From (Harmonious) Community Life to (Creative) CoexistenceConsidering Daisaku Ikedas Educational Philosophy in the Parker, Dewey, Makiguchi, and Ikeda ReunionJASON GOULAHDePaul University

A great human revolution in just a single individual will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and further, will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind. Daisaku Ikeda (2004, viii) Educators must never look down on their students. Someone who is not willing to do everything they can for their students is not a real educator. Daisaku Ikeda (2009b, 4) My disciples, be champions of humanity. Daisaku Ikeda (2008, 196)

This article anticipates the symposium Reuniting Parker, Dewey, Makiguchi, and Ikeda: Education for Community and Citizenship across Language and Culture to be held on March 26, 2011, at the Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, Illinois, and to be sponsored by the Francis W. Parker School and the School of Education at DePaul University. The symposium will gather students; parents; community members; teachers; educators; and scholars, such as Larry Hickman, Jim Garrison, William Schubert, Ming Fang He, Theresa Austin, Takao Ito, Andrew Gebert, and Gonzalo Obelleiro, to discuss the educational philosophies of Francis W. Parker (18371902), John Dewey (18591952), Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (18711944), and Daisaku Ikeda (1928) and the relevance of their phiSchools: Studies in Education, vol. 7, no. 2 (Fall 2010). 2010 Francis W. Parker School, Chicago. All rights reserved. 1550-1175/2010/0702-0008$10.00

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losophies in the twenty-rst century in general and under No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top in particular. The symposium planning committee selected the nal paragraphs of Deweys 1934 essay The Need for a Philosophy of Education (Dewey [1934] 2008) as a guiding conceptual framework for presenters talks across the four thinkers. This essay could have been written yesterday, as the issues Dewey contemplates still challenge us and have come into even sharper focus in a post-9/11, globalized world. Specically, Dewey argues that the rapid and expanding industrialization affecting individual groups, tribes, and race, on the one hand, and an unprecedented wave of nationalistic sentiment, of racial and national prejudice, of readiness to resort to force of arms (203), on the other hand, warrant a social aim of education. Dewey states: An environment in which some are limited will always in reaction create conditions that prevent the full development even of those who fancy they enjoy complete freedom for unhindered growth. . . . Unless the schools of the world can unite in effort to rebuild the spirit of common understanding, of mutual sympathy and goodwill among all peoples and races, to exorcise the demon of prejudice, isolation and hatred, they themselves are likely to be submerged by the general return to barbarism, the sure outcome of present tendencies if unchecked by the forces which education alone can evoke and fortify. ([1934] 2008, 2034) In this article, I focus on Daisaku Ikedas philosophies of human education (ningen kyoiku), human revolution (ningen kakumei), and creative coexistence (kyosei), and I seek at once to position them in the East-West ecology of ideas undergirding the Parker, Dewey, Makiguchi, and Ikeda reunion theme of the symposium and to explain how they address the aforementioned concerns Dewey identies in The Need for a Philosophy of Education. Daisaku Ikedas Educational Philosophy: A Brief Context To fully understand Ikedas educational philosophy, it is necessary to look at Makiguchi and Makiguchis direct disciple, Josei Toda (19001958),1 whom Ikeda took as his mentor at the age of 19. In a recent book on1. For more on Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda, see http://www/tmakiguchi.org, http:// www.joseitoda.org, and http://www.daisakuikeda.org. 254 Schools, Fall 2010

Ikedas philosophy of peace, Olivier Urbain (2010) argues that Toda met Makiguchi in Tokyo in 1920 and that they discovered a common passion for a type of education that enables individuals to ourish (52). This type of education focused on childrens absolute happiness through epistemological empowerment and an ever-expanding capacity to create values of aesthetic beauty; individual gain, or benet; and social good. Ikeda claries that Makiguchi asserts that benet, which is associated with the interests of the individual, must be balanced with the value of goodness, which strives for the common good of society (Ikeda in Chandra and Ikeda 2009, 103). Makiguchi called his approach soka, or value-creating, education, and he believed that a value-creating life was a determined, socially contributive, and fundamentally happy one. Makiguchi helped Toda secure a job in education, and Toda quickly took Makiguchi as his life mentor. When Makiguchi was involuntarily transferred for refusing to show preferential treatment to children of authorities, Toda followed. When Toda opened his own school, he applied Makiguchis soka education philosophies and edited and published Makiguchis years of experiential and philosophical notes into what became Makiguchis seminal educational work, Soka kyoikugaku taikei (The System for Value-Creating Pedagogy [193034] in Makiguchi 198188, vols. 5 and 6; hereafter The Pedagogy). In addition, when Makiguchi converted in 1928 to the school of Buddhism propounded by the thirteenth-century reformer Nichiren, Toda also converted. In the same year that they published The Pedagogy, Toda helped Makiguchi cofound the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai as an organization of conscientious educators based on actualizing the principles of Nichiren Buddhism. On July 6, 1943, Makiguchi and Toda were arrested and imprisoned for refusing to capitulate to Japans governmental policies of militarism and Shinto worship; specically, they were arrested for failing to show the emperor proper respect (fukeizai) and for violation of the Peace Preservation Law. Makiguchi died in prison in 1944; Toda was released in 1945 and immediately set out to rebuild the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai, changing the name to the Soka Gakkai (Society for creation of value), seeing its scope and purpose in society beyond the limits of education only. Ikeda met Toda in 1947 at a meeting of the Soka Gakkai and joined the organization 10 days later. Ikeda became the third president of the Soka Gakkai in 1960, two years after Todas death, internationalizing and expanding the organization. During the 50 years of Ikedas leadership, Soka Gakkai International has become a UN nongovernmental organization and has grown to more than 12 million members in 192 countries and terriJason Goulah 255

