Peace Pagoda

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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 (though not all) have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii (1885-1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order. Fujii was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began^[1] constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to World peace.

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.

By 2000, 80 Peace Pagodas had been built around the world in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

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. -Most Ven. Fujii

The Peace Pagoda was awarded the Courage of Conscience award June 5, 1998 in Sherborn, MA. ^[2]

Contents 1 Africa 1.1 Barrydale, South Africa 2 Asia 2.1 Rajgir, India 2.2 Darjeeling, India 2.3 Delhi, India 2.4 Ladakh, India 2.5 Vaishali, India 2.6 Hanaokayama, Japan 2.7 Hiroshima, Japan 2.8 Nagasaki, Japan 2.9 Mount Kijosumi, Japan 2.10 Narita-shi, Chiba-ken, Japan 2.11 Lumbini, Nepal 2.12 Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan 2.13 Jeju Island, Korea 2.14 Pokhara, Nepal 3 Australia 3.1 Brisbane, Australia 4 Europe 4.1 Vienna, Austria 4.2 Birmingham, England 4.3 Milton Keynes, England 4.4 London, England 4.5 Comiso, Italy 4.6 Kuchary, Poland 4.7 Benalmádena, Spain (Enlightenment Stupa) 5 North America 5.1 San Francisco, CA 5.2 New England: Leverett, MA 5.3 Grafton, NY 5.4 Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee 5.5 St Norbert, Manitoba, Canada 5.6 Los Álamos, Valle de Bravo, Mexico 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Africa

[edit] Barrydale, South Africa

Opening ceremony of the 29th international Peace Pagoda project, Barrydale South Africa 2000

[edit] Asia

[edit] Rajgir, India

In 1969 at Rajgir, near the site where the Buddha is believed to have preached the Lotus Sutra. The event coincided with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi.

[edit] Darjeeling, India

The Shanthi Stupas in India were established by Fuji Guru, a close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, for World Peace. The Nipponzan Myōhōji Buddhist temple at Charlimont in Darjeeling is one of them. Work on the Stupa began in 1972 and it was dedicated on 1 November 1992.

[edit] Delhi, India

Currently (2007) a World Peace Stupa is being constructed in the Indraprasht Park, east of Humayun's Tomb, Delhi.

[edit] Ladakh, India

The Shanti Stupa in Ladakh (Jammu and Kashmir) was built by Nipponzan-Myōhōji monks, headed by Head monk Nakamura, with the help of local people. The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama himself ^[3] It is situated at a hilltop in Changspa village providing a bird's eye view of Leh town and the surrounding mountain peaks. The 14th and current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso inaugurated the Shanti Stupa in August 1985.^[4]

[edit] Vaishali, India

The stupa at Vaishali was inaugurated 23 October 1996.^[5] Vaishali is an important place in the life of the Buddha.

[edit] Hanaokayama, Japan

Work on the first Peace Pagoda began in 1947 at Hanaokayama with basic hand tools. It took seven years to build, being completed in 1954.

[edit] Hiroshima, Japan

The Peace Pagoda was built in 1966 to commemorate the lives lost in the A-bomb blast, and contains gifts of Buddha's ashes from the then Prime Minister of India and Mongolian Buddhists.

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[edit] Nagasaki, Japan

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[edit] Mount Kijosumi, Japan

1969

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[edit] Narita-shi, Chiba-ken, Japan

Built in 1984, the pagoda at Narita-shi in Chiba Prefecture is 58m high and situated on a small hill.

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[edit] Lumbini, Nepal

Lumbini Stupa peace pagoda in Nepal was dedicated in November 2001 at the birthplace of the Buddha.

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[edit] Gotemba, Shizuoka, Japan

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[edit] Jeju Island, Korea

Buddha Sharira Stupa for Peace and Unification The Stupa is built on the site where Venerable Masters Bowoo (d. 1565) and Jiahn (d. 1729) died. They gave their lives for Buddhism. The Stupa is the centre of many activites for the proporagation of world peace and the unification of Korea. One such activity is the Lotus Sutra writing movement and on August the 15th each year people come and place hand written copies of the Lotus Sutra into the Pagoda.

This stupa is not associated with Nipponzan-Myōhōji.

[edit] Pokhara, Nepal

Balanced on a narrow ridge high above Phewa Tal, the brilliant-white World Peace Pagoda in Pokhara QTVR is a massive Buddhist stupa which was constructed by Buddhist monks from the Japanese Nipponzan Myōhōji organisation. Besides being an impressive sight in itself, the shrine is a vantage point which offers spectacular views of the Annapurna range and Pokhara city. There are three paths up to the pagoda and several small cafes once you arrive.

[edit] Australia

[edit] Brisbane, Australia

Created by the Kingdom of Nepal for the 1988 World Exposition, Brisbane's World Expo '88, the Brisbane Nepal Peace Pagoda is now a permanent commemorative structure of the Expo, and is now located at the transformed Expo site, South Bank Parklands.

The three-storied Pagoda was constructed of Nepalese Terai timbers, and assembled on the Expo site for the Expo. It was relocated to its new riverfront location at the conclusion of the Expo for the opening of the Parklands in 1992. It now features commemorative displays of the Expo, and a place for quiet and reflection. A Peace Bell also features, as well as a Peace Post in the Pagoda garden.

[edit] Europe

[edit] Vienna, Austria

panorama picture of stupa on the shore of the Danube

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get information from their official site: http://www.peacepagoda.eu/ (in German) the Nipponzan Myohoji order and Rev. Gyosei Masunaga is active here since 25 years.

