The Daisaku Ikeda LibraryIntroducing works by the Buddhist philosopher
News
News
The latest updates on Daisaku Ikeda's published works and writing projects in progress as reported in the Seikyo Shimbun, the daily organ newspaper of the Soka Gakkai in Japan. (Dates correspond to the daily's issue date, not the actual event itself)
April 9, 2008
TOKYO, Japan: Japanese literary magazine Ushio will begin serializing from its May 2008 issue a dialogue between former UN Under-Secretary General Anwarul K. Chowdhury and Daisaku Ikeda. They will discuss a broad range of topics, from building a culture of peace to the humanistic philosophy of poet Rabindranath Tagore and perspectives to further empower the UN. The two have met twice in Japan, in March 2003 and August 2006. During their second meeting, Ikeda presented Ambassador Chowdhury with "Fulfilling the Mission: Empowering the UN to Live Up to the World's Expectations," a proposal calling for the world body to return to its fundamental purpose as a forum of dialogue and diplomacy to avert war.
April 11, 2008
BEIJING, China: The Chinese literary newspaper China Reading selects the Chinese edition of Taiwa no bunmei (tentative English translation: Toward a Civilization of Dialogue) as one of 2007's 100 Books for Good Reading. Taiwa no bunmei is a dialogue between Harvard University Professor Tu Weiming, an acclaimed expert on Confucian studies, and Daisaku Ikeda, who offer Confucian and Buddhist perspectives on creating peaceful coexistence and exploring the nature and potential of dialogue. The book also received positive reviews in Wenhui Readers' Weekly, Chengdu Evening News and Hong Kong's Sing Tao Daily.
March 31, 2008
COLUMBUS, OHIO, U.S.A.: Publisher Zaner-Bloser, renowned for its educational learning tools, releases Building Bridges, an educational textbook that includes Daisaku Ikeda's Over the Deep Blue Sea, a storybook for children about three friends and their discovery and reaffirmation of such values as peace, tolerance and friendship.
March 30, 2008
TOKYO, Japan: A dialogue between National Technical University of Ukraine (NTUU) Rector Michael Zgurovsky and Daisaku Ikeda will be serialized in the monthly education magazine Todai from its May 2008 issue. In the first installation of the series, "Friendship between Ukraine and Japan—Toward an Age of Hope, Toward an Age of Life (tentative translation)," the two will examine Ukraine's rich history and culture going over the past millennium. Dr. Zgurovsky was trained as an engineering research scientist and has published numerous books and papers on mathematics and cybernetics. In 1991 he was appointed rector of NTUU—formerly known as the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, one of the world's oldest and largest institutions of its kind.
March 27, 2008
MUNICH, Germany:German publisher Nymphenburger releases the German edition of A Quest for Global Peace, a dialogue between Sir Joseph Rotblat, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs co-founder and Nobel peace laureate, and Daisaku Ikeda. The two share the view that the application of 20th-century science and technology requires the development of newfound wisdom in the 21st century arising from basic human values that transcend the limits of knowledge and state sovereignty. A Quest for Global Peace is also available in Italian, Chinese and Japanese.
March 24, 2008
ATHENS, Greece: Kedros Publishing releases the Greek edition of The Living Buddha, Daisaku Ikeda's vivid historical narrative about the life of Shakyamuni—known as the historic Buddha—which draws on Buddhist canon for insights into Shakyamuni's lifelong efforts to free people from their fundamental suffering. The Living Buddha is now available in 17 languages, including English, Indonesian, French, Russian and Chinese.
March 21, 2008
INCHEON, South Korea: The World Literary Association (WLA) confers Daisaku Ikeda with an honorary general directorship in recognition of his literary achievements. WLA General Director Kim Cheon Woo expressed gratitude for the author's poetry, which she noted inspired courage and hope at a time when many contemporary poets were inclined to impart pessimism and despair. The association is based in Seoul, and has some 9,600 members in 70 countries, including the United States and China. The conferral ceremony took place on March 16.
February 28, 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Cheng Yin Culture Enterprise releases a traditional Chinese edition of The Path to the Land of Children, a dialogue between Albert Likhanov, president of the Moscow-based International Children's Funds, and Daisaku Ikeda on youth, parenthood, education and social roles and responsibilities in the upbringing of young people.
February 25, 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Cheng Yin Culture Enterprise releases a traditional Chinese edition of The New Human Revolution, Volume 3, a novelized account of the lay Buddhist association Soka Gakkai, for which Ikeda served as third president from 1960, and its postwar development in Japan and abroad.
