Societies of Sustainability and Sufficiency:
Learning from Fukushima & Building Green Temple Communities
September 26-October 4, 2014 – Japan
Juko-in, a solar powered green temple community inside Tokyo
In late September 2014, the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) in partnership with the Japan Network of Engaged Buddhists (JNEB) will hold a one week study tour and workshop series for 15 Buddhist activists as well as other religious activists and media involved in the nuclear energy issue and the movement for localized, clean energy development. The program will begin with a two-day exposure through communities in Fukushima, followed by a public meeting, workshop, and study tour in the Tokyo area on the building of green temple communities. The program will then move to central Japan with a two-day tour of the Nuclear Ginza in Fukui, site of the largest cluster of nuclear reactors in the world, and finish with an all day program in Kyoto with religious leaders and the public on building a new civilization of sufficiency (samtusti) and sustainability.
Soto Zen priests join Nipponzan Myohoji priests in prayer on the beaches of Fukushima (March 2014)
The program is part of INEB’s Inter-Religious Climate and Ecology Network, which will have its second international conference in South Korea from April 27-May 2, 2015. The program in Japan aims to expose foreign Buddhists, other religious professionals, activists, and media to: a) the realities of life in Fukushima, b) the dislocations caused by nuclear energy in other parts of Japan, c) community support and activism by Japanese Buddhists and other religious professionals in these regions, and d) renewable energy initiatives by Japanese Buddhist groups and other religious organizations. Through sharing the perspectives and skills of South and Southeast Asian Buddhists in community development, and Japanese Buddhists and other religious professionals in anti-nuclear activism and renewable energy, we wish to create an international network for sharing best practices on building “green temples” and “green temple communities”.
Detailed Background
Purpose & Goals
Expected Outcomes
If you would like to donate to the program or sponsor an individual activist from these regions, please contact the INEB Secretariat in Bangkok at secretariat@13.229.239.55 or the JNEB international representative, Jonathan Watts at ogigaya@gmail.com
About the Organizers:
The main organizers for this project within Japan will be The Interfaith Forum for the Review of National Nuclear Policy 原子力行政を問い直す宗教者の会 and the Japan Network of Engaged Buddhists (JNEB), which provides an informal network and umbrella for a wide range of Buddhist social activists to engage in social activities. The AYUS International Buddhist Cooperation Network and its Buddhist NGO Network will also be providing support to the organization of the project. Within Fukushima, these 3 organizations above work with a wide range of civic and religious groups who will support this project, such as Team Nihonmatsu, Dokei-ji Temple, and the JIPPO Rape Seed Project. Within Tokyo and Kanto, the project will collaborate with Juko-in Temple, the Edogawa Citizen’s Network for Thinking about Global Warming (ECNG), the Religious and Scholarly Eco Initiative, and the Japan Buddhist Federation. Within Fukui Prefecture, the project will collaborate with the Association of Obama Citizens against the Installation of Nuclear Reactors (原発設置反対小浜市民の会). Within Kyoto, the project will collaborate with Ryukoku University and others.