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abolition-usa-digest    Sunday, September 30 2001    Volume 01 : Number 474




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Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 14:46:33 -0400
From: David Culp <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Sen. Byrd opposes missile defense

"Space Wars," by Sen. Robert C. Byrd

Congressional Record, September 26, 2001, pp. S9826-28


Mr. BYRD. Madam President, during the August recess, The New York Times
Magazine ran a cover story entitled "The Coming Space War" The article
caught my interest, as I am sure that it intrigued many other readers. The
author's contention is that the U.S. military is considering a campaign to
achieve military superiority in space similar to the kind of military
superiority that U.S. forces seek in the air, on land, and from the sky.
Military superiority in space is deemed critical in order to protect our
increasing dependence on satellites for communications, surveillance,
commercial and military purposes. On August 24, President Bush named Air
Force General Richard Myers, a former chief of the U.S. Space Command and of
the North American Aerospace Defense Command, as the new Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Myers' selection as Chairman is in keeping
with President Bush's strong support for building a national missile
defense, NMD, the follow-on to President Reagan's Star Wars Strategic
Defense Initiative, SDI.

It is certainly true that our dependence--and that of other developed and
developing nations--on these winking, blinking objects winging through the
night sky has increased exponentially over the last decade. It has rapidly
become almost impossible to imagine a world without the Internet, the World
Wide Web, electronic mail on handheld computers or cellular phones,
automated teller machines, instantaneous worldwide credit card use, and
other forms of global telecommunications and electronic commerce. This
expansion and its dependence on satellite links will continue to increase in
future decades. We are all dependent, and, therefore, we are all vulnerable,
to the seamless and uninterrupted access to satellites. Most people,
however, do not understand these technologies. I certainly do not. Like most
people, I can understand that I may be vulnerable in ways that are new to
me, a boy from the Mercer County hills in southern West Virginia. But how
best to address this new vulnerability?

The author of The New York Times Magazine article describes three
fundamentally different philosophical approaches to this brave new realm of
space. The first is a military approach, which opens up a Pandora's box of
weapons in space. The military, it is reported, has looked into the future
and come to the conclusion that space represents the "ultimate military
`high ground,' "requiring the military to develop and deploy whatever
technology is necessary to achieve what has been termed "Global Battlespace
Dominance," or "Full Spectrum Dominance." The tools needed might include
everything from National Missile Defense to antisatellite laser or
high-powered microwave weapons, or clusters of microsatellites to
hyperspectral surveillance satellites and other space sensors--or all of
these things. Some of these systems are under development now or due for
testing soon, according to the article, already undercutting the author's
assertion that the weaponization of space is coming, when, in fact, it may
already be upon us. Already--already--additional funding to the tune of $190
million is being sought in the defense authorization and appropriations
bills for space weapons.

Now, if I, like most people, do not really understand the technologies
behind satellite communications and cell phones, it is even harder to
understand the technologies behind hyperspectral surveillance satellites or
space-based lasers. And that lack of technical expertise means, like most
Americans, I must depend on the Pentagon to explain why these new
technologies are needed, why no other alternatives will work, and what new
questions and challenges might be unleashed by these choices. That is not, I
suggest, the best way to perform oversight, but, unfortunately, there are
few good alternatives.

The second philosophical approach to space outlined by the author is that of
the purist, seeking to unilaterally ban weapons from space and seeking to
return the heavens to an earlier, unsullied era--an earlier unsullied era.
This is not, in the author's view, a realistic hope. The final philosophical
approach, the one seemingly favored by the author, is that of the
"pragmatist"--the "pragmatist." This approach recognizes the inevitable
migration of commerce and the military to space, but hopes to hold the line
at surveillance. Weapons for space would, in this view, remain in the
research and test phase, to be launched only in response to another nation's
attempt to put weapons in space. This launch-on-warning approach would come
in conjunction with further diplomatic efforts to establish operating rules
for space modeled on those in place for blue-water ships on the open ocean.

In the pragmatist's scenario, existing space treaties would be retained: the
1967 Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space and the 1972
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty which, in addition to establishing the
surveillance system to avoid nuclear conflict, also forbids most antimissile
testing.

One way of reducing competition and tensions in space proposed in the
article is by "mutually assured awareness" in space. The U.S. would develop
and make globally available direct video access to space, so that anyone
could confirm any hostile action in space, as opposed to mishaps from
natural causes. I am not sure that this is technologically feasible, but who
am I to question it. The concept of greater openness is the point. It is
interesting, in this light, to note that the 1975 Convention on Registration
of Objects Launched into Outer Space, operated by the United Nations, has
not been very successful. In fact, the nation with the largest number, if
not percentage, of unregistered payloads is the United States. The United
States has failed to register 141 of some 2,000 satellite payloads. Only one
nation is in full compliance--Russia. And, of course, it is the Bush
Administration advocating the abrogation of the ABM Treaty in order to
commence construction on the first National Missile Defense ground site in
Alaska.

I cannot say at this point what philosophical camp that I might find myself.
The author, Jack Hitt, closes his article by pointing out that if the United
States is not successful at holding the line at surveillance, if we "plan,
test, and deploy aggressively as the lone superpower, we make certain that
after a brief respite from the cold war's nuclear competition, we will once
again embark on a fresh and costly arms race. And with it, assume the dark
burden of policing a rapid evolution in battlespace." This specter rings
true. It should concern us, and it should be debated by the people and the
people's representatives. As it stands now, the U.S. military is moving
ahead on a trajectory that is both costly and one that carries with it a
kind of philosophical imperialism with dangerous ramifications.

Now, what do I mean by philosophical imperialism? The military's plans for
"full spectrum dominance," and space superiority, if fully realized, would
mean that in some not-so-distant future, the United States would be in a
position to (in the words of the Air Force Strategic Master Plan) "operate
freely in space, deny the use of space to our adversaries, protect ourselves
from an attack in and through space and develop and deploy a N[ational]
M[issile] D[efense] capability." The U.S. would presumably, then, have
information dominance in this arena as well. Thus, the U.S. would be in a
position to know if a conflict between two nations, say India and Pakistan,
was about to explode into open, even nuclear, warfare. The U.S. would also
be in a position to act, but how? Would we shoot down the missiles from one
side or the other, or both? If we shot down the missiles that each nation
was firing at the other, what would happen if we missed one and it destroyed
a city? What is our responsibility? What if we chose not to act because the
conflict did not involve us, and tens of thousands or millions of innocent
people died? What is our responsibility?

If the United States achieves, at enormous expense, space superiority, how
could we avoid becoming the space marshal on this dangerous new frontier? If
we detect a threat against a third party, do we warn the third party? If we
provide a warning, and are asked to interdict the attack because only we
can, how do we say no? How do we avoid making our military personnel and our
commercial enterprises overseas the targets of reprisals from those whose
attacks we thwart? It is difficult for me to envision a future in which we
could avoid such an imperialist, if benevolent, dictatorship in space.

The role of global policeman and space marshal would not come cheaply,
either, and in this period of shrinking or perhaps vanishing surpluses, we
cannot ignore those costs. Space dominance would not replace air, land, or
sea dominance, but would be additive. In fact, dominance in space might
conceivably add to the cost of protecting forces on ground by making them
targets for the kind of retaliation I mentioned previously. Gaining and
maintaining a robust presence in space is technologically challenging. An
airborne laser, reportedly operational sometime around 2010, is budgeted at
$11 billion. It will cost still more to build and deploy a space-based
laser. The estimated cost for a working space laser test is about $4
billion--that is $4 billion merely to get to a test of a laser in space. A
test is expected as early as 2010.

The defense budget already consumes a bit over half of the domestic
discretionary budget that Congress must allocate among programs ranging from
health research to agriculture, education to highway and air traffic safety,
environmental protection to diplomacy. How much more are we willing to trade
between guns and butter? How much must we trade, or might alternatives be
found in the course of free and open debate?

As most people are now well aware, those large budget surpluses so
optimistically predicted just a few weeks ago--it is not funny--while the
economy was booming--and so irresponsibly paid out in the form of
vote-buying "tax refunds" before the actual surpluses materialized--are now
gone, gone. Indeed, the Administration has had to employ a few
green-eyeshade accounting tricks just to find a few dollars beyond the
Social Security surplus to spend on other priorities. And the
administration's No. 1 priority seems to be the defense budget--well, that
might be all right--but more particularly, the defense budget for National
Missile Defense and space weapons.

The President wants an additional $39 billion for defense--more, perhaps,
now--including more than $8 billion to research and test his missile defense
plan.

I am troubled that this Administration's number one priority is a project
whose scientific feasibility is in doubt. That is the problem.

We could very well be rushing down a path that leads to spiraling costs and
lengthy delays. In the 1960s, Congress was told that research of a Super
Sonic Transport plane was essential to U.S. competitiveness in future
decades. I was here. We spent nearly a billion dollars developing this
aircraft before cancelling it in 1973, a billion dollars then would be much
larger now. I do not think we have lost one whit of competitiveness because
of the cancellation of that program.

We traveled down the same path again when we considered funding the
Superconducting Super Collider. The $8 billion program was supposed to
fulfill a supposedly vital role in basic scientific research, but we learned
that the true cost was nearly fifty percent greater than expected, and we
were not even sure it could ever work. Congress had to step in to end this
program in 1993. Again, I do not think that we have lost any crucial
advantage by not going forward with that project.

I can think of no one who believes that a national missile defense system
will be deployed on-time and under budget.

I am troubled, not because such weapons might be needed, but because we are
spending huge sums on them without being sure in our own minds that the
weaponization of space is the best course of action to ensure our security.

If the United States builds a missile shield to shoot down enemy missiles as
soon after they launch as possible, a smart adversary would attempt to
shorten the amount of time that our defenses have to react, in addition to
taking measures to fool our defenses. One way to shorten the time between
launch and impact is to launch closer to the target--either from a submarine
offshore, or, as the seas become more transparent to new technologies, from
space. Another alternative for a wily adversary would be to switch gears
entirely and employ other forms of weapons of mass destruction, such as
chemical or biological weapons, that could be dispersed without using long
range or intercontinental missiles whose launch points make determining the
adversary a simple exercise in geometry. We must be aware that our actions
produce reactions.

We can assume that if the United States deploys weapons in space, even in a
purely defensive posture, even in a global policeman role, not all of our
friends, allies, and competitors will see this as benign. We have only to
consider the reaction of the world to the recent statements by the
Administration concerning National Missile Defense and the potential
abrogation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Just what would we do
when some other nation--friend or competitor--threatens our space
superiority by deploying their own weapons there, even if for avowedly
defensive purposes? Again the vision of a space marshal comes to mind, this
time facing off another gunman down the dusty main street of space. Does the
U.S. Marshal fire first, second, or is it a long, tense stand-off with
weapons cocked? None of the alternatives sounds particularly promising.

Though it is difficult to conceive, would a military competition in space
weaponry deter commercial satellite growth or the growth of e-business that
depends on global satellite networked communications? Once weapons are in
space, does the cost of doing business in space go up to the point that
global commerce is stifled? That would be very bad news for business, for
consumers, and for the prospects of returning our national budget to surplus
or even to balance.

These are all ramifications of our current course of action that merit
discussion--broad, open, public discussion and debate. I do not wish for the
United States to be left undefended--far from it--but neither do I wish for
the military to be left, in the face of public silence, to make decisions
that spend our treasure and which may create new problems for us in arenas
yet unconsidered.

In his farewell address on January 17, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower
looked upon the rising power and influence of armament producers and at the
increasing share of technological research that is performed for the federal
government. He warned the councils of government to "guard against the
acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the
military-industrial complex .....," and to "be alert to the ..... danger
that public policy could itself become the captive of a
scientific-technological elite."

Mr. Eisenhower was concerned that, among other things, "democracy .....
survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of
tomorrow." He urged that "[O]nly an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can
compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of
defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty
may prosper together."

Coming from a former supreme commander of the Allied military forces during
World War II, President Eisenhower's words carry the weight of his
experience. They are also uncomfortably prophetic. Just forty years after
President Eisenhower gave his warning, President Bush proposes to invest
many billions of dollars to achieve military superiority in a new realm,
where there currently is no threat, jeopardizing the economic health of the
nation and creating instability and mistrust in the hearts of other nations.
This will occur unless the citizenry--and its elected representatives--we
members of the House and U.S. Senate--especially us--consider and agree upon
this course of action. Silence does not equal assent. We must talk, and
learn, and consider.

Again, I am admittedly a layman when it comes to high-tech gadgetry on
earth, let alone in space. But it seems to me that we must set aside the
whizbang and drama of lasers and satellites to consider the real, age-old
questions--those that have plagued the great generals throughout time. We
should be taking stock of what we have to gain and what we have to lose by
moving the lines of battle. We must consider whether or not we have the
necessary weapons to protect ourselves and our land before we send our
military into new and vastly different frontiers.

We should assess the real, known threats to our Nation, and gauge whether we
have the weapons and the resources to remain secure, and whether our time,
talent, and treasure would be better spent fending off those most likely
threats or devising new unproven plans of attack and fabulously expensive
means of battle. And we should ponder the awesome responsibility of
militarizing space and then being the world's space cop before we rush
headlong into the twilight zone called national missile defense.