tories. Ikeda has maintained, rened, and applied Makiguchi and Todas vision by living the Buddhist principles of compassion, wisdom, and courage and by advocating the empowerment of ordinary individuals through Buddhist humanism and through peace, culture, and education. Ikedas 50 years of leadership represent a startling diversity of activity. His complete works total more than 100,000 pages (and they are still growing), and he has held dialogues with more than 1,500 leading thinkers and political gures, such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Linus Pauling, Johan Galtung, Arnold Toynbee, and Norman Cousins. Many of these dialogues have been published as full-length works (e.g., Galtung and Ikeda 1995; Gorbachev and Ikeda 2005; Pauling and Ikeda 2009; Toynbee and Ikeda 1976). Ikeda has founded numerous cultural and educational institutions, including the Institute for Oriental Philosophy (with ofces in France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, United Kingdom, and Russia), the Boston Research Center for the Twenty-rst Century (in the United States; it was renamed the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue in 2009), the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research (in Japan and the United States), the Min-On Concert Association (in Japan), the Fuji Art Museum (in Japan), and the Victor Hugo House of Literature (in France). Ikeda has been awarded the UN Peace Prize and over 300 honorary doctorates and professorships from the worlds academic community. In addition, soon after assuming the presidency of the Soka Gakkai, Ikeda founded the secular Soka schools based on Makiguchi and Todas educational vision of value-creating pedagogy. The Soka schools include kindergartens in Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore; elementary schools in Brazil and Japan; secondary schools in Japan; a womens college in Japan; and comprehensive universities in Japan and the United States. Ikedas institutionalization of soka education has made it perhaps Japans most internationally practiced pedagogical approach. Moreover, Andrew Gebert and Monte Joffee (2007) argue that, in addition to the practice of value-creating education in the formal Soka schools, numerous teachers around the world are implementing its principles in their own local contexts. In 2008, the John Dewey Society named Ikeda and the Soka schools the societys rst lifetime honorary members, and past presidents of the society Larry Hickman and Jim Garrison are currently engaged in a dialogue with Ikeda about the conuence of Soka education and Deweyan philosophy (see, e.g., Hickman et al. 200910), and a number of scholars have begun to examine Ikedas ideas alongside those of Dewey (e.g., Rockefeller256 Schools, Fall 2010

2009). This article seeks to contribute to this growing but still limited body of literature and does so by excerpting passages from Ikedas major and minor writings on education. Understanding the Mentor-Disciple Relationship in the Ikeda Philosophy Ikeda never met Makiguchi (Ikeda 2009a), but he came to understand the latters desire to establish a university grounded in value-creating pedagogy through interactions with Toda. Ikeda ([2005] 2006) recounts that Makiguchi once said to Toda: In the future, we must found a school based on the value-creating (Soka) pedagogy that I have been formulating. If we cant do it during my lifetime, please do it in yours (11). And that, based on Makiguchis request of Toda, Toda later said to Ikeda: Daisaku, lets establish a university, Soka University. I hope this can be achieved in my lifetime, but that may not be possible. Should that be the case, Daisaku, Im counting on you to do it. Ikeda reports: In that instant, a bright ame, the dream of Soka University, was kindled in my heart (1011). This account is important for understanding Ikedas approach to peace, culture, and education as president of Soka Gakkai International, for it illustrates the mentor and disciple relationship (Makiguchi-Toda, TodaIkeda) that has been the guiding concept undergirding Ikedas actions and beliefs. For example, Ikeda argues: One hundred years ago, when the social standing of women in Japan was extremely low, the founding president of the Soka Gakkai, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, worked passionately to expand advanced educational opportunities for women out of the belief that it is they who will build a better society. He established a program that offered correspondence education to women who were unable to receive a secondary education after graduating from primary school, compiling learning materials and editing a related periodical. He was also instrumental in establishing a facility that offered free classes to women with limited nancial resources to learn sewing and embroidery, skills that constituted a major element in Japanese girls education at the time. It was as heir to his spirit that I created the correspondence programs at Soka University and founded Soka Womens College. (Ikeda 2010, 12; emphasis added) In terms of education as process, Ikeda also invokes the mentor and disciple relationship:Jason Goulah 257

Needless to say, Soka education does not purport to teach any religious doctrine. Yet it is based on a solid and, I believe, universal worldview. If I were to express this in a single phrase, it would be the spirit of shared commitment between teacher and student, mentor and disciple. Just as a diamond can only be polished by another diamond, it is only through intense human interaction engaging the entire personality that people can forge themselves, raising themselves up to ever greater heights. It is the relationship between teacher and learner, between mentor and disciple, that makes this possible. ([2005] 2006, 181) This theme of mentor and disciple relationship is also central in Ikedas dialogue with Dewey scholars Larry Hickman and Jim Garrison (Hickman et al. 200910). In one section, Garrison says to Ikeda: Of course the triplet of Makiguchi, Toda, and Ikeda, too, is interesting because it shows the continuity of the mentor-disciple relationship. You [Ikeda] have followed the path they trod before you and, in doing so, have made a highway that others, too, can follow. Obviously I dont mean this literally, but in a certain sense Makiguchis greatest achievement is Toda. Todas great achievement may have been Ikeda (Hickman et al. 200910, pt. 3, 60). Garrison then links this concept to Deweyan philosophy: The second of my two components concerns the teaching partner. Whereas in your [Ikedas] terms the Mystic Law governing the life force of the universe is always the teacher, for Dewey the experience of nature shared with the student is always the teacher. Deweys idea and yours seem analogous. In the experience of nature, both mentor and disciple cooperate and inquire along the way (Hickman et al. 200910, pt. 3, 63). I believe it is this principle of the oneness of mentor and disciplea twoway shared commitment, not one of receptive passivity on the part of the disciple, as Garrison correctly indicates in the dialogue (Hickman et al. 200910, pt. 3, 64)that most undergirds Ikedas approach to human education, the rst aspect of Ikedas educational philosophy I wish to address. Ikedas Concept of Human Educationin Light of Mentor and Disciple As the principle of mentor and disciple played a key role for Makiguchi and Toda and for Toda and Ikeda, Ikeda argues that such a shared commitment is an important point of human education that can be traced258 Schools, Fall 2010

back through the history of humankind to the brilliant light emanating from the mentor and disciple relationship of Socrates and Plato (Ikeda in Hickman et al. 200910, pt. 3, 57). Moreover, in looking at the theme of the reunion among Parker, Dewey, Makiguchi and Ikeda, this concept of shared commitment not only existed between Makiguchi and Toda and between Toda and Ikeda but also in the shared commitment and relationship between Parker and Dewey. On another level, it existed between the young Makiguchi and the elder Parker (see Goulah 2010b; Ito 2007a) and between Makiguchi and Dewey; Makiguchi met neither Parker nor Dewey, but he referenced their work numerous times in advocating his philosophy of value-creating education and contributive social self-actualization. On yet another level, this concept of shared commitment existed in the link between Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (17461827) and the four thinkers highlighted in the symposium. Pestalozzis work inuenced Parkers, Deweys, and Makiguchis educational philosophies directly and indirectly through their readings of Johann Friedrich Herbart and Friedrich Froebel. In addition, the Soka Kyoiku Kenkyu (Soka Education Research) editor, Takao Ito (2005, 2007b), cogently discusses when the young Daisaku Ikeda, as editor of the Japanese boys magazine Shonen Nihon [Boys Japan], wrote an article in 1949 under the pen name Shinichiro Yamamoto on Pestalozzi, titled Pestalozzi The Great Educator. Ikeda himself recounts this in Watakushi no rirekisho [My Recollections] (Ikeda 1978; cf. Ikeda 1980): And I myself wrote under the pen name of Shinichiro Yamamoto, a biography of the educator Pestalozzi. I had long been impressed by his seless passion for education (Ikeda 1978, 1045; cf. Ikeda 1980, 62). Moreover, in the section of My Recollections titled Suspension of Boys Japan, Ikeda brings his editorial view (and, thereby, his early essay on Pestalozzi) together with his founding of the Soka schools: Finally Boys Japan has taken a step toward an entirely new world, a new universe. . . . We hope that this magazine will give courage and strength to boys who will create the new world (Ikeda 1978, 106; cf. Ikeda 1980, 64). He adds: But thinking back on it now, I believe that my dream of entrusting the future to the next generation of boys and girls has been realized in the eld of education through the Soka Academy and Soka Girls Academy, as well as in the planned Soka Kindergarten and Elementary School (Ikeda 106 7; cf. Ikeda 1980, 64).22. The comprehensive Soka schools had only begun to be established at this point. Soka Junior and Senior High Schools opened in 1968; Soka University was founded in Jason Goulah 259

Ito draws from Ikedas notes in which Ikeda states that he was forced to write the essay on Pestalozzi at the last moment because the person scheduled to write it for the magazine could not nish by the publication deadline; so Ikeda wrote a sketch on the life of Pestalozzi using as a foundation notes he took on Evening Hours of a Hermit, which he read in a local reading circle at the age of 19. Ikeda recalls that this book by Pestalozzi, in particular the concept of Pestalozzian experience, was also used in the reading circle as material for a thorough discussion on democratic education new to Japan. This episode takes on importance when considering Itos argument that Ikedas often-used phrase of human education (ningen kyoiku) also comes from that period and from Pestalozzi. Specically, Ito (2005) provides a passage from page 54 of the Japanese version of Pestalozzis Evening Hours of a Hermit that Ikeda read as a 19-year-old in which the technical term human education appears three times. Pestalozzi uses the term to argue for a type of school education modeled after home education that happens under the gaze of a mothers eye, where the means to a childs academic and moral cultivation happen through direct observation of the close at hand and through experiences in nature. Under such education, Pestalozzi argued, the childs happiness is the teachers happiness, and the childs joy is the teachers joy (Ito 2005). Ito (2007b) continues to argue that Pestalozzis inuence the concept of human education in particularon Ikeda has manifested in a number of ways, chief among them in his serialized historical novel, The Human Revolution (Ikeda 2004) and in his speeches at Soka University. First, Ito (2007b) states that in 1965 Ikeda writes in The Human Revolution: A philosopher once said that the purpose of education is not to produce machines but to develop people (Ito 2007b, 15; see also Ikeda 1995, 26; cf. Ikeda 2004, 1:13).3 Although the reissued abridged English translation of The Human Revolution (Ikeda 2004) attributes this phrase to Toda, Ito argues that a philosopher in the original Japanese (and in the rst English translation [Ikeda 1995]) is Pestalozzi. In addition, Ito adds, the following phrase that appears a couple pages later also comes from Pestalozzi: Good seeds yield strong plants and eventually bear beautiful blossoms. Good children will become ne young people, who in turn1971 and Soka University of America in 1987; see http://www/daisakuikeda.org for the founding dates of each of the Soka schools around the world. 3. In the reissued abridged English translation, this sentence reads: The purpose of education, Toda believed, is not to produce machines but to develop people (Ikeda 2004, 1:13). 260 Schools, Fall 2010

will develop into excellent leaders of society (Ikeda 1995, 28; cf. Ikeda 2004, 1:14; see also Ito 2007b, 15). In more specic terms, how do these statements represent human education, and how is the concept dened and realized in Ikedas approach to value-creating education envisioned by Makiguchi and Toda? In a special Makiguchi issue of Educational Studies, Goulah and Gebert (2009, 126) argue: Ikeda has used the formula ningen kyoiku to describe the educational philosophy and practice that has developed on the basis of Makiguchis pedagogy. . . . Literally human education, this phrase could be translated as humanistic, humane, or human/people-centered education; it probably indicates all these aspects. There is, thus, in the Soka schools and among educators inspired by the philosophy, a strong emphasis on the human qualities of teacher-learner interactions. Goulah and Gebert (2009) argue: Teachers in the schools point to the example of Ikeda himself, who, through his many visits, small gifts, and encouraging messages to students, has modeled humanistic educational interactions for faculty members (126). A couple of examples are helpful. In discussing his interactions with Soka University students in the early years of the school, Ikeda (2008) recounts how, as the schools founder, he personally encouraged the students who were establishing a school newspaper and contributed his own money to purchase a proper printing press. Ikeda (2008) writes that he was determined to do whatever he could to support the students. He also hoped they would become journalists who could discern between right and wrong and would speak out fearlessly for truth and justice (121). In another example, Ikeda recalls how he encouraged the members of the universitys new baseball team, which, at the time, did not even have a proper eld on which to practice. Ikeda recalls how he surprised the team with a visit to one of their practices at a time when they were in a slump and presented them with Los Angeles Dodgers memorabilia he had received a week earlier from Dodgers players. After giving them the gifts, he encouraged them, saying: In sports, it is inevitable that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. The important thing, however, is that no matter what the outcome, you continue to grow and win as an individual (Ikeda 2008, 125). On another occasion, Ikeda again surprised the team to encourage them, this time hitting balls to the players: The club members may have in fact been catching the sincere hopes and expectations of their schools founder. Some even had tearsJason Goulah 261

