Peace
"Nothing is more barbarous than war, nothing more cruel,..." wrote Soka Gakkai International (SGI) President Daisaku Ikeda in his novel series, The Human Revolution.
Almost six decades have passed since the Second World War. Although humanity continues to make phenomenal breakthroughs in science and technology, we persist in our self-destructive ways, wreaking havoc on planet Earth. Wars and conflicts around the world continue to be a source of death and misery for millions of people.
Culture is the vibrant expression of human life itself. For this reason, although we enjoy various ethnic, linguistic, religious and traditional characteristics, culture has the power to transcend all these differences and strike a common chord in the hearts of people of diverse backgrounds.
Education
At the heart of the SGI movement for peace is the ideal of education for global citizenship.
The
Seri Soka kindergarten (Tadika Seri Soka) in
Malaysia was established in 1994 based on the methods and principles of Soka Education first set out by
Soka Gakkai founding president,
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944).
Makiguchi was an educator whose research into education was expressed in his book entitled
The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy.
Makiguchi defined
the purpose of education as the happiness of children and the creation of value, for both personal development and social good.