Madam President, I believe that it would be both wise and prudent to back
off just a little bit on the accelerator that is driving us in a headlong
and fiscally spendthrift rush to deploy a national missile defense and to
invest billions into putting weapons in space and building weapons designed
to act in space. That heavy foot on the accelerator is merely the stamp and
roar of rhetoric. The threat does not justify the pace. Our budget
projections cannot support the pace.

Let us continue to study the matter. Let us continue to conduct research.
But the threat, as I say, does not justify the pace at which we are
traveling.

Our budget projections cannot support the pace, so let us slow down a bit,
look at the map, and consider just where this path is taking us.

- ------------------


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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 15:04:13 -0700
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) 9-11solutions: Puthoff on CIA RV, History Channel tonight, 9/27 (Thurs), w/ Hal Puthoff et al, repeats at midnight

CIA RV Program on History Channel, 9/27 (Thurs), 8PM & Midnight EDT/PDT

As the world edges closer to nuclear war with US preparations for a WWIII on
"Islamic terrorists" reportedly in possession of "suitcase nukes" already
smuggled into the United States, the History Channel is tonight airing
repeating key television programs implicating apparently rogue operatives of
the CIA in the Kennedy assasination and more official CIA involvement in
psychic warfare (remote viewing, psi-ops, psi-war, etc) developments which
in part apply knowledge gained by DOE recognized leading American
"Zero-Point Energy" physicist Dr. Hal Puthoff subsequent to publication of
his hard science Nature magazine article in 1974 documenting experiments
with famed Israeli psychic Uri Geller.

The deeper applications of this information relate to correcting the mind of
science and the brutal policies of the United States government, as well as
to ameliorating the inter-religious misunderstandings at the root of the
present global terrorism crisis.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcwilliams/message/120
This "Aviary, Aquarium, and Eshcaton" article names and discusses the
etherial "Aviary" of scientists (including Dr. Hal Puthoff), government
officials and others, in purported collaboration with the head of the CIA
office of Science and Technology, who out of concern for potential public
panic over any hint of US government worry about emerging end-of-the-world
scenarios, utilize a "blind alley" strategy to "inflate the pieces of the
puzzle so the whole picture cannot be seen" as a way to ameliorate potential
public panic.  While primarily discussing the UFO and related CIA remote
viewing and psi-wars issues, this 9pp 1993 article's thesis may be logically
extended to other issues such as secrecy policies relating to the suppressed
new-energy technologies to replace nuclear and fossil fuel power, the
corruption of US politicians and intel agencies whose rogue operatives
facilitate the illegal drug trade (www.copvcia.com), etc.  The protagonist
in this story, a radical Christian activist theologian/physicist named Dan
Smith, is still asking for assistance of a developing network (which he
calls the "Aquarium") of more spiritually minded collaborators to help him
in his efforts to infuse a more balanced spiritual perspective into
government policies via his longtime lobbying efforts and collaboration with
above named CIA office head.   Yesterday, Sept.26, his efforts were referred
to the FBI as "plotting a terrorist attack of some sort, possibly directed
at the Internet" by a member of the email collaboration
list of Dr. Jack Sarfatti who is working to develop more advanced weaponry
instead of appplying his "post quantum physics of consciousness theory" to
the reconciliation of conflicting religious ideologies (www.stardrive.org)

http://www.historychannel.com use "Click here for complete listings"
to access when these and related programs* repeat.


- ----begin forwarded posts/announcement----

From: "Integrity Research Institute, Thomas Valone"
[ new-energy researcher and former patent examiner fired for convening a
Conference on Future Energy after criticism by a UMD physics professor.
Valone says there are 4,000 patents in a vault at US Patent Office
confiscated from inventors and ordered secret including many new-energy
technologies http://users.erols.com/iri ]-dcw
Subject: Fw: History Channel, 9/27 (Thurs), Puthoff et al on CIA RV Program
Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 11:47 AM

From one of the top zero point energy physicists in the world comes an
announcement about a ten-year CIA program that was subjected to a
disinformation report after it ended. Dr. Puthoff was directly involved in
the program.             -T.V.
=====================
- ----- Original Message -----
From: [Hal Puthoff] <Puthoff@>
To: <undisclosed-recipients:>
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 11:16 AM
Subject: History Channel, 9/27 (Thurs), Puthoff et al on CIA RV Program


 According to the History Channel online schedule, "Hidden History:  Psychic
 Espionage" will air at 8pm Eastern time (7pm Central time) on Thursday, 27
 September, and again at 12:00 a.m. on the 28th.

 The program includes interviews with Joe McMoneagle,  Hal Puthoff, Skip
Atwater, and Paul Smith, among others.

 Here's what the History Channel's webpage had to say about this show:

 History Undercover

 *Psychic Espionage

 In 1970, reports leaked out of the Soviet Union about their widespread use
 of ESP, remote-viewing, and other psychic abilities by the military and
 intelligence agencies. The United States quickly began their own top-secret
 research into the paranormal. For over 20 years, the CIA used psychic spies
 in dozens of covert missions. Join us as we step into the world of the
 unknown and meet psychic spies from the CIA, KGB, and spy agencies in Great
 Britain, Poland, Germany, and Israel.

- ---------end forwarded posts----

from

9/27, 8:00PM - 9:00PM *History Undercover,  *Psychic Espionage

9/27, 9:00PM - 10:00PM *The Men Who Killed Kennedy
The Witnesses
If in 1963 there had been an honest investigation of the Kennedy
assassination, we might today know the truth. In the fifth episode,
witnesses help us decide for ourselves--who really killed Kennedy? TV G

*The Men Who Killed Kennedy
http://store.aetv.com/html/catalog/vp02.jhtml?id=17493
Six videotapes including an overview episode "Men Who Killed Kennedy: The
Truth Shall Make You Free", and a five-part video series, a detailed
analysis together totaling 250minutes.

THE MEN WHO KILLED KENNEDY is a balanced, unflinching look at the many loose
ends and troubling facts surrounding the assassination of JFK. Exclusive
interviews with hundreds of people involved, including police and government
officials, point to many problems with the official findings, and
independently conducted studies cast doubt on many of the conclusions of the
Warren Report.

From the mysterious background of Oswald to the schizophrenic behavior of
the Secret Service and FBI, every aspect of the case is examined, and new
evidence exposes the sinister forces behind the brutal murder of JFK.
Watch...and decide for yourself!


*Sworn to Secrecy [related program, check website for schedule of showings]
 *Psychological Warfare
The soldiers who employ "Psy Ops" use every means available to destroy the
will of the enemy to resist. Charlton Heston narrates this look at the
secret tools and techniques of wartime "persuasion". TV G

- ---------end history channel website excerpts

Feedback on above TV shows and suggestions for themes of future programs
perhaps to more deeply explore historical implications of related themes,
may be emailed to the History Channel via
http://www.historychannel.com/feed_back/index.html
where this post has also been copied.