in their eyes as they elded [Ikedas] hits. The sound of the ball cracking against the bat echoed across the grounds for a long time. The club members were determined to win and live up to [Ikedas] expectations. . . . In later years, as an expression of his hopes for the clubs victory and glory, [Ikeda] offered them the following guidance: First, win with your minds, then win with your ability. Practice is the game, and the game is practice. The tradition of building ones character through baseball was steadily created at Soka University with the support of the schools founder. (Ikeda 2008, 128) Much of this volume of The New Human Revolution focuses on Ikedas rsthand experiences founding Soka University and interacting with many of its early students and faculty. In all of it the mentor and disciple relationship as the font of human education, in the spirit of Pestalozzi, Makiguchi, and Toda, is evident. In one explicit example, Ikeda recounts a speech he delivered at the school in which he told students: There are no easy paths through life and that facing and overcoming difculties is the starting point of our education as human beings (Ikeda 2008, 184). Thereafter, invoking Pestalozzi, he conveys to students in the rst and second classes their important mission, also as founders, in sharing his commitment to the ideals upon which the university was founded: The Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi once called on the students of the academy he established: My friends, my fellow founders who have built the foundation of this academy with me, who have assisted me with deep friendship in this difcult period of establishment, who have shouldered with me the heavy weight of these signicant years with patience and loveif it were not for you, my enterprise would have seen its end soon after it began. [Ikeda], too, was expressing his heartfelt gratitude to his beloved Soka University students by calling on them to be the schools founders alongside him. (Ikeda 2008, 18485) More than 30 years later, Ikeda echoed this encouragement and his commitment to the warm relationship between teacher and student, mentor and disciple, in the opening of his commencement speech to the rst graduating class of Soka University of America: To the rst graduating class of Soka University of America (SUA), Aliso Viejo, who are my life, my hope, my pride, I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations on the marvelous occasion of your graduation. Each of you is a great pioneer, an262 Schools, Fall 2010

honored founder of SUA. All of you are victors. Each of you is a brilliant, precious jewel; you possess a noble mission (Ikeda [2005] 2006, 165). Returning to The New Human Revolution, Ikeda (2008) argues: Genuine education takes place when a mentor resides in ones heart (192). He then states: Both President Makiguchi and President Toda were educators. How happy they would be if they could see todays Soka University students, the leaders of the twenty-rst century! True educators are willing to devote their lives to protecting and nurturing their students. That is why I am exerting myself to the extent that I am. As long as the students are growing, I am prepared to do anything, whatever the personal cost may be. Education must be carried out with such powerful commitment (Ikeda [2005] 2006, 198). Ikedas approach to human education, then, can most easily be dened by his shared vision with Makiguchi and Toda (and, by extension, Pestalozzi, Herbart, Froebel, Parker, and Dewey) for developing contributive citizens in the nurturing relationship between teacher and student whereby ordinary individuals are empowered to transform their beliefs and behavior and create value toward personal and social benet (Goulah 2010a). Ikeda calls this internal transformation through human education a process of human revolution (ningen kakumei), which I address next. Ikedas Concept of Human Revolution Around the same time that Toda entrusted Ikeda to establish a Soka University, Ikeda states that the Japanese Minister of Education Teiyu Amano (18841980) wrote: The fundamental pillar of any educational reform must be a clear determination to realize human revolution (Ikeda [2005] 2006, 11). According to Ikeda (Huyghe and Ikeda 2007), the term human revolution seems to have been coined by Shigeru Nambara, president of Tokyo University, shortly after the end of World War II because, in those times, he realized that, more than changes in exterior political systems, the people of Japan required the adaptability and support that self-revolution could provide (144). Ikeda argues that because of the lack of solid philosophical foundation or because of political and economic interests, Nambara and Amanos lofty ideal of human revolution was soon forgotten. However, at about the same time, Josei Toda employed Amanos words in his explanations of the practice of Buddhist teachings (Ikeda [2005] 2006) and used the term human revolution as the title of his autobiography written under the pen name Myo Goku. Urbain (2010) argues that Toda popularized the term humanJason Goulah 263

revolution in Japan, but that it was Ikeda, again in the spirit of mentor and disciple, who promoted it globally. In his 2002 UN peace proposal, Ikeda explicitly denes his use of human revolution: Altering the course of human historythroughout which peace has been but an interlude between warswill require of each individual a profound inner resolution, a truly existential determination to seek their fundamental, inherent humanity and to transform their entire being. In the SGI we call this ceaseless struggle for inner renewal human revolution. It is the steadfast effort to construct the defenses of peace within our own hearts and minds as proclaimed in the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientic, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (Ikeda 2002c, 5). It was also in the spirit of mentor and disciple that Ikeda wrote the Human Revolution (Ikeda 2004) and The New Human Revolution (Ikeda 19952010) and applied the concept of human revolution to soka education: (Toda) consistently urged people to realize a fundamental, positive transformation in the depths of our own and others lives. The focus of Soka, or value-creating, education must always be the achievement of this kind of human revolution (Ikeda [2005] 2006, 176). Moreover, just as Ikeda considers human education couched in Makiguchi and Todas vision of fostering value-creative and contributive lives, human revolution in the realm of education is, for Ikeda, likewise couched in ones capacity to create value: As you meet various trials and difculties, thus polishing all the many facets of the jewel which is life, you will learn to walk that supreme pathway of humanity. Of this, I am condent, and I am condent too that those who embrace lifes native creativity now stand and will continue to stand in the vanguard of history. Bringing the creativity of life to its fullest owering is the work of human revolution. Carrying out this kind of human revolution is your mission now as it will be throughout your lives (Ikeda [1974] 2006, 49). In the following section, I consider Ikedas concept of creative coexistence. Ikedas Concept of Creative Coexistence Although this article focuses on Ikeda, it can be read as a continuation of a piece I published in the previous issue of Schools: Studies in Education (Goulah 2010b), in which I examined Francis Parkers and Makiguchis views of harmonious community life as the goal of education through a bilingual analysis of Parkers My Pedagogic Creed (1896) and Makiguchis On the Signicance of Social Aspects That Mr. Parker Says Should Be Incor264 Schools, Fall 2010

