Building Cultures of Peace Through Learning and Dialogue

Founded in 1993 by Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, and educator Daisaku Ikeda, the Ikeda Center's mission is to build cultures of peace through learning and dialogue. To that end, we host events, publish books, and produce original resources for our website. Upon our founding, Mr. Ikeda presented us with these mottos: "Be the heart of a network of global citizens. Be a bridge for dialogue between civilizations. Be a beacon lighting the way to a century of life."

Staff

About the Ikeda Center

Learn about the history, mission, vision, values, and people that shape our work.
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Events

Events

Engage with accounts of our past events and learn about upcoming ones.
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Ceasar McDowell

Thinkers & Themes

Encounter essays, interviews, lectures, and articles on diverse facets of our work.
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What's New?

Upcoming Dialogue Nights: Bringing Forth Our Greater Self

Join us for our first Dialogue Nights of 2023 on Friday, February 3rd at 7 PM! Bringing Forth Our Greater Self: How Do We Do It?

This year, in celebration of our 30th anniversary, each event in our Dialogue Nights series will explore timely themes from Daisaku Ikeda's speech, "Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first Century Civilization.” This lecture, which Mr. Ikeda delivered at Harvard University–on the same day he established the Center–highlights the contributions that Mahayana Buddhism can make to the peaceful evolution of humanity.

To kick off this special series, we will look at a key theme from the lecture: the Buddhist view of the 'greater self.' What is it, how do we bring it forth, and what are its implications for transforming our lives and society?

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Virtual Panel Discussion Celebrates 40 Years of Peace Proposals
Daisaku Ikeda headshot

To celebrate the 2022 publication of the 40th proposal, on October 24, 2022, UN Day, the Soka Gakkai International, working in collaboration with the Ikeda Center, hosted an online panel discussion called “The Peace Proposals at 40: Creating Vibrant Hope and Advancing the Culture of Peace.” The webinar was attended by nearly 400 people representing 36 countries.

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2022 Ikeda Forum Explores the Power of Our Stories
Participants in dialogue

On October 14 we hosted “Our Stories Matter: Dialogue As a Way of Knowing, Being, and Becoming,” the first in-person Ikeda Forum since 2019 and the 18th overall since 2004. The co-presenters for the evening were Drs. Shirley Tang and Karen Ross, both of the University of Massachusetts Boston. Please click through to learn about the powerful ways that all of us are "storied into being."

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Dialogue Nights Explores the Courage to Listen

At the recent Dialogue Nights, called “The Courage to Listen: What It Means and Why It Matters,” participants discussed why listening is so hard and what they do to overcome the many obstacles to the kind of deep and compassionate listening that dialogue requires. Click through to read about the event!

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Scholars Gather for 2nd Session of the Global Citizens Seminar
Global Cit 2

On August 6, the Ikeda Center hosted the second gathering of its 2022 Global Citizens Seminar. Like the first, it featured the joy of bringing seven doctoral students together with Professors Jason Goulah of DePaul University and Catia Confortini of Wellesley College to explore Daisaku Ikeda’s 2022 peace proposal might in the context of their respective research endeavors. Among the core topics: realizing true dignity and authentic security.

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