CategoryInterview

SGI-USA member Michele LaMontagne is the second woman to reach the rank of brigadier general in the New Mexico National Guard and its first female commander. The World Tribune spoke with her about her career and how she uses her Buddhist practice in her daily life. World Tribune: Thank you for speaking with us about

Hurricane Ida hit Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after the landfall of the devastating Hurricane Katrina. SGI-USA Central Territory Leader James Herrmann spoke with the World Tribune about the incredible strength of the local members and the SGI-USA’s disaster relief efforts in New Orleans. World Tribune: Thank you for speaking

The World Tribune spoke with Bernice Griffin, of Lakewood, Washington, about her nearly four decades of Buddhist practice and how she is passing on faith to the next generation. World Tribune: Thank you, Bernice, for speaking with us. We heard that you have a passion for sharing Nichiren Buddhism with young people and that all

SGI-USA member Janice Kinjo is a celebrity makeup artist and men’s groomer in both New York and Los Angeles. The World Tribune spoke with her about her career and how she applies her Buddhist practice to her work. World Tribune: Thank you for speaking with us! How did you become a makeup artist? Janice Kinjo:

SGI-USA member Aarti Jain, of Irvine, California, is a researcher who focuses on COVID-19 projects and training workshops for visiting scholars and medical students at the University of California, Irvine. The World Tribune spoke with her about her Buddhist practice and experience as a vaccine researcher during the coronavirus pandemic. World Tribune: Thank you, Aarti,

The 81st annual George Foster Peabody Awards was held in June 2021. Among the winners was June Cross, of New York, and her team for their documentary Whose Vote Counts. Ms. Cross, a longtime SGI-USA member, is a documentary producer and professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she founded a program in

At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards Show held on March 14, 2021, SGI-USA men’s division member John Beasley, of Venice, California, received four nominations and won Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella for his arrangement of the jazz standard “Donna Lee.” Mr. Beasley is a multi-Grammy and Emmy-nominated pianist, composer, arranger, producer and music director

World Tribune: We learned that you recently had a profound experience introducing young people to Buddhism. Does this come naturally? Meryl Shapiro (New York): Not at all. I’m 73, single and never had children. As a longtime SGI member, I’ve introduced a number of youth, but in the two years I fought all out for

Through chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and heartfelt dialogue, we ended gun violence in our community.

My Buddhist practice enabled me to take the most hellish experience of nuclear war and create a life of absolute happiness.

The Rev. James Lawson is an American Civil Rights leader and longtime ally of Martin Luther King Jr., who praised him as “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” At age 92, the Rev. Lawson continues to give lectures and hold seminars on nonviolence. In the following interview, published in the Jan.

World Tribune: Your new book, Happiness Becomes You, is an inspiring mix of life stories and spiritual teachings. You’ve said for a long time that you planned to write a book like this. Why 2020? Tina Turner: I’ve wanted to create this kind of book since the 1980s, but I never imagined it would take

This interview is part of a series in the Seikyo Shimbun, the Soka Gakkai’s daily newspaper, titled “Building a Culture of Peace II.” In this installment, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, co-president of the Club of Rome, discusses the unprecedented crises our world is facing at this moment, the lessons she learned in her struggle against the

Scholars and universities around the world are increasingly engaging with the educational philosophies and practices of Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and, most significantly, Daisaku Ikeda. Today, more than 40 universities across Asia, Europe and the Americas have established centers to research these educators’ ideas. In 2014, DePaul University established the first such center in the

with Ceasar McDowell, professor of the Practice of Civic Design at MIT Living Buddhism: Thank you for speaking with us, Ceasar. Can you share about the work that you do? Ceasar McDowell: Thank you for having me. One of the challenges we are facing in this country is that we are now living among the most demographically

When the Soka Gakkai International was established on Jan. 26, 1975, in Guam, SGI-USA member Gerry Hall served as the secretary-general for the meeting and read the Declaration for Peace on behalf of its 158 participants. We asked Mr. Hall what he recalled and learned from that day. World Tribune: Thank you for sitting down

On the cusp of her 100th birthday, Cora Davis Boyd, on April 7, became an SGI-USA member. The World Tribune sat down with her and her daughter, Kathleen Dockett, of Washington, D.C., to learn about Cora’s life, why she joined the SGI-USA and what advice she has for people of all ages. World Tribune: Cora,

Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee served as the keynote speaker for Soka University of America’s Class of 2019 commencement ceremony on May 24 (see p. 10 for coverage). She is best known for leading a nonviolent movement that united Christian and Muslim women, playing a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s 14-year civil war in 2003.

Interview with Carlos Rubio

In the following excerpt from A Baptist Preacher’s Buddhist Teacher, Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., the founding dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, applauds Soka Gakkai discussion meetings as gatherings of the people, rooted in faithfulness and a willingness to be vulnerable. In this excerpt, he refers to the SGI