UNESCO Lecture, "Now, We Think about Peace

　Buddhism, which came into existence at the mouth of River Ganges in 500 B.C. was spread as far west as Gandhara, in present day Pakistan. There, Buddhism came into contact with three civilization; Zoroastrianism of Iranian origin, which was brought from north, the Greek civilization or Hellenism, and Brahmanism of Indian origin. This bred the greater vehicle Buddhism. Around that time, an image of Buddha was built for the first time. The brilliant Buddhist images at Bamiyan were gilded, which shows the influence of Greek sculptures. No great statues of Buddha such as those could be found anywhere else in the world. Moreover, it seems that they were built as early as the fifth century. This indicates that Mahayana Buddhism came in contact with the ancient Oriental civilization. Such a precious place is now under fire of war. This is very sad. Afghanistan had been Xanadu or a fairyland just until 30 years ago. It was a peaceful country though it wasn't rich. In the height of the Cold War in the bipolar world with the U.S. and the Soviet Union being the two biggest powers, the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, and after a fierce battle that lasted as long as 10 years, the Soviet Union was defeated. However, a civil war that succeeded the war as a result of power struggle after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union drove away many refugees into the neighboring country of Pakistan, where refugee camps were established. There, 10-year old boys studied in a fine building through the aid of Saudi Arabia. However, they were taught only the Koran. The theological students themselves who grew up, believing in the Koran were future Taliban. When they came back to Afghanistan, they established a base at Kandahar. They were very austere, pure, and complied with the order, living by the teachings of the Koran. They appealed to the people, and eventually fell within the Taliban led by Mr. Mullah Mohammed Omar

　At present, Japan took the side of the U.S. and European countries, and the media is feeding information with a one-sided view. However, I think you must see this with an impartial eye. When civilizations have been developed, reason has played an important part. For at least one month starting on the September 11th, the reason disappeared temporarily. The U.S. President, who is supposed to be the world leader, has frequently been seen saying words bereft of reason. "Vengeance" is a word prohibited by Christ, being far from the Christian spirit. It transpired that this word was used to justify war before we knew it. A "mind-homogenization" phenomenon took place worldwide. No one can oppose it. On the other hand, some people of several countries including Islam, China, and the Latin America whooped with joy at the attack. The world was polarized. A big risk was carried into the future. Homogenized mind can have an excuse to confine criticism. To have various opinions is important and this leads to equilibrium. It is very dangerous if there is only one opinion.

　Worldwide cultural diversity is a treasure. This is the position of the UNESCO. Terrorists do not show themselves. Retaliation for it is "the terrorism which shows itself". Only Muslim people have a tendency to be portrayed as villains. There are few people who know about Islam in Japan. Where does the terrifying image of them come from though they are in fact devout and pure people? Islam is a big civilization. Islamic people have made great contributions to world culture. There was cultural exchange via Silk Road, the re-discovery of ancient Greece, and the Renaissance in Arabia.

　However, the fact is these were erased from the textbook. Such a distortion of history is in the background. The grudge against this has been in the mind of people in the Islam society all the time. It can be said that when an overwhelming value like the one America has now takes form, and tries to dominate the world, a grudge is born at the bottom, which gives the terrorists an excuse.

　It is absolutely necessary to assume a firm attitude toward terrorism. However, it does not follow that you should side with America. Japan can take a different stance from the one that derives from the Western philosophy, which is turning into self-righteousness. For example, Japan is the only country in G 7 nations that can take the middle ground between those Christian countries and Muslim countries. I think the proper part Japan should play is to appeal to those countries for dialog and mutual respect between different civilizations.