David Crockett Williams, September 27, 2001 (3M-89)**
Science and Technology in Society and Public Policy list moderator
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcwilliams

an American Peace Movement member
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/an-american-peace-movement

**The Third Millennium Project
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/third-millennium-project







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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 19:22:38 -0400
From: John Burroughs <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Sept 11 articles: special edition of LCNP newsletter

A preview edition of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy newsletter
Bombs Away! concerning September 11 related issues is now at
http://lcnp.org/pubs/Bombsaway!SPE01/contents.htm

It contains articles by myself, Peter Weiss, and Saul Mendlovitz concerning
the need and requirement for multilateralism under the UN Charter; the
constraints of humanitarian law; the inapplicability of the concept of
"war"; possible use of a special international tribunal to try suspects
like those used for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia; and the current
status of terrorism treaties and possible developments.



            John Burroughs, Executive Director
            Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy
            211 E. 43d St., Suite 1204
            New York, New York 10017 USA
            tel: [phone] fax: [phone]
            e-mail: [e-mail]
            website: www.lcnp.org
            Part of the Abolition 2000 Global
            Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons


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------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 18:23:54 +0100
From: Sally Light <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) [Fwd: Protesting Use of Nukes and Subcritical Test]

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Subject: Protesting Use of Nukes and Subcritical Test
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 10:49:10 +0900
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Dear Abolitionist friends,

On September 26, Gensuikyo sent the following two letters of
protest to U.S. President Bush on:  (1) The possible use of nuclear
weapons in the imminent U.S. military action, and (2) The planned
"Oboe 8" subcritical nuclear test at Nevada Test Site to be
conducted on September 26.

There will be a protest action over the subcritical test in front of the
U.S. Embassy in Tokyo at 11:30 on September 28.  Members of
Hibakusha organizations and peace groups will take part in the action.

Sally, thank you for your valuable information on the subcritical test.

Rieko Asato
Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Gensuikyo)

- ------------------------------------------------------------------
President George W. Bush
The United States of America
The White House, Washington D.C.
U.S.A.

September 26, 2001

Dear Mr. President,

The terrorist attacks conducted in the USA on Sept. 11 caused a tragedy o=
f
unprecedented degree.  As we expressed in our letter to the Peace Movemen=
ts
of the USA, we have deep sentiment of sympathy to the families and friend=
s
of the victims who lost their lives in the atrocities.  The terrorism, wh=
ich
uses general citizens as targets or means or as both, cannot be justified
for whatever reason.  This crime must be thoroughly investigated and
rigorously tried by law.

We, at the same time, are deeply concerned about such an approach in whic=
h,
from the earliest moment, the current crime has been confused with a =93w=
ar=94,
and the armed retaliation has been made as pre-requisite.  Even if the
terrorist attacks are found to have an international background, the crim=
e
must be handled strictly on the basis of the UN Charter and other
international laws and by legally justified means.  A unilateral military
action by any state or a group of states cannot but generate a new round =
of
vicious circle of violence.

Further, following your recent statement about a possible use of =93all
necessary weapons=94, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld suggested that=
 the
US would not exclude a possible use of nuclear weapons.  These statements
contradict the =93unequivocal undertaking=94 to accomplish the eliminatio=
n of
nuclear weapons, which was agreed upon by the US Administration, and
seriously undermine the credibility of your own government.

We therefore urge you to withdraw all the statements made by you and othe=
r
US officials that have suggested the use of nuclear weapons, and seek a
solution of the problem based on law, reason and the strength of
international opinion, excluding the military retaliation as a means to
address the problem.

Sincerely yours,

Hiroshi Taka
Secretary General

- ---------------------------------------------------

President George W. Bush
The United States of America
The White House, Washington, D.C.
U.S.A.

September 26, 2001

Dear Mr. President,

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Government is going =
to
conduct the "Oboe 8" subcritical nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site on
September 26, the 14th test of this kind.

The abolition of nuclear weapons now represents the common desire of the
people of the world.  Even the US Administration, along with the nuclear
weapons states promised "unequivocally" to eliminate all nuclear arsenals=
 at
the May 2000 NPT Review Conference.  The planned "subcritical" nuclear te=
st
goes against this common will, as well as the spirit of the pledge mentio=
ned
above.  Further, when world opinion is severely denouncing the terrorist
crimes and demanding a world order based on law and reason, rejecting the
vicious cycle of violence, the nuclear test, if conducted, would definite=
ly
cause strong repulsion among the people all over the world.

Together with the people of the world demanding the abolition of nuclear
weapons, we in Japan Gensuikyo urge you to cancel all plans and programs =
of
nuclear tests and nuclear weapons development, including the "Oboe 8", an=
d
to carry out the "undertaking to eliminate nuclear weapons" in a sincere
manner.

Sincerely,

Hiroshi Taka
Secretary General
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo)
2-4-4 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8464 Japan
Tel: [phone]  Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Web Site: http://www.twics.com/~antiatom/
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D



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Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2001 21:27:51 -0700
From: "David Crockett Williams" <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) 911 Nuclear Technologies and the Future of Humanity, Nichidatsu Fujii

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sun-reach/message/3

"The time has come. The time has come when we can no longer
contain the urge to do something, but rush out of our houses.
The time has come to look up to heaven, prostrate ourselves to
earth, to voice our grief, and to share it with everyone" -- Nichidatsu


His associate whom Mahatma Gandhi named "Guruji", revered
teacher, the most venerable Nichidatsu Fujii's spiritual practice
was embraced by Gandhiji who beat the Dharma drum and
chanted the prayer brought from the origin of the sun as described
below while leading the non-violent spiritual-political revolution to
success in India.  Fujii Guruji, as he was known in the West, was
born on August 6, 1885, and experienced his physical demise on
January 9, 1985.  Following the teachings and prophecies in the
Lotus Sutra of Buddha describing the Great Law, The One Law,
he went to India in the 1930's to begin the revival of Buddhism
there in its birthplace where it had become dormant, after receiving
the vision of the Dharma drum during a seven day fasting session
with no food or water or sleep for a full week.  Thereafter he
practiced this walking drum chanting prayer for the rest of his
life which his successors continue in peacewalks around the world
to awaken this innate Great Law in the minds of humankind for the
cause of "Global Peace Now!"  This is the first time that his below
August 6, 1956, speech delivered in Hiroshima, Japan, has
appeared in the English language and it contains a powerful and
synchronistically timely message for these critical times in human
history.  The name Nichidatsu in English is "The Reach of The Sun."
http://www.indiano.org/pagoda  Walks: http://www.dharmawalk.org
Fujii Guruji study group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sun-reach
___________________________________________________



"Nuclear Technologies and the Future of Humanity"

By the Most Venerable Nichidatsu Fujii


The above is the title of Hideki Yukawa's article published in the Arts
and Sciences section of the Asahi Shinbun on June 12.  I would like
to explore and ponder on this title, especially as it relates to the future
of humanity.

