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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai
3 International (SGI), a global association of lay Buddhists with
4 more than 12 million members in 192 countries, including 5,000
5 in the State of Illinois, has been a pioneer in
6 citizen-diplomacy and has courageously pursued efforts to
7 build a culture of peace through active engagement in
8 grassroots dialogue; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda has spent the past 40 years
10 tirelessly engaging in more than 1,500 dialogues for peace with
11 such noted world leaders as historian Dr. Arnold Toynbee,
12 former South African President Nelson Mandela, former Soviet
13 Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, former U.S. Secretary of
14 State Henry Kissinger, and civil rights leader Rosa Parks, in
15 order to demonstrate how the power of one person's
16 determination to build a culture of peace can change the
17 destiny of all humankind; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda established the Soka education
19 system, including the Soka University of America in California,
20 Soka University in Japan, and the Soka school system in several
21 countries around the world to provide an educational
22 environment that prepares youth to become global leaders
23 skilled in dialogue and diplomacy, and motivated by compassion

 

 

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1 for humanity and the planet; and
 
2     WHEREAS, SGI members in Illinois follow Dr. Ikeda's example
3 by working to foster the development of youth and contribute to
4 peace, culture, and education within their respective
5 communities; therefore, be it
 
6     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
7 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
8 congratulate Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai
9 International, on the occasion of his 82nd birthday and
10 designate January 2, 2010 as "Daisaku Ikeda Day" in the State
11 of Illinois for his efforts to promote peace and for teaching
12 by example that the key to a contributive and happy life is to
13 live with courage and hope; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to Dr. Daisaku Ikeda as a symbol of our esteem and
16 respect.