Introduction • Contents • Contributors
*NOTE: diacritical marks have been removed on this web page so the text may be viewed in all browsers and operating systems. The hardcopy volume includes the correct Sanskrit and other diacritical transliteration marks.
They delivered special speeches, presented articles or attended as panel members. The Most Venerable Uihyeon Seo, President of the Korean Buddhist Jogye Order and Chair of the Federation of Korean Buddhist Sects, Mr. Daejung Gim, currently opposition leader of the Democratic Party and later President of the Republic of Korea, and Dr. Byong-chun Min, President of the Dongguk University hosted the dinner party during the seminar respectively.
The titles and academic affiliations of participants are listed according to their status in 1991, when the fifth seminar was held. Among them, there are many local, Korean participants including: Mr. Eun Koh, Korea's admired poet, novelist and democratic leader; Professor Yongjeong Gim, Vice President of the Dongguk University; Mr. Jiha Gim, the nationally renowned poet and democratic leader; Dr. Hak-joon Kim, Chief Assistant to the President for Policy Research; Dr. Byong-chun Min, President of the Dongguk University; Mr. Wan-il Park, President of the Federation of Korean Lay Buddhist Associations; Ven. Wolju Song, Former President of the Federation of Korean Buddhist Sects; Professor Jae-ryong Shim, Department of Philosophy, Seoul National University; Dr. Eul-byong Chang, President of the Sunggyunkwan University; Dr. Ki-young Lee, President of the Korean Institute for Buddhist Studies; Professor Byeongjo Jeong, Department of Ethics, Dongguk University; Ven. Jin-wol Lee; Ven. In-hwan Chae, Director of the Korean Buddhist Research Institute, Dongguk University; Professor Seungjik Hong, Director of the Center for Asian Affairs, Korea University; Professor Useong Heo, Department of Philosophy, Kyung Hee University and others.
Many people participated in this seminar from the United States and one from Canada as follows: Professor Glenn D. Paige, Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii - Manoa; Professor Sung-bae Park, Program in Korean Studies, Department of Comparative Studies, State University of New York - Stony Brook; Professor David J. Kalupahana, Department of Philosophy, University of Hawaii - Manoa; Professor Jamie Hubbard, Department of Religious Studies, Smith College; Ms. Jean Sadako King, Former Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawaii; Professor David Chappell, Department of Religious Studies, University of Hawaii - Manoa; Ven. Daewon Ki, Abbot of the Dae Won Sa Buddhist Temple of Hawaii; Professor George Bond, Department of Religious Studies, Northwestern University; Professor Bernard Faure, Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University; Professor Taisetsu Unno, Department of Religious Studies, Smith College; Mr. J. C. Cleary, worldwide famous writer and translator; Professor Padmanabh S. Jaini, Department of South Asian Studies, University of California - Berkeley; Professor Graeme MacQueen, Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University, Canada and others.
There were many participants from Asia including the following: Professor Tadashige Takamura, Director of the Peace Research Institute, Soka University, Japan; Professor Hiroharu Seki, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Japan; Ven. Medagoda Sumanatissa, Principal of the International Theravada Buddhist Centre, Sunethra Maha Devi (University) Privena, Boralesgamuwa, Sri Lanka; Professor Suwanna Satha-Anand, Department of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University, Thailand; K. S. Vimala Devi, G. Ramachandran Institute of Nonviolence, India; N. Radhakrishnan, Director of the Gandhi Smriti & Darshan Samiti, India; Professor Baoxu Zhao, Department of International Politics, Beijing University, China; Professor Jiwen Du, Institute for Research on World Religions, the Chinese Academy of Social Science, China; Ven. Thich Minh Chau, Vice President of the ABCP (Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace) and Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Sangha, Vietnam; Dr. G. Lubsantseren, Secretary General, ABCP, Mongolia and so on.
Several people attended this seminar from Europe as follows: Dr. Johan Galtung, Professor of Peace Studies, Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace, University of Hawaii - Manoa and Olof Palme Professor of Peace Studies, HSFR, Sweden; Professor Sanje D. Dylykov, Institute of Oriental Studies, Academy of Sciences of the USSR and Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, USSR; Dr. Eremey Parnov, President of the European Society of Science Fiction, USSR; Mr. Erdem Mytypov, Secretary, Central Religious Board of Soviet Buddhists, Datsan Ivolginsk, Buryat ASSR and so forth.
This book is divided into two parts: "Special Speeches" and "Buddhist Explorations of Peace and Justice." In the first part, there are five special speeches by five Korean dignitaries. First, Byong-chun Min presented "Welcoming Address"; second, Daewon Ki's "Buddhism's Role in Modern Society"; third, Eun Koh's "What is Buddhism to Peace?"; fourth, Eul-byong Chang's "World Peace, Korean Unification and Democracy"; and fifth, Wan-il Park, "Social Function of Buddhism." Unfortunately, we were not able to include some of the special speeches delivered in Korean without English translations, by some of the Korean dignitaries.
The second part of the book contains twenty-three articles. Of the original contributions, some valuable articles in this group also had to be omitted. Since the time of the seminar, some presenters have passed away. Others could not be reached to review their articles for publication. The article by the late Ki-young Rhi has been included in this book even though there are no footnotes. The book also includes an article by Dr. Hak-joon Kim even though it is outdated in its discussion of the international situation surrounding the Korean peninsula in late 1980's and early 1990's. Even so, the article is very good for readers to understand the ROK's policies to build a peaceful Northeast Asia just after the Cold War period. General articles on peace and justice in Buddhist contexts are arranged in the earlier part and articles related to Korean Buddhism in the later part of the book.
