Let’s drop all weapons. Many voices join as one single prayer from Comiso’s Peace Pagoda.

by Alessandra L’Abate, Anna Luisa Leonardi (Florence), Angela Ricciardi (Naples), Comiso – Italy editorial staff

Last Sunday, July 2, 2023, the annual Peace Ceremony was held at the Comiso Peace Pagoda (Sicily, Italy) by monks and nuns from all over the world of Nipponzan Myohoji, an order of Japanese Buddhists.

The Temple and the Pagoda (Buddhist stupa) are unique monumental shrines in Italy. The Peace Pagoda is one of the four currently built in Europe. The other locations are Milton Keynes & London in the UK and in Vienna.

Photo by Ana Jastrzab.

The Comiso Peace Pagoda was opened in 1998 (this year celebrating the 25^th year anniversary) by Rev. Gyosho Morishita, who still tends the Temple and Pagoda to this day. Rev. Morishita arrived in Italy in the early 80s to support the nonviolent protests against the NATO base in Comiso. At that time the Comiso base was the largest NATO base in Southern Europe with nuclear-armed missiles on-site and drew a great deal of attention from anti-nuclear peace activists and protesters. Today this holy Peace Pagoda place is a haven for many pilgrims from all over the world from many spiritual traditions, not only including many Buddhists.

At the ceremony were present representatives of local institutions as well as representatives of other religious orders (among them a Catholic priest) and many people from nearby towns, from all over Italy and from all over the world.

Monks, nuns and volunteers had been working very hard for weeks so that this day could be felt in its deepest essence and to commemorate 25 years of this symbol of peace.

Reverend Morishita moved everyone with his speech inspired by Ashoka’s edict on giving up all weapons. Ashoka was a king of ancient India who, following his conversion to Buddhism, abandoned his bloody and ruthless policy of “conquest in all directions,” in favour of, ‘the victory of Dharma’ (Dharma Vijaya) – the rule of nonviolence.

During the event, anyone who wished to share thoughts or say prayers was given the opportunity to participate. Verses in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Japanese were recited and, together with the Catholic priest, the Our Father was prayed by the crowd. At the end of the ceremony, the many gifts and offerings that graced the altar (fruits, vegetables, sweets, and beautiful flowers) were handed out by the monks and nuns to all in attendance. The celebration culminated with a lunch offered to all who came specially prepared for the occasion so all could enjoy together.

The aim of the Pagoda is to serve as a symbol and meeting place to serve the continued mission of building peace in the world through prayer, non-violent action and cooperation.

In attendance at both Comiso’s celebration and the Vienna celebration this year was a senior monk of the order, Rev. Sasamori. In September of last year, Rev. Sasamori arrived in Warsaw, Poland from Japan in order to pray for the war raging on Poland’s border in Ukraine. Every day he walked to the Russian embassy in Warsaw, beating his drum and praying for an end to the conflict and for peace all over the world. From Dec. 1994 to Aug. 1995, Reverend Sasamori led a Peace Pilgrimage from the Auschwitz Death Camp in Poland to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan and vowed to return to Poland to erect a Peace Pagoda and Temple site (like the Comiso holy site). Hopefully, with Rev. Sasamori now back in Poland, we will soon see the erection of Europe’s fifth Nipponzan Myohoji Peace Pagoda Site in Poland and also see a reprise of the violence in Ukraine.

As the monks and nuns’ sole mission is to pray and work toward Peace, for all practical day-to-day and bureaucratic matters, the order relies on the good hearts and sound sense of the local men and women of peace supporting them. For this reason, the Committee for the Peace Pagoda* in Italy has been recently established to resolve issues related to the legal legitimacy of the monument and projects supporting the site, such as legally buying the land the Pagoda and temple stand on, as well as, build a road to allow free access to monks, devotees and visitors as neighbouring local land owners have recently limited access to the site.

The feeling of union with the Eternal is shared by all those who visit this temple “placed beneath the open sky and accessible to the poorest of poor”. (M. Gandhi)

Alessandra L’Abate, Anna Luisa Leonardi and Angela Ricciardi (Italy), Anna Jastrzab (Poland)

_________________________________________________________________

Rev. Morishita’s Full Speech

DHARMA TALK FOR THE 2023 EUROPEAN PEACE PAGODA ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

[London Peace Pagoda – 38th anniversary]/ [Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda – 43rd anniversary]/ [Vienna Peace Pagoda – 40th anniversary]/ [Comiso Peace Pagoda – 25th anniversary]

NA MU MYO HO REN GE KYO

Today, we are once again able to mark the 38-anniversary celebration of the London Peace Pagoda with you. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone joining us here.

As a result of the prolonged disruptions due to Covid-19, we have been unable to organise the annual anniversary celebrations since 2019. But at last, the annual ceremony is being revived this year.

However, through that difficult time, all of you have been working hard to help maintain the Peace Pagoda and build up peace in the world. I would like to say Thank You for all your efforts, from the bottom of my heart.

Last year, the Dhauli Peace Pagoda’s 50th anniversary celebration was held in India attended by many from all over the world. This pagoda was built on Dhauli Giri i Odisha state, the sacred site where King Ashoka in ancient India – following his conversion to Buddhism – abandoned the policy of ‘conquest in all directions’ (Digvijaya) in favour of the victory of Dharma (Dharma Vijaya)- rule by non-violence.

Today in Europe, the Ukrainian war has gone on for close to a year and a half, and there seems to be no sign of an end to the war in sight. Even if invasion by military force were to bring some stability for the time being, it would only leave a bitter feeling for years to come, making it impossible to establish a true and lasting peace.

By following the Ashoka edict, abandon all weapons. In order to build a true peace let us pray earnestly and work diligently together for a world peace based on demilitarization and non-violence, as was once embodied by Mahatma Gandhi.

NA MU MYO HO REN GE KYO

Ven. Gyosho Morishita Nipponzan Myohoji, Comiso Dojo

Written by: Alessandra L’Abate, Anna Luisa Leonardi and Angela Ricciardi (Italy), Anna Jastrzab (Poland)

Photo Report of the Event by Dana Soady: