Daisaku Ikeda's 1999 World Citizenship Award Acceptance Speech

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"It is my belief that a world citizen is first and foremost someone who is always learning from the world. It is someone who serves the world wholeheartedly, someone who struggles to bring a better world into being."

The 1999 World Citizenship Award was presented to Daisaku Ikeda by David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation for Daisaku Ikeda's outstanding and inspiring actions as a world citizen. The following is an excerpt from Daisaku Ikeda's acceptance speech at the award ceremony held in Tokyo on March 16, 2000.

"It was with deep appreciation that I just received this "World Citizenship Award." This is truly a great honor. At the same time, my wife, Kaneko, just received the singular honor of being conferred with the title of "Peace Ambassador." I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and respect to Dr. and Mrs. Krieger, and to the renowned medical scientist Dr. Haller. Please accept my heartfelt welcome to Japan and my thanks for the great efforts you have made to be with us today, despite the many demands of your ceaseless efforts to realize peace in our world.

Kaneko and I are determined to respond to your kind trust and expectations by renewing our determination to work for peace alongside the students of the Soka Schools and with all young people throughout the world.

It is my belief that a world citizen is first and foremost someone who is always learning from the world. It is someone who serves the world wholeheartedly, someone who struggles to bring a better world into being. This is my understanding of world citizenship.

Socrates, A Historic Example of World Citizenship

Who is human history can we regard as an example of the world citizenship? One of the best examples must be Socrates, the great philosopher. It is well known that whenever Socrates was asked about his nationality, he would reply with a smile, "I am a citizen on the world." Dr. Krieger and I have discussed about Socrates in our currently ongoing dialogue.

When I visited Athens in February of 1962, I had a chance of visiting the site where Socrates is believed to have been imprisoned. It was a small rock cave with iron bars located under a bare rock wall. The aged Socrates was thrown into this gloomy prison for crimes of which he was innocent, and forced to commit suicide. The human world is indeed frightening. I also continue to fight against various lies.

I was strongly reminded of the example of Mr. Makiguchi who, like Socrates, was persecuted by the authorities and died in prison, as well as Mr. Toda survived two years of great hardship in prison.

In any age, active world citizens, precisely because they are correct and just in their views and because they are an important presence in society, must fact the jealous attacks of those wielding power in their respective societies. This seems to be an inevitable rule of history, something deeply ingrained, perhaps, in human nature itself.

Dr. Krieger has faced many challenges and struggles, because of his calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the abolition of war. This is very well known and I respect him deeply for this. In his youth, he opposed the war in Vietnam and maintained his stance as a conscientious objector. As a result he faced severe criticism. Throughout these trials, Dr. Krieger, together with his beloved wife Carolee, persevered in his convictions. He exudes a truly lion-esque nobility. Our Soka schools must always be a model of peace, where there is zero tolerance for bullying, abuse or violence in any form. Let us express our solidarity with Dr. and Mrs. Krieger through a warm round of applause, filled with our resolve to create a 21st century free from war or nuclear weapons!

Plato and the Bonds Between Mentor and Disciple

Returning to Socrates, how was it that he came to be looked up and respected as a teacher of all humanity when, during this lifetime he was forced to commit suicide in obscurity? This was made possible through the spiritual struggles of his beloved mentor and disciple Plato, who devoted his life to his mentor. The bonds between mentor and disciple are even deeper than those between parent and child, or between siblings. It is the ultimate, eternal expression of our humanity.

On one occasion, Plato was invited to the Mediterranean island of Sicily to confer with the powerful autocrat (Dionysius the First). The haughty king asked Plato, "Who is the happiest person in the world?" He thought, of course, that Plato would name the king.

Plato, however, answered resolutely, "That person would be my mentor, Socrates!"

Having dedicated my life to making the world aware of the greatness of Presidents Makiguchi and Toda, I cannot help but deeply empathize with the sentiments that moved Plato to say this. Plato forthrightly remonstrated with this arrogant king, this king of power, seeking to rectify the king’s way of thinking.

The World Citizen Today

Even if it is a succession of ordeals, the life of a person of justice is filled with happiness. In contrast, the final outcome of a life of dishonesty and deceit is always misery.

Upon returning to Athens, Plato founded the Academia and poured his energy into fostering the youth of the future. He knew that the future could only be created by nurturing and raising people of talent.

Education is the ultimate goal of a person living a genuine life. Since over 30 years ago, I had already determined that my final undertaking would be in education because education is the only noble venture which would create the "next world."

Plato’s zeal and determination drew people of genius to Academia from throughout the Hellenic world.

The students of the Academia embraced the philosophy they learned from Plato – the virtues of courage, conviction and earnest sincerity – as they set out to all parts of the world as world citizens. They were determined not to let their activities be restricted to a single region, but to share the knowledge they gained with the entire world."

Biography

The World Citizenship Award for 1999 was presented by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation to Daisaku Ikeda, a distinguished Buddhist philosopher, poet and peace leader. Daisaku Ikeda is the founder and president of Soka Gakkai International, an organization of over 12 million people throughout the world. He is also the founder of Soka University, which has branches in Tokyo and Los Angeles; the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in London; the Boston Research Center for the 21st Century; and the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research.

Daisaku Ikeda is President of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) since 1975, and Soka Gakkai Honorary President, founder of the Clean Government Party, recipient of over fifty honorary doctorates, and over 170 awards and citations from cities around the world, including "Honorary Citizen" from seventy cities. He is a prolific writer and poet who has published works in Japanese and 25 other languages on a variety of subjects, from Buddhist philosophy to children's stories. His photographs taken during travels in Japan and abroad have been compiled into an exhibition, "Dialogue with Nature," shown around the world. He is the recipient of the U.N. Peace Medal (1983), the International Tolerance Award of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (1993), and the Rosa Parks Humanitarian Award (1994).