Pete Shimazaki Doktor, Rev. Tatsuo Muneto, Helen Jaccard, Dr. Seiji Yamada, Bishop Eric Matsumoto, and David Atcheson — speakers, panelists, and emcee at the Golden Rule event on 11/23/19.
Photo courtesy Helen Jaccard.
Over 40 people attended a presentation on November 23 about the Golden Rule historic peace boat and its mission to advance Veterans For Peace opposition to nuclear weapons and war. The boat, moored for now at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Waikiki, is the same one that in 1958 attempted to disrupt nuclear testing by sailing for the Marshall Islands. The crew at that time was intercepted, arrested, and jailed in Honolulu — contributing to public awareness and outrage that helped produce the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.
The core of the event was remarks by Golden Rule Project Manager Helen Jaccard and a screening of a 10-minute film entitled Making Waves: Rebirth of the Golden Rule. The short film is available to view on the Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project website and a longer version is available on Vimeo.
Attendees and speakers participate in the Q&A portion of the program. Photo by David Atcheson. Click image to enlarge.
Also speaking was Rev. Tatsuo Muneto, whose career as a Hongwanji minister spanned 50 years. His hometown was Hiroshima, Japan at the time of the nuclear bombing. Muneto-sensei recalls seeing the construction of the Phoenix of Hiroshima, an eventual sister ship to the Golden Rule, in the early 1950s.
Dr. Seiji Yamada, a medical doctor with a master’s in public health, gave a slide presentation informed in part by his experiences treating Marshallese suffering from radiation exposure due to U.S. nuclear testing. He provided insights into the lives of Marshallese and their continuing challenges. Dr. Yamada argued that our energies should be put into preventing nuclear war rather than preparing for it with ballistic missile defense systems that he contends would endanger us more.
Honpa Hongwanji speakers also included Bishop Eric Matsumoto for opening and closing aspirations; Pete Shimazaki Doktor of Jikoen Hongwanji, co-founder of two chapters of Veterans for Peace, who joined the panel during Q&A; and Committee on Social Concerns Committee member David Atcheson, who served as emcee.
A thread running through the event was awareness of Hawaiian history and current realities and struggles. The event opened with an oli, pule, and blessing by Dr. Haaheo Guanson. The emcee connected the histories of Hongwanji temple forebears, the events of the 1893 overthrow, and the voyages of the original Golden Rule as exemplifying how history lives in the present. The thread carried over into the Q&A with heartfelt questions, expressions, and responses.
Following a Q&A with the speakers, Helen Jaccard led attendees in singing “The Ballad of the Phoenix and the Golden Rule” by Michael Stern (audio file).
Each person had the opportunity to add their own message of peace to a banner that will go aboard the Golden Rule all the way to Japan in time for the 75th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (August 2020).
Attendees added their own messages of peace to a banner that will accompany the Golden Rule crew to Japan in 2020. Click image to enlarge. Photo courtesy Helen Jaccard.
Joining Hawaii Betsuin and Veterans For Peace Golden Rule Project in co-sponsoring the event were Honpa Hongwanji’s Committee on Social Concerns, Office of Buddhist Education, and Honolulu Hongwanji Council. Co-sponsors also included BDK Hawaii, Hawaii Association of International Buddhists, The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii, and Sunrise Ministry Foundation.
– David Atcheson
See also a similar report that appears on the VFP Golden Rule website and a front-page Star-Advertiser article about the Golden Rule.