INEB EC/AC Meeting Itinerary

2012 INEB Executive Meeting and International Forum

The Wisdom of Interbeing & The Art of Happiness

A Buddhist Approach to Rebuilding Our Society and Ensuring Our Future 

November 6-10, 2012

Kodo Kyodan Buddhist Fellowship

Yokohama, Japan

November 5 & 11: Arrival and Departure (Tokyo)

• Please choose either Haneda OR Narita International Airports. Haneda is closer to Tokyo and Yokohama where you will stay. For those wishing to arrive earlier or stay later, please consult with us about affordable lodging and other needs

• Please see the Logistics Guide here for further information

November 6-7: Study Tours and Interactions (8-10 people per group)

Group 1: Nuclear Power and Local Communities (economic development, gaps between urban and rural, energy policy, environmental problem, etc.)

• Leaders: Rev. Hidehito Okochi, Rev. Kobo Inoue, Prof. Hisashi Nakamura
• 6^th&7^th: Study Tour to Fukushima (radiation barrier areas, temporary shelters, destroyed temples, problems of rural society, etc.)
• Lodging: 5^th: Rev. Okochi’s Kenju-in Temple in Tokyo; 6^th: Fukushima Zen temple

Group 2: Suffering and Illness in Post Industrial Society (Society with No Interbeing (mu-en), social gaps, alienation, social recluses (hikikomori), suicide)

• Leaders: Rev. Masazumi Okano, Rev. Yukan Ogawa, Chisa Yamashita
• 6^th&7^th: Meeting with members of the Association of Priests Grappling with the Suicide Problem at Kodo Kyodan (Yokohama)
• 7^th: excursion to Kamakura
• Lodging: Kodo Kyodan (Yokohama)

Group 3: Japanese Buddhism Today: Problems and Potentials (Funeral Buddhism, Public Benefit issue, secular society, priests’ identity, gender issue)

• Leaders: Rev. Yoshiharu Tomatsu, Rev. Yuzuki Matsushita, Rev. Jin Sakai
• 6^th&7^th: Tours around the wider Tokyo metropolitan area to visit temples and priests; to see the typical life style of a married temple family and their funeral and memorial services; and also to see a variety of new kinds of activities to revive the temple in Japan.
• Lodging: Kodo Kyodan (Yokohama)

November 8-9: INEB Executive and Advisory Committee Meeting

Site: Kodo Kyodan Buddhist Fellowship (Yokohama)

• 9^th evening: group meal with JNEB members

November 10: Public Forum at Kodo Kyodan (Yokohama)

9:30-11:30: Small Networking Meeting (with 20-30 core Japanese engaged Buddhists)

Purpose: to reflect on the study tours within the context of larger INEB activities and to network between Japanese and INEB members on further collaborative action

Introduction to INEB – 15 mins

Introduction to key areas of INEB work – 20 mins (group leader)

1) Buddhist economics & INEB’s Right Livelihood Fund

2) Environment & INEB’s Conference on Global Climate Change

3) Peace & Human Rights

4) Emergency Aid & Relief Work

5) Women’s Empowerment & Gender Equality

6) The New Face of Buddhism: Buddhist Revival and Renewal Activities (temple activities, role of ordained sangha, lay practice, etc.)

7) Youth Development & INEB’s Young Bodhisattva Program

Group work – 60 mins

Report back – 25 mins

13:00-17:00 Public Symposium

17:30-19:30 Farewell Party

• Lodging: Kodo Kyodan (Yokohama)
• Staff: Jonathan Watts, Naoyuki Ogi, Eka Shimada and other JNEB members