porated into the School Experience ([1897] in Makiguchi 198188), Research on Instruction in the Multiple Grade Classroom ([1897] in Makiguchi 1981 88), The Practical Application of Social Pedagogy ([1901] in Makiguchi 198188), and Reforms in Geography Instruction from the Perspective of the Economy of Learning ([1919] in Makiguchi 198188) in relation to their major works. That article marked the rst time that Makiguchis early, socalled minor essays had been introduced and excerpted in English and revealed that, although Makiguchi appropriated the phrase harmonious community life from Parkers My Pedagogic Creed, repeated it in Signicance of Social Aspects and Social Pedagogy, and reiterated it 33 years later in his most characteristic work, The System of Value-Creating Pedagogy ([193034] in Makiguchi 198188), he subscribed to its ideology before reading Parker. My examination also illustrated that both Makiguchi and Parker viewed harmonious community life as the means to absolute happiness. I believe that article anticipates this one because I contend that the thread from Parker and Makiguchis shared commitment to harmonious community life as the goal of education is evident in Ikedas vision of kyosei, which has been differently translated into English as symbiosis, coexistence, harmonious coexistence, and creative coexistence (e.g., Ikeda 1996, 2003, 2005b, 2006, 2010). Like many keywords in the Ikeda corpus, kyosei has also been in the air for some time. Fujita (e.g., Fujita 2010) has written extensively on kyosei, dening it as peaceful symbiosis/co-existence/ co-living . . . [it] is a basic value for social and human security, peaceful social order and daily life activities, and social solidarity, as well as for sustainable economy and society. It is the value that tends to be considered a natural given and not necessarily recognized as important when and where it is maintained and enjoyed by most of the people (4243). Fujita continues: [Kyosei] is not limited only to the relationships among human beings but refers to the relationships between human beings and various nonhuman species, materials, industrial products, and environments, as well as relationships between various species. It is not limited only to war-related situations but is used to refer to forms, conditions, and situations of our daily lifeinterpersonal and social interaction, social projects, and activities, including business (Fujita 2010, 44). Kyosei has also appeared in Japanese educational policy initiatives in the phrase tabunka kyosei, a key concept to foster multicultural coliving literally coexistence of multicultures (Kubota and McKay 2009; Tai 2007)a growing issue given the increased population of non-JapaneseJason Goulah 265

moving into Japan concomitant with globalization. Kubota and McKay argue that the word kyosei (coliving) represents a political shift in the view of migrant workersthe previous focus on labor and law enforcement shifted to the need to integrate these workers as residents in the local community (599). Ikeda (2003, 9) denes kyosei this way: [Kyosei] is an ethos that seeks to bring harmony from conict, unity from rupture, that is based more on us than me. It signals a spirit that seeks to encourage ourishing and mutually supportive relationships among humans and between humans and nature. It is my belief that by making this ethic of coexistence the shared spirit of our age, we can nd the certain means to close the gap between power and ethical standards of behavior. Elsewhere, Ikeda (1996) envisions kyosei as a greater self fused with the life of the universe through which cause and effect intertwine over the innite reaches of space and time. He states: Each individual being functions to create the environment that sustains all other existences. All things are mutually supporting and interrelated, forming a living cosmos, what modern philosophy might term a semantic whole (160). He concludes, I am rmly convinced that a large-scale awakening to the greater self will lead to a world of creative coexistence in the coming century (161). More recently he has applied this concept of kyosei to education for disarmament (Ikeda 2006). Ikedas understanding and application of kyosei as an aim and goal of education and social self-actualization contains the same elements Fujita (2010) and Kubota and McKay (2009) discuss above, but it is different in an important way that, I believe, makes creative coexistence the most comprehensive translation and makes the concept especially appropriate for the twenty-rst century. Ikedas application of kyosei is couched in Makiguchis theory of value creation and, thereby, takes on the essence of conscious and volitional creativity or creation. The Japanese root for creative (sozo), such as that used in value-creation, does not appear in Ikedas usage; however, just as harmonious was added to the Japanese translation of Parkers My Pedagogic Creed (1896; also see the Kyoikudan 1897 translation) to fully convey the social self-actualization Parker envisioned (see Goulah 2010b), the English word creative has been addedsomething gained in translationto convey Ikedas full intention beyond a simple coexistence or passive symbiosis. That is, Ikedas use of kyosei, as I read it, is couched in the theory of value-creation (both in and outside education) and conveys the sense that human beings must actively work at peaceful and harmonious266 Schools, Fall 2010