[edit] Birmingham, England

On 26 June 1998, the Dhamma-Talaka Peace Pagoda was dedicated in the Ladywood district of Birmingham. The Venerable Dr. Rewata Dhamma is a senior Burmese Buddhist Monk who is the prime mover behind the building of the Peace Pagoda and the new Buddhist Centre.

[edit] Milton Keynes, England

The Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda (52°03′28″N 0°43′32″W / 52.057697°N 0.725436°W / 52.057697; -0.725436 (Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda)) was completed in 1980 at the northern edge of Willen lake in Willen, Milton Keynes. This was the first Peace Pagoda in the western world.^[6]

There is a Nipponzan-Myōhōji Order temple and monastery nearby (52°03′20″N 0°43′34″W / 52.055436°N 0.726181°W / 52.055436; -0.726181 (Nipponzan-Myōhōji Order temple and monastery)).

[edit] London, England

The London Peace Pagoda (51°28′55″N 0°09′32″W / 51.482018°N 0.159025°W / 51.482018; -0.159025 (London Peace Pagoda)) was completed^[7] in 1985 on the south side of the River Thames in Battersea Park, London. Permission to build it was the last legislative act of the Greater London Council.

[edit] Comiso, Italy

On 24 May 1998, the Reverend Morishita^[8] dedicated a stupa (36°57′43″N 14°38′02″E / 36.962°N 14.634°E / 36.962; 14.634 (Nipponzan-Myōhōji Order stupa at Comiso)) at Comiso (Contrada Canicarao, 100) in Sicily, near the NATO base there.

[edit] Kuchary, Poland

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[edit] Benalmádena, Spain (Enlightenment Stupa)

The Buddhist master, Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche first visited Spain in 1990, teaching at Karma Guen, a buddhist meditation center near Benalmádena. He built his first Stupa there in 1994, the Enlightenment Stupa, Benalmadena and the largest in the western world at the time, "as a landmark of peace and prosperity for the country". ^[9] Note that this stupa is not part of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji movement.

[edit] North America

[edit] San Francisco, CA

The Peace Pagoda in San Francisco (37°47′06″N 122°25′47″W / 37.785054°N 122.429827°W / 37.785054; -122.429827 (Peace Pagoda in San Francisco)) is a five-tiered concrete stupa in Nihonmachi (Japantown) and is located between Post and Geary Streets at Buchanan. It is part of the Japan Center complex[1] which opened in 1968. It was designed by Japanese architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and presented to San Francisco by the people of Osaka, Japan. This stupa is not associated with Nipponzan-Myōhōji.

[edit] New England: Leverett, MA

All recent Peace Pagodas in the United States were erected using 100% donated funds, tools, and labor.

The New England Peace Pagoda (42°29′56″N 72°29′28″W / 42.498994°N 72.491108°W / 42.498994; -72.491108 (New England Peace Pagoda)) is the first Nipponzan-Myōhōji Peace Pagoda to be built in the US and was completed in 1986.

[edit] Grafton, NY

The Grafton Peace Pagoda (at 87 Crandall Rd., Petersburgh, New York 12138 42°45′04″N 73°24′32″W / 42.751109°N 73.408756°W / 42.751109; -73.408756 (Grafton Peace Pagoda)) was dedicated in 1993. (The mailing address of this Pagoda is in Petersburgh as Grafton does not provide delivery service, but the Pagoda is within the boundaries of the Town of Grafton.)

The site grounds consist of a temple, gardens, pond and the pagoda.

Each year on September 11, a group of marchers begin a walk that begins at the Grafton Peace Pagoda Site and ends in New York City two weeks later.

[edit] Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

The Great Smoky Mountains Peace Pagoda (under construction ^[10])

c/o Nipponzan Myōhōji, Atlanta Dojo : 1127 Glenwood Ave., Atlanta, Georgia 30316

[edit] St Norbert, Manitoba, Canada

A stupa has been constructed at the St Norbert Arts Centre[2] in St. Norbert (Winnipeg, Manitoba), Canada

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[edit] Los Álamos, Valle de Bravo, Mexico

The Asociación Cultural Tibetana A.C. ("Garuda") is constructing a stupa at Los Álamos, Valle de Bravo, Mexico State under the patronage of Lama Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoché ^[11]

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[edit] See also

• Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
• Pagoda
• Stupa

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.buddhistinformation.com/nichidatsu_fujii.htm
2. ^ The Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Recipients List
3. ^ "Leh". NDTV. http://www.ndtv.com/ndtvtravels/travel_xtopspot.aspx?topspot=Leh. 
4. ^ "Shanti Stupa". Buddhist-temples.com. http://www.buddhist-temples.com/buddhist-monastery/ladakh/shanti-stupa.html. Retrieved October 19, 2009. 
5. ^ [Nipponzan Myohoji Vaishali Dojo Includes piture of the Stupa
6. ^ [http://www.mkweb.co.uk/Places_to_visit/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=411 Places to visit in Milton Keynes: the Peace Pagoda
7. ^ Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park
8. ^ Rev. Morishita
9. ^ Benalmadena - Stupa
10. ^ The Great Smoky Mountains Peace Pagoda
11. ^ Garuda

[edit] External links

• Dharmawalk.org: Information on Nichidatsu Fujii, Peace Pagodas and the work of Nipponzan Myōhōji.
• Peacepagoda.org, based in Leverett
• The official website for the Milton Keynes Nipponzan Myōhōji Peace Pagoda
• Pictures of the Milton Keynes Nipponzan Myōhōji Peace Pagoda.
• Grafton Peace Pagoda
• BUDDHISM FOR WORLD PEACE: Words of Nichidatsu Fujii at Milton Keynes in 1979, Translated by Yumiko Miyazaki, Japan-Bharat Sarvodaya Mitrata Sangha, 1980.
• Location on DigiLondon