According to Hideki Yukawa: "For one, the innate tendency of a
human being is to desire to do whatever it is imagined that can be
done.  With the extension of a rocket's launching distance came plans
to go to the moon or Mars.  With the development of machinery came
the desire not only to substitute them for the functions of human limbs,
but the desire to mechanistically substitute human brain functions.
Today's computers are capable of computing complex calculations
at a speeds of no comparison to human beings."

From time immemorial the process of human growth and development,
starting from birth after leaving a mother's womb, has been
characterized by the adage that says, "parental love looks forward to
the child standing upright when it starts crawling, and to walking when
it starts standing upright." This is not only the hope of parents, but it
also describes the innate developmental process of most infants.
It is true that the tendency of human beings to attempt whatever that
seems possible leads to personal growth as well as to that of the
society. However, as individuals grow and society has developed, the
consumption of alcohol, indulgence in gambling and engaging in fights
have become tempting things that are possible to do. Yet, reckless
indulgence in alcohol, gambling and physical competition creates a
number of harms to the growth of an individual and a society.
Therefore, there arises a need to prohibit this reckless indulgence,
and embracing a moral code is a prerequisite to proper prohibition.

Regardless of whether it is something that might be done simply
because an individual wants to do it, there are some things that should
not ever be done.  This is called Zen, goodness.  On the other hand,
there are bad things that one cannot resist doing.  This is called Aku,
evil. Those things that do not matter either way are called Muki, neither
good nor evil. Distinguishing between these three is an exercise
commonly seen in societies regardless of time and location.  These
are common ideals in societies, and the compilation of such commonly
held concepts in societies constitutes a moral code.  Honorific titles,
such as "saint", "sage" and "person of virtue", are given to those who
actually practice the moral code. Individuals grow harmoniously and
societies show healthy development in an era where the moral code
is upheld. In an era in which the moral code is slighted, ridiculed and
destroyed, individuals become corrupt and societies become chaotic.
Believing in violence as omnipotent is a characteristic of such an era,
and murder and destruction are the skills of the times.  The conditions
of such times are described by Buddhism as "concealment of the
Genuine Law with resultant prevalence of strife and confrontation."
Marital dispute or murders are possible, yet they are to a great extent
prevented by commonly accepted moral ideals of modern societies.

No matter how much advancement takes place in computers and
artificial intelligence, or whether the program to send man to the moon
becomes a reality, they do not particularly give joy or anxiety to the
lives of the general public.  These are matters that are neutral in nature
which are neither good nor evil.  However, we are living in times, when
as a reality, highly advanced science and technology are being
utilized for murder and destruction without fail.  In this case, it is
extremely likely that all of the scientific inventions starting with nuclear
power have become the root cause of a human evil that could commit
diabolic crimes.  Herein lies the curse of the civilization of science.

Neither the moral code nor religious admonishment has found a place
in modern international warfare.  Those who adhere to the moral code
or religious belief are punished and branded traitors.  The only ultimate
judgment in war is who won.  For that matter, once in war it must be won.
It has been common knowledge in war throughout the times that in order
to win, the opponent's fighting force needs to be undermined by killing
and injuring them in greater numbers than your own.   However, at the
end of World War II the United States secured its victory through what
is referred to as "strategic bombing", which culminated in the atomic
bombing of Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The indiscriminate,
instantaneous cruel destruction of the opponent's most vulnerable
civilian population, irrespective of age and gender, and their cities,
brought striking change to how war is fought.  This is the origin of the
greatest fear in war that is common to modern humanity.

Once interested in the use of nuclear weapons, the United States
even after the war dedicated its national resources to an all-out effort
for the production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons.  The magnitude
of the killing and destructive powers of the hydrogen bomb which was
tested at the Bikini atolls this May is said to be equivalent to
approximately five hundred times of that of the nuclear bombs
exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The United States is on a
course in pursuit of the possibility to manufacture bombs with powers
that could be in the thousand-folds, even tens of thousand-folds.
This effort is not limited to the United States.  The Soviet Union and
England are also following suit.  Even though science has progressed
propelled by the simple human urge to attempt whatever that seems
possible, the ultimate calamity of the potential total destruction of
humanity and its civilization is now more and more apparent at the
apex of scientific advancement.

Those who showed the greatest surprise, the greatest fright, the
greatest regret and the greatest emaciation, in light of the appalling
disaster caused by nuclear weapons that could lead to total annihilation,
were the members of the scientific circle that discovered and
manufactured these very nuclear weapons.  This is evidenced firstly
in Albert Einstein's reflection in his last years, and more recently in
the statements issued by Bertrand Russell on July 9th of last year, [1*],
and Lindu (sp) on July 15th the same year.

These repeated keen statements issued by world-renowned learned
men do not appear to be easing the fear of use of nuclear weapons
in the world.  It is because the war plutocracy in Russia, the United
States, England and the like, as well as politicians hired by the
plutocracy and the professional military, want nuclear weapons to be
greater in scale, destruction, and excessively brutal.  They are
exaggerating and applauding the power of nuclear weapons.  Be it
Harry Truman who commanded their use, Douglas McArthur who
came to Japan as the Commander in Chief of the Occupation Force,
or even the general American public, not a trace of repentance is
shown after obtaining knowledge of the catastrophic disaster, the
grave crime against humanity committed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Instead, they hold pride claiming that the atomic bombings were
effective in accelerating the closure of the war.