This is the most comprehensive book on the theme of peace and justice in Buddhist contexts to date. The number of distinguished contributors nearly equally came from the two major Buddhist traditions, Theravada and Mahayana. The array of speeches and articles thoroughly investigate peace and justice from many different Buddhist traditions.
Ven. Daewon Ki, abbot of Dae Won Sa Buddhist Temple of Hawaii, held seven international seminars on Buddhism and Leadership for Peace, which have gained worldwide repute for leading academic discussions on the subject. Of them, the fifth seminar comprehensively explored ways to put Buddhist thought into social practice for peace and justice. The scope of the fifth seminar was the widest among them. More than sixty peace activists and Buddhist scholars from thirteen nations participated and discussed peace and justice.
Peace activists, Buddhists and non-Buddhists, may draw upon the academic information
and the knowledge shared by these profound thinkers, to build peace and promote
social justice in this struggling and problematic world. The book is intended
for social scientists, peace activists, Buddhist scholars, engaged Buddhists
and all people concerned about social conditions. We hope they may incorporate
Buddhist wisdom on peace and justice to broaden their understanding and to discover
ways of bring about happiness in this world of conflict and injustice.
[NOTE: The titles and academic institutions listed in association with the contributors represent the positions they held in 1995, that is, at the time of the seventh seminar.]
Dr. Byong-chun Min, President, Dongguk University, Seoul, ROK
Ven. Daewon Ki, Abbot, Dae Won Sa Buddhist Temple of Hawaii, USA
Mr. Eun Koh, Korea's admired poet, novelist and democratic leader
Dr. Eul-byong Chang, President, Sunggyunkwan University, Seoul, ROK
Mr. Wan-il Park, President, Federation of Korean Lay Buddhist Associations, Seoul, ROK
Dr. Hak-joon Kim, Chief Assistant to the President for Policy Research, Seoul, ROK
Prof. Jae-ryong Shim, Department of Philosophy, Seoul National University, Seoul, ROK
Ven. Jin-wol Lee, Dharmic Teacher, Dae Won Sa Buddhist Temple of Hawaii, USA
Ven. Dr. In-hwan Chae, Director, Korean Buddhist Research Institute, Dongguk University, Seoul, ROK
Dr. Ki-young Lee, President, Korean Institute for Buddhist Studies, Seoul, ROK
Dr. Sung-bae Park, Director, Program in Korean Studies, Department of Comparative Studies, State University of New York - Stony Brook, USA
Prof. David J. Kalupahana, Department of Philosophy, University of Hawaii - Manoa, USA
Prof. Jamie Hubbard, Department of Religious Studies, Smith College, USA
Ms. Jean Sadako King, Former Lieutenant Governor of the State of Hawaii, USA
Prof. David Chappell, Department of Religious Studies, University of Hawaii - Manoa, USA
Prof. George Bond, Department of Religious Studies, Northwestern University, USA
Mr. J. C. Cleary, worldwide famous writer and translator
Prof. Padmanabh S. Jaini, Department of South Asian Studies, University of California - Berkeley, USA
Prof. Graeme MacQueen, Department of Religious Studies, McMaster University, Canada
Prof. Tadashige Takamura, Director, Peace Research Institute, Soka University, Japan
Ven. Medagoda Sumanatissa, Principal, International Theravada Buddhist Centre, Sunethra Maha Devi (University) Privera, Boralesgamuwa, Sri Lanka
Prof. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University, Thailand
Prof. Suwanna Satha-Anand, Department of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
K. S. Vimala Devi, G. Ramachandran Institute of Nonviolence, India
N. Radhakrishnan, Director, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, India
Prof. Baoxu Zhao, Department of International Politics, Beijing University, China
Prof. Jiwen Du, Institute for Research on World Religions, Chinese Academy of Social Science, China
Ven. Thich Minh Chau, Vice President of the ABCP (Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace) and Vice Chairman of the Vietamese Buddhist Sangha, Vietnam
Dr. G. Lubsantseren, Secretary General, ABCP, Mongolia
Dr. Eremey Parnov, President, European Society of Science Fiction, USSR
Ven. Chanju Mun is the founder and chief editor of Blue Pine Books and is currently teaching East Asian Buddhist Studies at the University of the West in Los Angeles. He received a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2002 and a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Seoul National University in 1991. He has been a researcher at exiled Tibetan Drepung Monastic University in South India and at the University of Tokyo. His recent publications include The History of Doctrinal Classification in Chinese Buddhism: A Study of the Panjiao Systems (Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2006), "Tibetan Monastic Education Curriculum and its Theoretical Background" (Buddhist Soteriology, 2005), "Wonhyo (617-686): A Critic of Sectarian Doctrinal Classifications" (Hsi Lai Journal of Humanistic Buddhism 6, 2005) and "Historical Introduction to Minjung Buddhism (Korean Liberation Buddhism)" (Kankoku bukkyo semina - 9, 2003) and others.
Dr. Ronald S. Green is editor of Blue Pine Books, USA. He received a
Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2003.
He also holds a Master of Arts Degree in Japanese Literature from the University
of Oregon and a Master of Science Degree in Sociology from Virginia Tech. In
addition to his interest in engaged Buddhism, his research focuses on the lives
and practices of East Asain Buddhists past and present.
