Nostra Aetate - In Our Time

77 ood evening Eminences, Excellencies, distinguished guests, dear friends, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to express my heartfelt grat- itude to the organiser that I have been given this precious opportunity of speaking upon the theme of liberation and illumination on this very important occasion of our reflecting on Nostra Aetate . I am Kosho Niwano from Rissho Kosei-kai, a Japa- nese Buddhist organisation. I now also serve as one of the KAICIID Board Members. The words Nostra Aetate remind me of a very spe- cial feeling. It was the fact that my grandfather Nikkyo Niwano was invited as a guest to the opening of the fourth session of the Second Vatican Council 50 years ago. On that occasion my grandfather met with Pope Paul VI and that meeting turned out to be a very crucial influence on Rissho Kosei-kai, as well as on my own life. Shakyamuni Buddha spoke 2,500 years ago: “Some people say that it is truth, but others say that it is false. In this way, people speak against each other with preju- dice. Why don’t people following the path of faith speak about the common point?” Fundamentally, religion does not exclude others. The essence of religion is the oneness between self and others which enables humans to love others as they love them- selves. It is an aberration that religions divide themselves and fight each other. All religions should learn from each other, discuss common points and cooperate together for realising peace, based on these disciplines. There is no other way than religious cooperation in which the modern world and humankind will be given substantial salvation. These are my grandfather’s convic- tions. He was given an invitation to the Vatican Council through Cardinal Marella, the first President of the Pon- tifical Council of Interreligious Dialogue of the Vatican. My grandfather visited the Vatican in September 1965. The words of Pope Paul VI at the opening ceremony of the Vatican Council were firmly focused on the spirit of Nostra Aetate . On the following day of his private audience with my grandfather, Pope Paul said to him: “I know the religious cooperation that you are endeav- ouring to promote. Please promote it wholeheartedly. I am convinced that Almighty God will surely bless and protect your activities.” My grandfather was deeply moved and the Pope’s words became his strong conviction. Nikkyo Niwano, filled with determination, said: “I cannot fulfil the sacred mission of a religious person as long as I think only of my own religion or religious denomination.” He then started taking action towards founding the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP). That was about the time I was born – my grandfa- ther was in Kyoto on January 22nd 1968, just three days after my birth. There, discussions were held among Japanese and American religious leaders towards the realisation of the WCRP concept. There was also an episode involving my grandfather and a representative of American religious leaders which demonstrates mutual respect and consideration. In my infant memory there always exists the image of my grandfather travelling around the world. The topics around the dining table at home were always religious dialogue, religious cooperation and world peace. There were bound to be many hurdles and problems in imple- menting those objectives, but my grandfather always shared many stories with us grandchildren with his brilliant eyes shining like a boy’s: “Today, I met such a wonderful person,” and: “I had a wonderful experience today.” I loved and always enjoyed his stories. Thus, I was brought up with a growing sense that there are so many wonderful religions and people in the world. As a result of unimaginable and tireless efforts, the first WCRP General Assembly was held in Kyoto, in 1970, five years after Nostra Aetate . What my grandfather cherished was that interreligious dialogue and cooperation should not be exclusively for people directly involved in the agreed actions. At any occasion and in any place he shared – with young people in particular – the importance of interreligious dialogue, cooperation and concrete actions. Thanks to his efforts, there are many young people in the Rissho Kosei-kai movement who wish to dedicate themselves to religious dialogue with a firm belief in its effectiveness. There is an episode when the body meeting at Rissho Kosei-kai was formulating the following year’s action plan when my grandfather said: “We should not make a plan that aims only at our own growth and development. Instead, we should have a plan which enables other reli- gions and organisations to grow and develop together.” For my grandfather, who devoted more than half of his life to realising peace in the world through interreli- gious dialogue and cooperation, it was a joy superior to any other when Pope John Paul II attended and delivered G BROADENING INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AND COLLABORAT ION FOR OUR T IME