Hideki Yukawa stated:  "Science can never become a moral code
no matter how much it progresses."  In this regard Albert Einstein
stated: "To a scientist there is only existence.  There is no desire,
valuation, difference or purpose."  Science, economics, politics,
and even war are all either antagonistic to or critical of moral codes
and religious belief in the modern civilization.  Herein lies the dark
side of the modern world. All of modern civilization, including its
science, economics and politics, solely exists to serve worldly values.
Satisfaction of the desires that derive from possessing a physical
body, momentary pleasures and secular happiness, all of which
religion and moral codes strictly restricted in the past, is given the
highest priority.  For this reason, people aimlessly compete in
focusing their efforts on increasing production to fulfill human
desire.  By maintaining such a purely materialistic view of life, that
such fulfillment of desires will rid all social evils and serve to
immediately create a paradise in this world, true religion, ethics
and morals are denied.  Instead, economic production, and moreover,
money, which is a means of exchange, is prized, worshipped and
served as an almighty god on earth. This distorted object of worship
is the subject of devout zeal.  Spiritual inversion gradually takes place
without being noticed, and societies of modern civilization at the
zenith of prosperity are suddenly about to be confronted with the risk
of being reduced to ashes by the flames of an eternal hell.  Modern
civilization's two favorites, the United States, a free nation, and the
Soviet Union, a communist nation, both represent nothing but outright
blunt realities of power.  There is not a hint of ethos that honors
religion and morality, which are the pillars of human ideals.
US expansion of military bases in Okinawa, forceful implementation
of lump sum payment of land rent, compulsory expropriation of former
Japanese military bases such as Sunagawa and Komaki, and the
Soviet Union's forced labor on Japanese prisoners, war tribunes and
the like, are all acts of the greatest barbarity, acts only possible by
those who have lost their perspective on the all encompassing issues
that relate to the mind and spirituality.  Unless the spirit is infused
back to these people, they will come to ignite the conflagration of
annihilation whose escape path is not found in science and technology,
i.e., nuclear technology, economics or politics, which they profess faith
in.

The dreadful calamities of the atomic and hydrogen warfare we fear
are an agony reflective of the disease of inner darkness that will cause
the breakdown of the civilization of science on its own.  Atomic and
hydrogen warfare is divine retribution on us, human beings who lead
immoral social lives. Atomic and hydrogen warfare is the great fire
into which we human beings who lead faithless lives will inevitably fall.
Hideki Yukawa grieves and states: "When we think this way we are
tempted to despair.  However, there is no need for despair yet.
Not a single religion, or any doctrine worthy of faith and
acknowledgement by many people, affirms mutual mass killing,
much less an act of humanity's self-destruction." Hideki Yukawa's
despair is well founded. It has the ring of the funeral sounding of a
temple gong that one hopes will lay to rest the last days of the
civilization of science, the "modern civilization", which is also referred
to as the civilization of the West or the civilization of machines.

Everything that relates to the civilization of science must now step
down from the leadership position in our societies.  Should the
civilization of science continue to take lead, there is no other course
that could be found but self-destruction of the human race.  The only
thing that could emerge in the latter half of the twentieth century to
replace the civilization of science to avert the great catastrophe of
the annihilation of humanity is the spiritual civilization. This is the
super theoretical conclusion that he, who is a scientist himself,
finally arrived at.  It is a direct and realistic remedy that does not
require rationalization or justification.

The motto at the beginning of the modern civilization was "liberty,
equality and fraternity." Among these three, the love of humankind
denoted by "fraternity" is not found anywhere in science, economics
or politics. There is no room for this fraternity to exist where religion
and morality are denied.  Here, equality is a demand of liberty by
the majority who are ruled by the minority.  Thus, the modern
civilization is characterized by its intent pursuit and assertion of
"freedom".  Science has also developed to liberate humanity from
constraints on freedom.  Every idea in politics and economics,
which were influenced by the trend of liberalism, were asserted to
make adherents free from the restrictions posed by religion and
morality.

The single term of "freedom" is regarded as a sacred maxim that
surpasses morality and religion.  In the realm called freedom,
freedom to do good is discarded due to its association with morality
and religion.  The freedom to assert and do evil is considered to be
true freedom.  The greater scope of freedom that is released from
restrictions of morality and religion is nothing more than sophistry
that increases vice in the human world.

Whether it is science and technology or politics and economics, they
are in the end applied to suit the wishes and objectives of man.  The
more distant our wishes and aims become from the constraints of
morality and religion, the more we are then absorbed in the pursuit
of beastly desires, physical pleasures, comfort, indulgence, power
and fame.

If we, modern humanity, call ourselves civilized and pride ourselves
in the power of science and technology, we will concurrently risk
regressing back to the greatest savage.  Nuclear warfare is the
epitome of unprecedented savagery not only in the human history of
wars, but also in the history of struggle among living creatures of the
world.

In chapter sixteen of the Lotus Sutra, the Eternal Life of the Tathagata,
delivered by Lord Sakyamuni Buddha at Mt. Gridhrakuta (Divine
Vulture Peak) in Rajagriha of the ancient Magadha Kingdom in India,
the World Honored One preached on the aspects of this predicted
"modern age", the evil "Era of the Decline of the Genuine Law", which
was to come far in the future, and he left a teaching showing the way
out of the current situation:

"Even when all the living see, at the kalpa's end,
 The conflagration when it is burning,
 Tranquil is this realm of mine
 Ever filled with celestial beings
 Parks, and many places with every kind of gem adorned
 Precious trees full of blossoms and fruits
 Where all creatures take their pleasure;
 All the gods strike the heavenly drums
 And ever more make music,
 Showering mandarara flowers
 On the Buddha and his great assembly.
 My Pure Land will never be destroyed,
 Yet all view it as being burned up,
 And grief and horror and distress
 Fill them all like this."

The import of this passage is that we human beings have ourselves
created an accursed time of potential annihilation of humanity.  The
potential disaster of the annihilation of humanity is not the Deluge,
but rather the sutra prophesizes that it is the conflagration whose
flame from eternal hell reaches us reducing everything on earth to
ashes.  No one until now believed that a conflagration that engulfs
the entire world could ever occur.  But, are not today's new weapons,
the atomic and hydrogen bombs, precisely that?

There is a single gate open for us to escape from the calamity of this
conflagration.  That is to dispel the delusion of the military and the
politicians who view all of the triple worlds, i.e., the heavens, earth
and underwater, as battlefields for murder and destruction.  Instead,
we are to believe that this very world we live in is essentially a sacred
Pure Land, where the practice of the Dharma brings pleasure, and
everything we produce can become gems to adorn our land, such as
gardens, parks, temples and pavilions.  In this Pure Land the
Enlightened World Honored One, the people who listen to Him preach,
and the golden words of the Dharma are all equally revered.  We must
make this very world of ours such a solemn ceremonial ground where
flowers are always offered.  To practice the Bodhisattva work
of creating the Pure Land with faith in the eternal presence of the Lord,
without ever leaving this world of ours, and to believe in the intrinsic
existence of the Pure Land are the ultimate and fundamental aims that
can be undertaken by human beings.  Religions in general encourage
devoted practice in pursuit of a noble and supreme goal with a view
toward eternal life without departing from our reality as a physical
existence.  This is the great vow of the Eternal Sakyamuni Buddha,
The World Honored One, expounded in the chapter of the Eternal Life
of the Tathagata of the Lotus Sutra:

 "At all times making this my thought:
 'How shall I cause all the living
 To enter the Way supreme
 And speedily accomplish their buddhahood?' "

