!"
www.kucinich.us
Dennis Kucinich for President 2004

Laughing Horse All The Way to Success
www.horseforgovernor.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beloved-laughing-horse

Spirituality is The Highest Form of Politics
For a Culture of Peace & Community
Our Spiritual Unity Re-Awakening
www.prophecykeepers.com
http://web.mahatma.org.in
www.peaceinspace.com
www.brucedepalma.com
www.cesarechavez.org
www.brianwillson.com
www.brianoleary.com
www.atlantadojo.org
www.sathyasai.org
www.tewari.org
www.prop1.org

Click Here to See Nichidatsu eBook latest draft with color photos

Nichidatsu on Making The Dream Come True