Daisaku Ikeda and Dunhuang
Zhao Shengliang is a renowned Chinese scholar and authority on the Dunhuang grottoes, celebrated for his extensive expertise in the study and preservation of these historic Buddhist cave temples. Currently serving as the head of the Dunhuang Academy, Zhao has significantly contributed to the research, conservation, and promotion of the Mogao Caves, a UNESCO World Heritage site. His work has fostered global understanding of the cultural and artistic significance of the Dunhuang murals and manuscripts, bridging historical scholarship with modern preservation efforts.
Zhao Shengliang
Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai he led have over many years poured energy into supporting cultural, educational and peace-building ventures worldwide. Mr. Ikeda also acted for harmony in China-Japan relations and, on many occasions during visits to China, not only expressed deep interest especially in the conservation and study of the cultural heritage of Dunhuang, but also made donations and presented gifts to the Dunhuang Academy, thus supporting our work to conserve and study that heritage.
When Mr. Ikeda visited China in 1980, he and Chang Shuhong, the director of the Academy, held discussions on topics ranging from the history of the Silk Road to Buddhist culture and the artistry of the caves of Dunhuang. Mr. Ikeda, showing immense curiosity about the arts of Dunhuang, emphasized his esteem for the work of Director Chang in preserving the Dunhuang caves. Later Mr. Ikeda corresponded often with Mr. Chang, and the two found they shared common views on matters such as the prosperity of humankind, worldwide peace, and the responsibilities Buddhism bears toward society.
Mr. Ikeda wrote, “I fervently pray that along the spiritual Silk Road that will flow into the new century, strongholds of peace like Dunhuang (dun (splendid), huang (shining)), that encouraged the flowering of such beautiful art, will arise unlimited in every land.”[1] Their views were later compiled and published in Chinese as The Radiance of Dunhuang: Dialogue between Daisaku Ikeda and Chang Shuhong (Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 1991).
During a visit to Japan of second Dunhuang Academy Director Duan Wenjie in 1982, Mr. Ikeda met with him and then, in June 1984, during Mr. Ikeda’s sixth visit to China, Mr. Duan took pains to meet Mr. Ikeda in Beijing, where the two talked over plans for an artistic exhibition to be held the following year at Tokyo Fuji Art Museum.
In October 1985, with Mr. Ikeda’s support, the “Treasures from Dunhuang, China” exhibition opened at the museum with the support of the Academy and many others. One hundred thirteen items were on display, including the 36 manuscripts of the Miaofa lianhua jing (Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law) in the Academy’s possession that were found at the Dunhuang Library Cave (Magao Cave 17), 21 copies of Mogao Cave murals displaying scenes from the Lotus Sutra and other subjects, and 56 cultural relics found in the Dunhuang region.
This large-scale Dunhuang exhibition was wildly popular, and the passionate interest it aroused played a firm role in forwarding friendly China-Japan cultural mingling. Mr. Ikeda, who held an unchanging interest in the conservation and protection of the caves of Dunhuang, requested numerous times that the Soka Gakkai donate motor vehicles and research equipment, thus aiding directly those preservation and research efforts at Dunhuang.
In 1990, during a visit to Japan director Duan Wenjie visited the Seikyo Shimbun offices in Tokyo on December 28 and met Mr. Ikeda again, discussing matters from the ancient arts of Dunhuang to the direction of its development in the present. One theme they touched on concerned the connection between ordinary people and Dunhuang. Mr. Duan noted that the mural art there was created by unknown painters of the ancient world and that many wall murals presented scenes from the daily lives of contemporary people. Mr. Ikeda replied, “Dunhuang, rooted in Buddhism, is a fortress of culture, a fortress of peace, created, enjoyed, and protected by the people.”[2] Their conversation appeared in its entirety in the Seikyo newspaper dated December 29, 1990. Also, during his visit, Mr. Duan was presented with the “Tokyo Fuji Art Museum Award of Highest Honor.”
From the moment we entered the 21st century on, exchange has continued unabated between the Academy and Soka Gakkai, and in 2012, at the invitation of the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP) Director Yoichi Kawada, Academy Director Fan Jinshi visited Kobe, Japan, to participate in the opening of the “Lotus Sutra—A Message of Peace and Harmonious Coexistence” exhibition (hereafter “Lotus Sutra Exhibition”). On the same trip, she not only visited IOP in Tokyo, but also had discussions with Soka Gakkai president Minoru Harada. Later, Dunhuang Academy and IOP co-sponsored the “Lotus Sutra Exhibition” in both Singapore and South Korea, and Academy scholar Zhang Yuanlin also presented a lecture to coincide with the exhibition.
In September 2018, the Academy and IOP together held the academic symposium “Dunhuang and the Lotus Sura” at Dunhuang and Mr. Ikeda took the trouble to send a congratulatory message. He pointed to his wonderful memories of Mr. Chang and Mr. Duan and expressed his deepest wish that this symposium would provide impetus for growing peaceful, friendly China-Japan relations. In the message he also said, “I am convinced that Dunhuang, as an agglomeration of the Silk Road culture in which diverse peoples and ethnicities interacted, will shine even brighter than before, its artistry and aesthetics touching the hearts of all our contemporaries. Dunhuang, as a lush oasis of human spirituality, will continue to animate us from deep within through its universal call for peace, coexistence, and humanitarianism.”[3] This symposium was tremendously productive, and six papers shared there were later published in Chinese in the magazine Dunhuang yanjiu (Dunhuang Studies) and in Japanese in Toyo gakujutsu kenkyu (The Journal of Oriental Studies). Following the symposium, both parties signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to further academic exchanges and joint research efforts that have continued to this day.
When we look back upon the forty some years of support and affirmation from Mr. Ikeda and Soka Gakkai regarding our work of preservation of Dunhuang relics, we are deeply impressed at his profound understanding of Buddhist culture and his unwavering regard for the cultural heritage of humanity. Not only did he, through religious and cultural activities, encourage progress toward a civilization of humanity and strive for world peace, he gave all the energies of his entire lifetime to this! And now there is no doubt that Mr. Ikeda’s spirit will forever inspire us to make greater efforts in science-based conservation of that cultural heritage and academic studies, and to nurture peace for humanity and continued cultural exchange and coexistence.
[First carried in The Institute of Oriental Philosophy, Newsletter No.10, April 2023 to March 2024]