February 9, 2008
GUANGXI, China: Guangxi Normal University Press releases the simplified Chinese edition of A Lifelong Quest for Peace: A Dialogue, coauthored by Dr. Linus Pauling, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist and peace advocate, and Daisaku Ikeda. Their dialogue encompasses the range of human knowledge and the impact on global peace and disarmament. A Lifelong Quest for Peace is also available in Japanese, Vietnamese, Korea, Spanish, Tagalog, traditional Chinese, French and Russian.
February 5, 2008
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: Publisher Brazil Seikyo Press releases A Lua E A Princesa, a Portuguese edition of The Princess and The Moon, a children's story written by Daisaku Ikeda. In addition to the original Japanese and translations in Portuguese and English, the work is also available in Chinese, Korean, Dutch, German, Tagalog, and Spanish.
January 31, 2008
MILAN, Italy: Publisher Esperia Edizioni releases Rivoluzioni (Revolutions: to green the environment, to grow the human heart), the Italian edition of a dialogue between M.S. Swaminathan, the renowned Indian agricultural scientist and president of the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, and Daisaku Ikeda. The work offers far-reaching perspectives on and solutions to such global issues as poverty, food shortages, nuclear proliferation and peace building.
December 27, 2007
LONDON, England: Publisher I.B. Tauris releases the first two works in a series of dialogues between Daisaku Ikeda and world figures. Initiating the series are Choose Life: A Dialogue with the British historian Arnold J. Toynbee (1889-1975), and Dawn After Dark with French art critic and Académie Française member René Huyghe (1906-97). Choose Life was first published in Japanese in 1974; Dawn After Dark originally released in French in 1980. Over the next three years, I.B. Tauris will release a total of 12 volumes selected from the some 50 dialogues that Ikeda has published with international leaders and scholars on subjects ranging from religion, politics, economics, science and the arts.
December 5, 2007
SZECHUAN, China: Sichuan People's Publishing House releases the Chinese edition of Taiwa no bunmei (tentative English translation: Toward a Civilization of Dialogue), a dialogue between Harvard University Professor Tu Weiming, an acclaimed expert on Confucian studies, and Daisaku Ikeda. The work, which has only been available in Japanese, offers Chinese and Buddhist perspectives on peaceful coexistence and harmonious society.
November 8, 2007
TOKYO, Japan: Ushio Publishing Co. releases Yujo no daisogen (tentative translation: "Grand Steppes of Friendship"), a dialogue spanning a broad range of topics, including bilateral cultural exchange and educational issues, between Mongolian University of Arts and Culture Rector Dr. Doogiin Tsedev and Daisaku Ikeda. The dialogue was originally serialized in Pumpkin, a monthly women's magazine, in 22 installments beginning with its May 2005 issue.
October 16, 2007
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Cheng Yin Culture Enterprise releases a traditional Chinese edition of A Quest for Global Peace, a dialogue between Nobel peace laureate Sir Joseph Rotblat and Daisaku Ikeda on the need for nuclear disarmament and for newfound wisdom that transcends the limitations of knowledge and state sovereignty in the 21st century. The work is also available in English, Italian and Japanese.
October 14, 2007
LONDRINA, Brazil: Londrina University Press releases a Portuguese edition of On Being Human: Where Ethics, Medicine and Spirituality Converge, a discussion exploring contemporary perspectives on spiritual, mental and physical health by Canadian cancer researcher René Simard, bioethicist Guy Bourgeault and Daisaku Ikeda. The work is also available in Japanese, French, English, Italian and traditional Chinese.
October 14, 2007
CHENNAI, India: The World Poetry Society Intercontinental confers the title of "World People's Poet" on Daisaku Ikeda at a symposium organized by the society. Ikeda was awarded the title of "Poet Laureate" by the World Academy of Arts and Culture in 1981, and Fighting for Peace, his second collection of poetry translated into English, was a finalist in the 2005 Benjamin Franklin Awards' Poetry and Literary Criticism category.
September 30, 2007
TAIPEI, Taiwan: Cheng Yin Culture Enterprise releases a traditional Chinese edition of two children's tales by Daisaku Ikeda. The two works, Amusement Park Among the Stars and Tale of Two Princes (tentative translations), are not available in English.
September 29, 2007
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: The Federation of National Writers Association of Malaysia releases the Malaysian edition of Transforming the Human Spirit, which features Daisaku Ikeda's essays on his dialogues and encounters with 30 of the world's foremost leaders and thinkers, including former Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
August 31, 2007
ROME, Italy: Publisher Creacommercio releases La Nuova Rivoluzione Umana, Vol 3&4, the Italian edition that combines The New Human Revolution, Volumes 3-4, a novelized account of the development of the Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist association, by Daisaku Ikeda, who served as third Soka Gakkai president from 1960 to 1979 and now serves as president of the Soka Gakkai International.
Ikeda's works on life, as well as science and spirituality, draw participants' interest at bioethics conference in Brazil (August 28, 2007)