To this end, the Buddha laid down different precepts in varying
degrees as passive laws, out of the wish to encourage people to take
actions that are valuable to life.  The teachings of the four great vows
of a bodhisattva and the six Haramitsu, [2*], (Sat paramita: six kinds
of practice by which bodhisattvas are able to attain enlightenment)
were taught as affirmative laws. In a letter (by Maha Bodhisattva
Nichiren) in response to Saemon-no-jo, he states:

"Life is the greatest treasure to all sentient beings.  Those who
deprive it will inevitably fall into the three evil worlds.  This is why
Cakra-varti-raja (Wheel-Rolling Saint King) listed the precept of
non-killing first among the Ten Good Deeds, why the precept of
non-killing is listed at the beginning of the Five Precepts laid down
by the Buddha, why it is listed first among the Ten Precepts of the
Mahayana Brahmajala sutra, and why the chapter of the Eternal Life
of the Tathagata is dedicated entirely to Sakyamuni Buddha's virtue
of practicing the precept of non-killing. Accordingly, the Buddhas of
the Triple World shall forsake those who commit killing, and Devahs
(gods) for the Six Heavens of the World of Desire will not lend their
protection."

If today's politicians were able to believe that the precept of non-killing
is an objective truth and a sacred act of man that holds value,
murderous machines like nuclear weapons would have never been
produced.  Even if they were to be produced they would not have
been used in war.  Furthermore, if people had not dismissed the
precept of non-killing like a torn sandal, there would have been no
room for manipulation by the architects of war. The only salvation in
the modern time is to believe and accept that the precept of non-killing
is what has transcendent value.  Hideki Yukawa has finally come to
this realization.  However, how can this awareness be brought about
and create a resonance in the hearts and minds of the people?

This is where spirituality comes in.  The answer is not found in science.

Distorted views cause the truth of the precept of non-killing to be
negated, despised and dismissed.  A misguided sense of freedom
leads to competition, which leads to victory or defeat, which leads
to the incorporation of the law of the jungle into human societies.
Even the act of murder is given moral justification, and wars are
inspired with religious overtones. Recently we are once again
hearing terms such as "European Crusades." This is what is causing
our societies to be at a risk of being burnt by the bloody flames of war.
Science lies at the root of the distorted views towards life.  The theory
of evolution is such an example.   In Buddhism this is called Kenjyoku
(misled views towards life creating confusion in the minds of men and
causing corruption and social disorder).  Then how would the
civilization of science be able to have faith in and accept the precept
of non-killing?  It is no wonder that those who believe and accept the
path of the Buddha become gentle, straightforward and honest, and
lead peaceful social lives.  The history of peace that prevailed in
Japan from the reign of Crown Prince Shoutoku until the end of the
Nara period stands as its evidence.  Those who do not believe and
accept the Way of the Buddha, those who resent and harbor grudges
and even bloodthirsty killers who only seek strife, must be transformed
through the Way.  This is the kind of deliverance that is required by
the modern times. In the chapter of the Eternal life of the Tathagata
of the Lotus Sutra it says:

 "I know always which living beings
 Practice the way, and which do not,
 And in response to their need for salvation
 I expound the most appropriate Law."

How can we dispel the delusions of those who do not practice the
Way of the Buddha or who by choice or ignorance violate the
precept of non-killing or who do not practice offering? In the
Kannjinn-honzon-sho (by Maha Bodhisattva Nichiren) it says:

"We are now at the beginning of the Era of Declined Law
when Hinayana adherents attack Mahayana doctrines
and provisional Mahayana believers denounce the true
Mahayana teachings.  East is mistaken for West, and
the heavens and earth are turned upside down.  The four
ranks of bodhisattvas of the theoretical teaching of the Lotus
sutra are gone, and all the gods have deserted the country
and no longer lend it protection.  At this very time the
Bodhisattvas of the Earth appear in the world for the first time
to administer the superb medicine of the five characters "Myo
Ho Ren Ge Kyo" to the unenlightened people in the Era of
Declined Law.  This is what is meant by "even if they
revile the true teachings and fall into the evil paths, they
thereby create the causes for eventual attainment of Buddhahood."

Inversion of the heavens and earth is the state of the Era of Declined Law.
Because the Buddha would "cause perverted beings, though they
are near, not to see," a state of perversion is created where people
lose sight of the true savior, the entity which should be the sacred
object of faith, and instead worship money which initially was nothing
more than a means of trade, as God on earth. Thereby an aberration
is seen as if people are ruled by money. Finally, in the stage of
financial capitalism, individuals, the state and even the world are
chained down by money, and true freedom is lost.  The reason why
Japan has no choice but to follow the United States is due to the
shackles of financial capitalism.  Workers have become slaves to
machines; capitalists have become slaves to the pursuit of profit.
Everyone in civilized societies has been turned into slaves.  The
sweet wine of civilization brought about the vagary of such aberration.
The modern civilization at this time is secreting poison and is thrashing
around in agony.  The superb medicine kept by Lord Sakyamuni
Buddha specifically for the Era of Declined Law is the five or seven
characters of Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.  The Lotus Sutra says:

"This superb medicine I now leave here.
 You may take it and have no fear of not being better."

If we were to simply chant Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo without
adhering to the precept of non-killing or practicing the Dana paramita
(offerings) how could that possibly make us buddhas or transform
the world into a Pure Land?  This is a question that would naturally
come to anyone's mind.  The answer is, all we need to do is chant
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo.  We must chant Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
for those to hear who do not chant it.  We must constantly chant
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo with great compassion and without
neglect for those who close their mouth and cover their ears and
refuse to chant or hear it.  In the letter to Sogaya-nyudo, Maha
Bodhisattva Nichiren says:

"We are at the Era of Declined Law when those who
had the opportunity to receive the teachings of Lord Buddha
during his time have gradually declined. The people with
aptitudes to seek salvation through both Lord Buddha's
expedient and genuine teachings are now no longer.  It is now
time for the Bodhisattva Who Never Despises (Sadaparibhuta)
to emerge in the Era of Decline Law and beat the poisonous drum."

The people who are addicted to civilization abhor the voice chanting
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo and the beat of the drum of the Great Law
because they perceive them as poisonous. For this reason they
slander Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo and hold the sound of the
Dharma drum in contempt. Those who chant the Odaimoku
(Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo) and beat the Dharma drum are resented,
abused and struck. This is the time when the three formidable
adversaries, [3*], of the practitioners of the Lotus sutra compete in
their attacks.  It takes extraordinary compassion to beat the
poisonous drum while persevering the attacks of these three
daunting enemies. Because of the expansive compassion of
Maha Bodhisattva Nichiren I have been able to chant
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo. Lord Sakyamuni Buddha's merit of
practicing the bodhisattva way leading to Buddhahood, as well as
His teachings and deliverance of all sentient beings since His
attainment of Buddhahood, have altogether been bundled in the
five characters, Myo, Ho, Ren, Ge, Kyo, out of His immense
compassion. This is my religious belief.