coexistence by creating values of beauty, individual gain, and social good in each moment and in every interaction with all human beings, species, and nature. This is captured, I believe in Ikedas 2010 peace proposal, Toward a New Era of Value Creation (Ikeda 2010), commemorating the eightieth anniversaries of Makiguchi and Todas founding of the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai and their publication of Makiguchis System of Value-Creating Pedagogy (Makiguchi 198188): In his 1930 book, The Pedagogy of Value-Creating Education, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi called for a fundamental transformation in the way people live their lives. He decried a passive, dependent way of life and declared that even an active, independent way of life is insufcient. Instead he called for a consciously interactive, interdependent mode of existence, a life of committed contribution (6). In an educational context, Ikeda argues that students must be educated to lead such a contributive and value-creative coexistence, which thereby leads to their developing fundamentally happy lives. For example, in his proposal for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which was submitted to and approved by the General Assembly in Johannesburg in 2002 and is currently in effect, Ikeda argues that a major goal of education is to adopt a plan that will serve as a basis for making the twenty-rst century an era of creative coexistence between humans and nature (Ikeda 2002a, 2). He adds: Nothing is more crucially important today than the kind of humanistic education [read: ningen kyoiku] that enables people to sense the reality of interconnectedness, to appreciate the innite potential in each persons life, and to cultivate that dormant human potential to the fullest [read: human revolution] (7). Here, I think it is necessary to revisit Garrisons aforementioned equation of Ikedas view of the cosmic life with Deweys view of students experience of nature, which Garrison assuredly took, in part, from Deweys Experience and Nature ([1929] 1958). This work, Dewey argues, considers experience in its usual signication, naturalistic humanism (1a), and it is linked, I believe, with his and Francis Parkers earlier work, based on that of Herbart, Froebel, and, thereby, Pestalozzi, in locating childrens moral and academic development in their direct observation of and experiences in the natural environment of their local community, a philosophy of education to which both Makiguchi and Ikeda also subscribe. Like Dewey (and Parker and Makiguchi), Ikeda similarly advocates for childrens dialogic experience with and in nature as a means to developing their full humanity toward value-creative coexistence. For example, he states: In establishing the university and our other educational institutions, I have attached great imJason Goulah 267

portance to environment. After all, in my opinion one vital consideration in education is the need to provide for the harmony of man and nature (Ikeda 1978, 15960; cf. Ikeda 1980, 103). Elsewhere Ikeda (2002b) states: When human beings are separated from one another or separated from their place of activity, they cannot live as true human beings. Therefore . . . [Makiguchis The Geography of Human Life ([1903] in Makiguchi 198188, vols. 1 and 2)] is a study devoted to discovering how, while strengthening relationships between people and their environment, the culture of their society and their international situation, one can build ner human character, create new values, and enrich society and the natural environment (xxxiv). On the following pages, Ikeda then captures, I believe, Garrisons intention: It is my hope that this English translation of A Geography of Human Life will serve in similar fashion, or to an even greater degree, to provide a basis for dialogue between people and people, people and the community, people and the world, and people and nature. If it can act as a source of energy to awaken the citizens of the world to the ways in which they as individuals are related to the life force and thus usher in a century dedicated to the dignity of life, I will be most gratied (xxxvxxxvi; emphasis added). It is noteworthy in this sense that the Japanese online news magazine Sankei News (2010) recently reported that children with more experiences in nature enjoy more academic achievement and higher earning potential. Finally, returning more specically to the concept of creative coexistence and Ikedas proposal for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, it is important to note that in this document Ikeda explicitly ties the concepts of human revolution and creative coexistence to the valuecreating and contributive education Makiguchi envisioned, which is reminiscent of language used in his aforementioned foreword: Through dialogue and engagement, we draw forth and inspire in ourselves and in the lives of others a profound sense of purpose and joy. We begin a process of fundamental change that awakens a vastly expanded sense of identityour greater self. The ultimate objective of SGIs activities is to bring aboutstarting with a reformation or human revolution in our individual livesa universal owering of the philosophy of reverence for life. . . . . . . A passive and dependent way of life lacks a clearly dened sense of self; we live at the mercy of changing circumstance. An268 Schools, Fall 2010

independent mode of living may manifest a clear sense of individual self but lack awareness of the realities and needs of others. In contrast, a contributive way of life is based on an awareness of the interdependent nature of our livesof the relationships that link us to others and our environment. It is a way of life in which we actively strive to realize happiness both for ourselves and for others. (Ikeda 2002a, 67) The ow from harmonious community life to creative coexistence from Makiguchi to Ikeda exists, perhaps most signicantly, in the ideal of human education envisioned by Pestalozzi and expressed by Ikeda in the fourth guideline of Soka University of America (SUA): Foster leaders for the creative coexistence of nature and humanity. Specically, in his message for the SUA dedication ceremony, Ikeda writes: The great Swiss educator, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (17461827) left us these words: Lack of knowledge of your own nature, o man, curbs your wisdom still more than all the external restrictions forced on you. It is my hope and desire that an unbroken succession of outstanding leaders will depart from these gates to serve humanity in the 21st century. It is my hope and desire that the waves of world citizens, united and awakened to a genuine global ethic, will spread without cease into an ever more brilliant future. Thus, I have asked that the following principles will serve to guide SUA in its endeavors. 1. Foster leaders of culture in the community 2. Foster leaders of humanism in society 3. Foster leaders of pacism in the world 4. Foster leaders for the creative coexistence of nature and humanity. ([2001] 2005, 1415) Conclusion: Ikeda in Deweys Need for a Philosophy of Education As mentioned at the outset, Deweys rationale for a social aim of education, published in 1934, could just have convincingly been written yesterday. The forces of globalization have had an impact on and dislocated races, languages, cultures, and communities; destabilized ecosystems; and advanced calls to arms and terrorism. The need for a philosophyand practiceof education that elevates students beliefs and participation beyondJason Goulah 269

the lesser self to what Ikeda calls the greater self through social selfactualization is necessary more now than when Dewey wrote the Need for a Philosophy of Education. Ikeda (2005) powerfully captures this sentiment in his foreword to Educating Citizens for Global Awareness (Noddings 2005): The great wave of globalization sweeping contemporary society, in areas such as information and communications, science and technology, and the market economy, is a contrast of light and dark. The positive potentials are democratization and the spread of awareness of human rights; the negative aspects are war and conict, rising economic disparities, the obliteration of distinctive cultures, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and the destruction of the global ecology. These dark shadows entailed in the current process of globalization stir a vortex of malice and mistrust and provoke an identity crisis in the very depths of the human spirit. Only as a growing movement of people work to transform this bleak spiritual landscape will specic, concrete measures produce meaningful results at international levels. (Ikeda 2005a, ix) Like Dewey before him, Ikeda, surveying the light and dark in the global landscape, turns to education and the need for a philosophy of education to amplify the light: Education, in the genuine sense of the word, holds the key to resolving these problems. Education has the power to enrich the inner landscape of the human spirit, to build within peoples hearts what the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientic and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) refers to as the defenses of peace. True education summons forth the innate goodness of humanity our capacity for nonviolence, trust, and benevolence. It enables individuals to reveal their unique qualities and, by encouraging empathy with others, opens the door to peaceful coexistence of humanity. This kind of humanistic education is crucial if we are to foster global citizens. (Ikeda 2005a, ix) In the arc of history and the East-West ecology of ideas interconnecting Parker, Dewey, Makiguchi, and Ikeda across language and culture, then, Ikedas contribution is, I believe, the shared commitment of and lessons in mentor and disciple toward the greater self and the creation of value270 Schools, Fall 2010

