Dialogue 101
Here are some sample questions that you can use to initiate a dialogue on nuclear weapons.
Are nuclear weapons really necessary? Why do we need to keep them?What justifies our own stockpiles of nuclear weapons when we make an issue out of other states' possession of them?Does humanity really have no choice but to live under the thread of nuclear weapons?Imagining this is the year 2030, and the world no longer has any nuclear weapon! You are allowed to leave a short message to yourself in the year 2012, how will you describe 2030?What does nuclear weapons represent in your view?What are some crucial elements of a society without nuclear weapons?Do you think nuclear abolition is possible?What is the role of dialogue in nuclear abolition to you?What triggered you to think about this issue? Or do you, on a daily basis?Will the world be better without nuclear weapons?What is necessary to rid the world of nuclear weapons?What does "peace" mean to you? Or how do you define "peace" in your words?What does "security" mean to you?What about "national security"?
On the Power of Dialogue
In Dr. Ikeda's message to Civil Peace Forum held at Cooper Union, he wrote, "It was human beings who gave rise to nuclear weapons. It cannot therefore be beyond the power of human wisdom to eliminate them. Buddhism asserts that human life holds within it sources of wisdom and compassion powerful enough to rise above any temptation or threat. I believe that humankind's continued survival hinges on the success of our efforts to bring forth these positive, creative capacities in all people and forge from them a new solidarity. This is a challenge of epic significance in human history.
The greatest single force to achieve this on a global scale is the power of dialogue. Dialogue among individual human beings and through expanding friendship and exchange among the world's peoples. Dialogue starts from the courageous willingness to know and be known by others. It is the painstaking and persistent effort to remove all obstacles that obscure our common humanity. Genuine dialogue is a ceaseless and profound spiritual exertion that seeks to effect a fundamental human transformation in both ourselves and others. Dialogue challenges us to confront and transform the destructive impulses inherent in human life. I earnestly believe that the energy generated by this courageous effort can break the chains of resignation and apathy that bind the human heart, unleashing renewed confidence and vision for the future.
The hope-filled leaders at the forefront of this struggle are always young people. "The new era will be created by the power and passion of youth." This was the unchanging, lifelong conviction of Josei Toda, who himself waged an uncompromising struggle of resistance against Japanese militarism during World War II. Deeply partaking of my mentor's conviction, I am determined to dedicate my life, alongside the youth of the world and together with our distinguished friends gathered here today, to the cause of nuclear abolition and the peaceful coexistence of humankind."
Here are some additional reference materials:
- Our New Clear Future Pamphlet
- Daisaku Ikeda's 2009 nuclear disarmament proposal: Building Global Solidarity toward Nuclear Abolition
- Daisaku Ikeda's message to Civil Society Peace Forum at Cooper Union
- People's Decade (lectures, testimonies of Hibakusha, etc.)
- Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
- International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
- Internation Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