Even those with distorted views will not be able to find room for
argument on the universal salvation brought about to sentient beings
in this world by the golden voice of the Sakyamuni Buddha over the
vast expansion of time. The voices reciting and maintaining sutras
heard in the mornings and evenings from the altars of households
are the peaceful guiding light in the spiritual lives of the people.
The five characters of Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo represent the ultimate
teaching among all the teachings delivered by Sakyamuni Buddha
throughout his 50 years of life in this world.  They are the original
purpose of the Buddhas of the past, present and future appearing
in this world.  Then how could Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo not cure
the spiritual ailment of the Era of Declined Law?  The efficacy of this
superb medicine is obvious.  The diagnosis of the symptom of human
aberration proved true.  Furthermore, the Bodhisattvas of the Earth
who have been entrusted to spread the Genuine Law to bring
deliverance in the Era of Declined Law have already emerged.
The single word of Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo is the one and only
promise made to the human world to rescue it from the collapse of
civilization.

Be it the precept of non-killing or the Dana Paramita (practice of
offering), these syllables themselves cannot bring deliverance to
individuals or societies.  These syllables alone are not that different
from the syllables of legal articles.  Neither the precept of non-killing
nor the Dana Paramita is a constraint on form, but is rather a spiritual
act.  This is known as Kaitai (spiritual essence of precepts).  This is
why Kaitai is also referred to as Muhyoshiki (non-manifest matter),
[4*], or Musa (natural state of being), [5*].  Expression through form
consisting of three categories of action, i.e., deeds, words and
thought, is required to induce the spiritual essence of precepts,
which is an inherent existence that cannot be seen.

Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo is the Kaitai of the Buddhas of the past,
present and future. The Lotus Sutra states:  "Such a one is named
precept-keeper." Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo is the Kaitai through
which all people can attain buddhahood. It also states,

"This person shall in the Way of the Buddha
  Be resolved and have no doubts."

Maha Bodhisattva Nichiren taught that Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
is neither in essence just a word nor its meaning, but it is the
essential core of the Lotus Sutra as a function of the mind.
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo is the embodiment of the Buddha's
essence of precepts that is at a constant state of nirvana, condensed
into a single word of mystery given to the human world.  Through the
visible act of enunciating Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, the
non-manifest essence of Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo is induced.
This is the reason why we can have faith in the attainment of our
buddhahood as well as transforming this very world of ours to a land
of tranquility, the Pure Land.

Whether it is the highly advanced science and technology, or the
politics and economics of liberalism or communism that employs
science and technology, the way to prevent humanity from
self-destruction is not found in any of these doctrines advocated,
or in any of the new weapons they produce.  The pathway to prevent
humanity from self-destruction can only be found in the moral code
and religion, which are deemed superfluous and are cast aside as
antiquated by the modern civilization. But it is religious belief that
has the power to purify and transform even the evils that cannot
be restrained by the moral code.

Science and technology led to the discovery of the atomic and
hydrogen bombs and a democratic nation used them for murder
and warfare. This has become a subject of major international
debate as to its being right or wrong. After World War II, the
United States invited Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of
India to speak. In his address Nehru stated that what India wishes
to tell the American people with great pride is that India will not
produce or use atomic and hydrogen bombs. The production and
use of atomic and hydrogen bombs are a great disgrace to
human civilization.  The moral code will criticize this as an indelible
disgrace on the United States.

The Supreme Soviet, which is the governing body of the Soviet Union,
recently announced its support for the resolution calling for a ban on
testing atomic and hydrogen bombs by the Japanese parliament.
The British Prime Minister subsequently expressed similar views.
American presidential candidate Stevenson announced several
months ago that the United States should resolutely engage in a
unilateral ban on nuclear testing and call on the Soviet Union and
Great Britain to follow suit.  The current administrations of the
United States and Japan are still dreaming of the virtues of nuclear
weapons and are in opposition to the ban on their testing.

As this shows, it is clear that the conception of nuclear warfare is
closely linked to the moral code transcending victory or defeat in war.
The moral code is a practical rule. Whether this rule is adhered to or
not is ultimately determined by the action or non-action of the
non-manifest Kaitai of the precept of non-killing hidden deep within
our minds.  We need to recognize that while morals and religion
exist in different spheres they share the same life.  Religious belief
is not a personal matter as claimed by those who advocate
communism.  It is a great beacon that illuminates the darkness of
the modern civilization.  Religion's purification of the mind through
transformation of evil transcends the merits of doctrines. This brings
about the fundamental prohibition of murder itself, which is the
greatest tragedy of all tragedies in the human world.  This fundamental
prohibition of murder is the basis for an ultimate civilization of humanity,
which has never been given heed by science, economics or politics.
This fundamental prohibition of murder is the major issue that extends
throughout and beyond politics, economics and science. This is the
ultimate issue that must be addressed in order to deliver humanity
from its otherwise potential extinction.

Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo   August 6, 1956


Footnotes

[*1] Issued in London, July 9, 1955, The Russell-Einsten Manifesto
appealing for the renunciation of war itself in order to avert human
extinction, written by Bertrand Russell, signed by nine Nobel Prize
winners including Hideki Yukawa and Albert Einstein, asks: "Shall
we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?"
http://www.pugwash.org/about/manifesto.htm

[*2] Paramita refers to the crossing over from this shore of birth and
death to the other shore of nirvana.  Frequently the practices leading
to this objective are themselves termed Haramitsu. The six paramita
are the practice of offering (dana), observance of precepts,
perseverance of insult and persecution, devotion, meditation (dhyana)
and to shed light on truth (prajna).

[*3] The Three Formidable Enemies:  Arrogance of those in the lay
world, including state power; Arrogance of those among the clergy;
Arrogance of exulted sages -- all of which through perversion
persecute those who practice the Genuine Law.

[*4] Muhyoshiki:  Avijnapti-rupa. According to Buddhist traditions,
when a vow to preserve the precepts of the Buddha is made,
certain invisible dharma is produced in the body, which is
instrumental in keeping the precepts and eschewing evil.
It is termed non-manifest because it cannot be seen.

[*5]  Musa:  Not being produced by conditions, the natural state of
being. According to the Tendai school of Buddhism, all
phenomenological matters exist "as they are" and are not produced.

________________________
Translated by Yumiko Miyazaki from the original Japanese between
September 1-28, 2001, proofreading by David Crockett Williams.
This translation was prepared as an offering to honor the
November 3, 2001, dedication of the Lumbini Stupa in Lumbini,
Nepal, the birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha over 2500 years ago.



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