through human revolution and creative coexistence by way of humanistic education. As Dewey implores the need for a philosophy of education, Ikeda (2010) can be seen responding, most recently and clearly, in his 2010 peace proposal, Toward a New Era of Value Creation (Ikeda 2010). Referencing the French philosopher Simone Weil (190943), Ikeda states: The essential characteristic of the rst half of the twentieth century is the growing weakness, and almost the disappearance, of the idea of value, which Weil referred to as the enfeeblement of the sense of value (3). As if addressing Dewey directly, he continues: Weils insights, like those of her contemporary philosopher Gabriel Marcel (18891973), embody enduring truths. We can easily and appropriately apply her description to our present situation. In fact, the ailment she describes has, if anything, grown more severe. War already represents the human pathology in its most concentrated form, and in the present period the use of weapons of mass destruction and the techniques of terrorism have made its violence almost entirely indiscriminate. Such indiscriminate violence represents a refusal to feel the moral sense of value that compels us to engage with people as unique and irreplaceable individuals. Soka literally means value creation, and the members of the Soka Gakkai International are determined to respond on the deepest level to the challenge of nihilismthe interregnum of values that presently prevailsand to restore those functions that would guide and restrain a runaway civilization. We consider this undertaking to be one of signicance even within the greater context of human history. Ours is a movement that seeks to dispel the clouds of nihilism in order to reveal the language and values of good that languish on the verge of extinction. It is a movement that works quietly to revive the human spirit and reawaken ordinary citizens, exhorting people to choose the good that is the fruit of self-mastery and resist the destructive pitfalls of evil. It is an attempt to realize a fundamental transformation in human priorities based on the idea that a change in the destiny of a single individual can change the destiny of all humankind, the key theme of my novel The Human Revolution. (Ikeda 2010, 3) Finally, although this commitment is the hallmark of the Soka Gakkai Internationals Buddhist humanism, Ikeda simultaneously sees it, in the fullestJason Goulah 271

spirit of the oneness of mentor and disciple, acutely in the realm of education. Ikeda (in Chandra and Ikeda 2009) states: I believe that the more all of these values are created and manifested in a persons behaviour, the more this is evidence of the extent of that persons humanity. The driving force and engine for this value creation is wisdom and philosophy. In other words, it is critical to answer the question Why? (103). Observing that both the current moment and contemporary civilization suffer from an acute impasse characterized by the ills Dewey articulates as well as environmental degradation, terrorism, fundamentalism and self-destructive apathy, Ikeda (2008) argues that in order to lift the curtain on a new age . . . a new kind of university and a new philosophy [are] required (194). Alas, it is for these reasons that Ikeda founded the Soka schools and entrusts the lived realization of Deweys needed philosophy of educationthe philosophy of value-creationto the pioneering founders of Soka: If Soka University can play a role in the great challenge facing the world, if it can make some signicant contribution, I believe it will have fullled its purpose. . . . My greatest personal task from now on will be education. This is because my sole concern is how to lead humanity in the twenty-rst century toward happiness and peace. In that spirit, I am entrusting the worlds future to you, the students of this university. And I ask the faculty to foster these students into ne human beings (Ikeda 2008, 190).

References Chandra, Lorkesh, and Daisaku Ikeda. 2009. Buddhism: A Way of Values; A Dialogue on Valorization across Time and Space. New Dehli: Eternal Ganges. Dewey, John. (1929) 1958. Experience and Nature. Mineola, NY: Dover. Dewey, John. (1934) 2008. The Need for a Philosophy of Education. In The Later Works of John Dewey, 192553, vol. 9, 19331934: Essays, Reviews, Miscellany, and A Common Faith (Collected Works of John Dewey), ed. Jo Ann Boydston. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Fujita, Hidenori. 2010. Whither Japanese Schooling? Educational Reforms and Their Impact on Ability Formation and Educational Opportunity. In Challenges to Japanese Education: Economics, Reform, and Human Rights, ed. June A. Gordon, Hidenori Fujita, Takehiko Kariya, and Gerald LeTendre. New York: Teachers College Press. Galtung, Johan, and Daisaku Ikeda. 1995. Choose Peace: A Dialogue between Johan Galtung and Daisaku Ikeda. Chicago: Pluto.272 Schools, Fall 2010

