For SGI’s peace activities both at the United Nations and at the grassroots level, the culture of peace is a framework that enables us to approach the wide range of global issues as interconnected and interrelated. Be it disarmament, environment and sustainability, human rights education, gender equality and women’s empowerment or humanitarian relief, they all are integral to the “peace” we envision, in which each person can make meaningful contributions.

As stated in the UN definition, “a culture of peace is a set of values, attitudes, traditions and modes of behaviors and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations.” It is based on, first and foremost, “Respect for life, ending of violence and promotion and practice of non-violence through education, dialogue and cooperation” (Article 1), which deeply resonates with the Soka Gakkai’s Buddhist philosophy and core principles.

Daisaku Ikeda, late President of the SGI, advocated for the culture of peace in various writings, including the annual SGI peace proposals he authored for 40 years, as well as his dialogues with leading figures. In the 2000 SGI peace proposal titled “Peace through Dialogue: A Time to Talk”, Ikeda wrote:

“Humanity is charged with the task of not merely achieving a 'passive peace'—the absence of war—but of transforming on a fundamental level those social structures that threaten human dignity. Only in this way can we realize the positive, active values of peace. Efforts to enhance international cooperation and the fabric of international law are, of course, necessary. Even more vital, however, are the creative efforts of individuals to develop a multilayered and richly patterned culture of peace, for it is on this foundation that a new global society can be built.”

Ikeda also explored the culture of peace in his dialogues with leading figures such as Former UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury and peace studies scholar Elise Boulding.

The Soka Gakkai Charter, adopted in 2021 to articulate the principles guiding the organization’s social engagement, also emphasizes a commitment to nonviolence and the culture of peace. It states, “We, the respective organizations of the Soka Gakkai, raising high the banner of global citizenship, the spirit of active tolerance and respect for human dignity, and determined to confront the threats facing humankind based on an unwavering commitment to nonviolence and the culture of peace, hereby adopt this charter, affirming the following purposes and principles.”

With this vision, the Soka Gakkai organizations and their members around the world engage in grassroots activities to promote the culture of peace, based on the understanding that individual happiness and the realization of a peaceful world are inextricably linked. Such efforts include conducting lectures and forums and creating educational resources like exhibitions, publications and videos, resulting in large civil society engagement worldwide. In the context of the UN, as a founding member of the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace, SGI has been actively involved in supporting the UN High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace, convened by the President of the General Assembly, since 2012. SGI also produced some educational tools on the UNGA Resolution on the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

An example of a national Soka Gakkai association that has worked to promote the culture of peace is Soka Gakkai International-USA (SGI-USA). For instance, in 1999, the youth membership of SGI-USA launched a “Victory Over Violence” (VOV) campaign with the aim of helping young people uncover and counteract the root causes of violence in their lives. Created in response to growing concern over youth-related violence, the VOV campaign encouraged young people to respect their own lives, respect all life and inspire hope in others. Under the VOV campaign, individuals were encouraged to organize activities such as initiating dialogues, displaying the traveling VOV exhibition, and sharing the VOV pledge.

SGI-USA also produced and supported various exhibitions around the themes related to the culture of peace. For instance, “Building a Culture of Peace for the Children of the World” was created to celebrate the limitless potential of the individual to build peace. The exhibition was displayed in the UN Visitors Lobby in February 2004.

In 2007, SGI-USA began its Culture of Peace Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series at its centers in New York, Santa Monica, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. These lectures aimed to engage people in regular community dialogues on the values, attitudes and behaviors that reject violence and inspire creative energy for peace. In some cases, informal discussions with the local youth membership were organized prior to the lectures. The lectures covered a wide range of themes, from human rights, conflict resolution and disarmament to climate change, gender equality and education against imperialism. Some of the talks have been compiled into a three-volume series “Voices for a Culture of Peace: Compendium of the SGI-USA Culture of Peace Distinguished Speaker Series,” while highlights of more recent lectures are available in the SGI-USA weekly newspaper, World Tribune. A video is also available of a 2018 lecture by Ira Helfand, then co-president of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

Ian McIlraith, who served as the Director of Peace and Community Relations for SGI-USA for many years, reflected, “We want increasing numbers of people to realize that the true culture of peace requires active engagement by all citizens, all organizations and all institutions.”

