MOHANDAS Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Daisaku Ikeda—what do they have in common?
For the members of Soka Gakkai, an international group that believes in humanistic principles based on Buddhism, the three deserve emulation as they are the paragons of non-violent change.
To honor their deeds, members of the group from Japan, Guam, Hawaii, the Northern Marianas and local government officials unveiled on Tuesday three stone monuments they called the Gandhi, King, Ikeda Peace Gardens built inside the Leadership Cultural Park on Tinian.
Leann Zweber, Soka Gakkai member and teacher at Marianas High School, said the group chose to build the memorial garden of peace on Tinian.
In Aug. 1945, atomic bombs carried from Tinian by B-29s were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“We felt Tinian is the right place to have a garden of peace. Tinian became a place of war and we can still see the remnants of war in some places on the island. We feel Tinian could be completely transformed into a place of peace by promoting social transformation through peaceful means,” she said.
Tinian Mayor Francisco M. Borja said the “Tinian people are hoping that it could focus on the issue of peace and human rights and become a part of the movement created by Gandhi, King and Ikeda.”
Nina Braganza, a scholar in literature and the life and works of Gandhi, said the Indian leader’s “humble life” will serve as an inspiration for many generations. She said Gandhi’s “non-violent attitude” can also work politically.
John Wyner, a doctor of philosophy, said the world can learn so much from King who helped liberate African Americans and oppressed people through “active non-violent means.”
Danny Nagashima, one of the leaders of Soka Gakkai, read the message of thanks of Ikeda, the group’s president, to Tinian for its “immeasurable” help to the organization.
Zweber also read a message from Horshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba who said that people who believe in peace could mobilize and influence public opinion on nuclear disarmament.