Gebert, Andrew, and Monte Joffee. 2007. Value Creation as the Aim of Education: Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Soka Education. In Ethical Visions of Education: Philosophies in Practice, ed. D. T. Hansen. New York: Teachers College Press. Gorbachev, Mikhail, and Daisaku Ikeda. 2005. Moral Lessons of the Twentieth Century: Gorbachev and Ikeda on Buddhism and Communism. New York: I. B. Tauris. Goulah, Jason. 2010a. Daisaku Ikedas Environmental Ethics of Humanitarian Competition: A Review of His United Nations Peace and Education Proposals. Peace Studies Journal 3 (1): 123. Goulah, Jason. 2010b. (Harmonious) Community Life as the Goal of Education: A Bilingual Dialogue between Tsunesaburo Makiguchi and Francis Parker. Schools: Studies in Education 7 (1): 6485. Goulah, Jason, and Andrew Gebert. 2009. Tsunesaburo Makiguchi: Introduction to the Man, His Ideas, and the Special Issue. Special issue: Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (18711944): Educational Philosophy in Context. Educational Studies 45 (2): 11532. Hickman, Larry, Jim Garrison, and Daisaku Ikeda. 200910. Ningen kyoiku e no Atarashiki Choryu: Dyui to Soka Kyoiku, Dai 1 KaiDai 7 Kai [Toward a new current in human education: Dewey and Soka education, parts 17]. Published serially in seven issues of Todai [Lighthouse]; part 1, issue 12 (2009): 5266; parts 27 (2010), issues 16: 5266 (identical page range in all six issues). Huyghe, Rene, and Daisaku Ikeda. 2007. Dawn after Dark: A Dialogue. New York: I. B. Tauris. Ikeda, Daisaku. (1974) 2006. The Flowering of Creative Life Force. In To the Youthful Pioneers of Soka: Lectures, Essays and Poems on ValueCreating Education. Tokyo: Soka University Student Union. Ikeda, Daisaku. 1978. Watakushi no Rirekisho [My recollections]. Tokyo: Seikyo Bunko. Ikeda, Daisaku. 1980. My Recollections. Santa Monica: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, Daisaku. 1995. The Human Revolution, vol. 1. Santa Monica, CA: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, Daisaku. 19952010. The New Human Revolution. 20 vols. Santa Monica, CA: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, Daisaku. 1996. A New Humanism: The University Addresses of Daisaku Ikeda. Tokyo: Weatherhill. Ikeda, Daisaku. (2001) 2005. Message, Dedication Ceremony. In For theJason Goulah 273

Leaders of the 21st Century: Founders Memorable Remarks. Aliso Viejo: Soka Student Government Association. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2002a. Education for Sustainable Development Proposal (2002): A Quiet Revolution, The Challenge of Global Empowerment: Education for a Sustainable Future, http://www.daisakuikeda.org/main/ educator/education-proposal/edu-proposal-2002.html. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2002b. Foreword. In A Geography of Human Life, English edition, ed. Dayle M. Bethel. San Francisco: Caddo Gap. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2002c. The Humanism of the Middle Way: 2002 Peace Proposal. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2003. A Global Ethic of Coexistence: Toward a Life-Sized Paradigm for Our Age; 2003 Peace Proposal. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2004. The Human Revolution, abridged English edition, 2 vols. Santa Monica, CA: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2005a. Foreword. In Educating Citizens for Global Awareness, ed. Nel Noddings. New York: Teachers College Press. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2005b. Toward a New Era of Dialogue: Humanism Explored; 2005 Peace Proposal. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai. Ikeda, Daisaku. (2005) 2006. The University of the 21st Century: Cradle of World Citizens. In To the Youthful Pioneers of Soka: Lectures, Essays and Poems on Value-Creating Education. Tokyo: Soka University Student Union. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2006. A New Era of the People: Forging a Global Network of Robust Individuals; 2006 Peace Proposal. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2008. The New Human Revolution, vol. 15. Santa Monica, CA: World Tribune Press. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2009a. Foreword. Special issue: Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (18711944): Educational Philosophy in Context. Educational Studies 45 (2): 11114. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2009b. Forge Ahead with Optimism. World Tribune, April 10, 45. Ikeda, Daisaku. 2010. Toward a New Era of Value Creation: 2010 Peace Proposal. Tokyo: Soka Gakkai. Ito, Takao. 2005. Shonen Nihon Keisai no Yamamoto Shinichiro Pesutarocchi ni tuite (1) [Shinichiro Yamamotos publication about Pestalozzi in Shonen Nihon (1)]. Soka Kyoiku Kenkyu [Soka Education Research] 4:3162. Ito, Takao. 2007a. Makiguchi Tsunesaburo to Djyon Deyui [Tsunesaburo274 Schools, Fall 2010

Makiguchi and John Dewey]. Soka Kyoiku Kenkyu [Soka Education Research] 6:2128. Ito, Takao. 2007b. Shonen Nihon Keisai no Yamamoto Shinichiro Pesutarocchi ni tuite (2) [Shinichiro Yamamotos publication about Pestalozzi in Shonen Nihon (2)]. Soka Kyoiku Kenkyu [Soka Education Research] 6:120. Kubota, Ryuko, and Sandra McKay. 2009. Globalization and Language Learning in Rural Japan: The Role of English in the Local Linguistic Ecology. TESOL Quarterly 43 (4): 593619. Makiguchi, Tsunesaburo. 198188. Makiguchi Tsunesaburo Zenshu [The complete works of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi]. 10 vols. Tokyo: Daisan Bunmeisha. Noddings, Nel, ed. 2005. Educating Citizens for Global Awareness. New York: Teachers College Press. Parker, Francis W. 1896. My Pedagogic Creed. School Journal 53 (8): 189. Japanese translation: 1897. Yo ga kyoikujo no shinnen: Pakashi [My pedagogic creed: Mr. Parker]. Kyoikudan [Education World] 1: 7880. Pauling, Linus, and Daisaku Ikeda. 2009. A Lifelong Quest for Peace: A Dialogue. New York: I. B. Tauris. Rockefeller, Steven C. 2009. Setting the Stage. Lecture given at John Dewey, Daisaku Ikeda, and the Quest for a New Humanism, Sixth Annual Ikeda Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue, Cambridge, MA, November 14, http: //www.ikedacenter.org/thinkers/rockefeller_talk.htm. Sankei News. 2010. Shizen Taiken Yutakana Hodo Kogakureki/Koshunyu? Seishonen Kyoiku Shinko Kiko Chosa [Do abundant experiences in nature lead to high academic qualications and high earnings? Investigation of the structure of young peoples educational achievement]. Sankei News, June 20, http://sankei.jp.msn.com/life/education/100620/edc1006201956002-c. htm. Tai, Eika. 2007. Multicultural Education in Japan. Japan Focus, http:// www.japanfocus.org/products/details/2618. Toynbee, Arnold, and Daisaku Ikeda. 1976. Choose Life: A Dialogue. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Urbain, Olivier. 2010. Daisaku Ikedas Philosophy of Peace: Dialogue, Transformation and Global Citizenship. New York: I. B. Tauris.

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