A Publication of the International Buddhist Exchange Center

This Precious Life:
Buddhist Tsunami Relief and Anti-Nuclear Activism in Post 3/11 Japan

Edited by Jonathan S. Watts 

US$10.00

Now available on Kindle worldwide

In the West, order through amazon.com

In Japan, contact the Editor at ogigaya@gmail.com

In the rest of Asia, contact the office of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists at secretariat@inebnetwork.org 

CONTENTS

Editor’s Foreword

PART I: Buddhist Social Welfare: Material and Psycho-Spiritual Aid Work

• A Zen Master’s Witness of the Primeval Force of Nature (Shodo Harada Roshi)
• My Struggle to Revive the Cultural and Natural Heritage of Soma in Fukushima (Rev. Toku-un Tanaka)
• What Temples Can Do as Evacuation Shelters During a Disaster (Shinobu Izawa-Jimonkoryu)
• The Losses and Disaster Situation of Each Buddhist Denomination (Bukkyo Times)
• Diary of a Buddhist Based NGO’s Aid Work: The Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA)
• The Inter-relation between Restoration and Co-existence (Rev. Shojun Okano)
• Psycho-Spiritual Relief Work in the Tsunami Areas: An Interview with Rev. Jin Hitoshi (Jonathan Watts)
• The Deep Listening Gyocha Volunteer Activities of  the Soto Zen Youth Association (Rev. Taiko Kyuma)
• Smiles on the Faces of the Children of Fukushima (Rev. Eka Shimada)

PART II: Buddhist Social Transformation: Confronting the Nuclear Issue and Envisioning the Future

• The Choice of Development Paradigms in Japan after the 3:11 Fukushima Nuclear Disaster (Jun Nishikawa)
• A Priest’s Work Amidst the Nuclear Ginza: A Profile of Rev. Tetsuen Nakajima (Mai Ishikawa)
• The Inter Faith Forum for the Review of National Nuclear Policy
• Questioning the Nuclear Accident: The Future and Religion (Bukkyo Times)
• Which Way to Peace? The Role of Japanese Buddhism in Anti-Nuclear Civil Protest (Jonathan Watts)
• Explaining the Sin of Nuclear Power: Symposium at Soto Zen’s Main Temple Eiheiji Spreads the No Nuke Movement amongst the Buddhist World (Aso Izuta & Kei Sato-Tokyo Shimbun) –> Japan Buddhist Federation Declaration on Nuclear Power
• “Anti-Nukes” Remains Fixed on Life: Declarations from the Religious World Come One after Another (Kyoko Isa-Asahi Shimbun)
• A Futuristic Priest whose Time Has Arrived: Rev. Hidehito Okochi (Jonathan Watts)

Part III: Messages from International Buddhist Leaders on the Future of Japan

• Message to the Japanese People from The World Fellowship of Buddhists
• Engaged Buddhism the Dalai Lama’s Way: Tibetan Leader Shows Exceptional Energy for Japan’s Tsunami Victims (Jonathan Watts)
• No More Back to Business as Usual: A Socially Engaged Buddhist Approach to Making a Post 3/11 Society in Japan (Sulak Sivaraksa)
• Thinking about Natural Disasters and Religion: In Search of an Alternative Way of Life (A. T. Ariyaratne)