Why Interreligious Cooperation Is Essential

Why Interreligious Cooperation Is Essential

by Nikkyo Niwano

This essay is part of a continuing series of translations from a volume of inspirational writings by the late founder of Rissho Kosei-kai. DHARMA WORLD will continue to publish these essays because of their lasting value as guidance for the practice of one's daily faith.

In its essence religion does not reject others but instead allows us to think of others with the same regard we have for ourselves. The oneness of self and others is fundamental to religion. Thus even when it is fractured into differing sects and groups, it is not natural that they should fight one another. People of religion should, rather, study each other's doctrines and practices, discuss issues of religious faith that are of mutual concern, and on that basis, work together to establish world peace. Wherever I have traveled, I have taken every opportunity to speak about the need for interreligious cooperation based on the true meaning of religion. We must acknowledge and respect the various differences of religious expression that are found among groups and societies, for it is the words and actions that express faith that are deeply ingrained in the emotions of believers. Such emotions are important, and we should be sensitive to them.

Because human beings have not been able to recognize and accept the underlying principle that is common to the various faiths, they see only differences in objects of worship, expressions of doctrine, and religious practice, and are quick to accuse what is different of being unorthodox or even heretical. Thus they react emotionally, slighting what is different, rejecting and suppressing it.

It is not difficult to understand why there are so many different religions in the world. In the past, communications were severely limited, and people lived in small communities based on their ethnic group. Ancient societies were made up of such groups, each with their own "god." Some "gods" were regarded as the tutelary deities of the individual, village, or tribe, and others had aspects of the fundamental life force of the universe. The former gods obviously belonged to one tribe and no other, while the latter gods could be, at their root, common to all religions of the world.

In an age when communications between peoples and countries were poor, there was little possibility of any exchange of information among them, and so people did not understand that their religious ideas stemmed from a common source. Because their gods had different names and they expressed their religious beliefs in different ways, they thought they believed in different divinities. As a result, they accused anyone holding different religious views of heresy, and it was difficult to reach the mutual understanding necessary for them to get along with each other. Without understanding, they resorted to conflict and slaughter and other such reprehensible acts.

Today things are different. With the great advances in transport and communications of modern times, the world has become a much smaller place, and people everywhere are increasingly subscribing to common patterns of thought.

This trend can only intensify in the future. In such an era, if every religion in the world should continue to be isolated and hold itself apart from others, it would be extremely anachronistic.

In a world where all are tied closely together, questions of peace, as well as of war, also connect all human beings. It is impossible that one powerful country can be concerned solely with peace for itself alone and try to preserve it by force of arms. Whether everyone likes it or not, we must move toward achieving a world order that transcends individual nations. The modern world has arrived at a point when it must tacitly acknowledge what Buddhism calls "the oneness of the self and others."

People possessing a religious faith probably have a stronger wish for peace and deeper compassion for others than those of no faith, for they know that such a wish and such compassion can be made to work through action. Therefore it is these people, I believe, who above all others are capable of transcending ethnicity and nationality and joining their hearts with others. It is because I believe this that I am making every possible effort toward achieving interreligious cooperation. It is only through such cooperation that we will be able to build lasting bonds of peace based on a deep spiritual connection with others.

Some people will say, of course, that it is impossible to get people of different faiths to cooperate. Some anxiety is understandable when we remember the self-righteousness and exclusivity that religions have displayed in the past. But this is because people of religion in the past clung to the superficial differences in faith and ignored the identical points that lie behind different religions. I believe if we strive to broaden our outlook and understand the true meaning of religion, the narrowness of so much past thinking will be swept away.

At this point in time the human race is confronted by many common problems--effective management of natural resources, population issues, and energy supply, as well as questions concerning social injustice and corruption. The task facing people of religion regarding their mission to help solve these problems is of mammoth proportions. No single religion or religious group can possibly perform it alone. Rather, people from all religions must work together. By doing so, I believe they will fulfill their responsibility. Most important, such interreligious cooperation will have the effect of purifying and improving those religious people who tend to think insularly and in a self-righteousness manner by putting them in contact with people of other religious faiths.

Nikkyo Niwano, the late founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, was an honorary president of the World Conference of Religions for Peace and was honorary chairman of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan) at the time of his death in October 1999.

This article was originally published in the July-September 2006 issue of Dharma World.


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