In Japan, a group called Soka Gakkai Women’s Peace Committee (WPC) was created within the women’s division of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist organization in 1980. With a membership of over 1,000 women throughout the country, the WPC has been engaged in promoting education, raising awareness and expanding support for peacebuilding in civil society in Japan through exhibitions, lectures and publications based on the Buddhist principles of respect for the dignity of life and equality.

When the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001–2010) began, the WPC produced the exhibition “Women and the Culture of Peace.” Supervised by peace scholar Dr. Elise Boulding, the exhibition introduced the role and mission of women in peacebuilding with numerous photographs and illustrations. It was viewed by some 1.2 million people around Japan from 2002 through 2015.

Since 2003, the WPC has organized Culture of Peace Forums throughout Japan where Soka Gakkai women shared their efforts to build the culture of peace in their immediate environments and communities. The Culture of Peace Forums, in contrast to lectures where experts bring in their insights, spotlight examples of how everyday people can practice the culture of peace, inspiring hope that this can be done by anyone. Some of the stories from the Culture of Peace Forums are published in a 2009 book titled Cheerfully! The Culture of Peace I Create (originally published in Japanese as Hogaraka ni! Watashi ga tsukuru “heiwa no bunka”).

One such example is a woman who started a neighborhood recycling group in the ‘90s. She shared that through activities such as making soap from used oil and collecting aluminum cans, people in her community fostered and strengthened relationships with each other and developed a desire to keep their neighborhood clean. Another woman shared that she started sharing her story of surviving the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in her youth only after taking faith in Buddhism with the Soka Gakkai and learning about its second president Josei Toda’s Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. She was later able to visit the UN in 1982 to attend the Second Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD-II) of the UN General Assembly.

The women share their stories of transformation, becoming protagonists to foster the culture of peace, inspired by their faith. Through their Buddhist practice, they have developed deep desires to contribute to their communities, at times challenging their insecurities, as well as health, financial, family and other personal challenges.

Perhaps one of the reasons the culture of peace resonates deeply with the members of the Soka Gakkai is that it encourages transformation at the level of the individual, as beautifully illustrated by Elise Boulding’s definition: “A mosaic of identities, attitudes, values, beliefs and patterns that lead people to live [in nurturance] with one another and the Earth itself without the aid of structured power differentials—to deal creatively with their differences and share their resources.” It mirror’s SGI’s vision that peace is synonymous with individual happiness, where the respect for the dignity of each person is upheld at every level of society.

For the members of the Soka Gakkai, the culture of peace is therefore nothing separate from their daily living and faith; it is part of the ethos of the organization. This spirit is also encapsulated in the words of Daisaku Ikeda, in his essay “The SGI's Peace Movement" from Buddhist Peacework, when he discusses the Soka Gakkai tradition of discussion meetings—a regular (usually monthly) gathering of members and friends where they deepen their understanding of the Buddhist practice:

"The Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra (Hokke Gengi) states, 'No affairs of life or work are in any way different from the ultimate reality.' Each aspect of an individual's life—the challenges of work, family, study, health, finances, relationships, etc.—provides a venue for the creation of value by manifesting one’s Buddha nature and the chance to experience actual proof of practice in the form of material and spiritual improvement and growth. Experiences of actual proof provide the content of the members’ testimonials at discussion meetings. The discussion meeting, founded on dialogue and equality, is thus an excellent opportunity to build a culture of peace."

We live in “a time of profound global transformation,” as stated in the Pact for the Future adopted by the UN Member States in September 2024. In such a time where the global challenges we face are interconnected and unprecedented in scale, the efforts to advance the culture of peace are needed more than ever. Such efforts will cultivate a strong foundation upon which all actions for a better world can be amplified and sustained. With this conviction, the SGI will continue to advocate for the culture of peace at all levels of our peace activities.