For our first episode of the year, we are taking a moment to reflect on 2023 as a start to the new year. Dialogue Studio host Lillian Koizumi invites her colleagues Anri Tanabe and Preandra Noel to share their takeaways and learnings from the Center’s 30th anniversary year. They also discuss what continues to give them hope and what building cultures of peace means to them.    Music attribution: Podcast Music To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]

This month, we are wrapping up our special 30th anniversary series where we unpack themes from Daisaku Ikeda’s 1993 Harvard address, “Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first Century Civilization.” In this final episode of the year, our host Lillian explores the theme of dialogue and dignity with renowned scholar Dr. Donna Hicks. In their conversation, Lillian asks Dr. Hicks about the role of dignity in engaging in genuine dialogue; the challenge of having dialogue with those who violate our dignity; how Dr. Hicks continues to maintain hope in her work in the face of an epidemic of indignity in our world; and much more.    Dr. Hicks is an Associate at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. She is a leading expert in Dignity and Conflict Resolution and has worked extensively in areas of conflict around the world for several decades. She was a consultant to the British Broadcasting Company where she co-facilitated encounters between victims and perpetrators of the Northern Irish conflict with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. You can read her full bio on her website: https://drdonnahicks.com/    To learn more about Dr. Hicks’ work on dignity, check out her two books:  Dignity: It’s Essential Role in Resolving Conflict: https://drdonnahicks.com/books/dignity/  Leading with Dignity: How to Create a Culture That Brings Out the Best in People: https://drdonnahicks.com/books/leading-with-dignity/    Music attribution: Podcast Music To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]   

This month, we continue our special 30th anniversary series where we unpack themes from Daisaku Ikeda’s 1993 Harvard address, “Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first Century Civilization.” In this episode, our host Lillian dives into the theme of human restoration with two Ikeda Center Youth Committee members Kip Clark and Yuko Tsuji. In their dialogue, Lillian invites Kip and Yuko to share reflections on the Center’s recent Dialogue Nights event in August which explored Mr. Ikeda’s perspective on the restoration of humanity. They discussed whether they believe that our humanity can be restored; how we lost our humanity along the way; and what it will take to restore it at this crucial time in our world. In his lecture, Mr. Ikeda writes “The function of the Buddha nature is always to encourage us to be strong, to be good, to be wise; the message is always one of human restoration.” Kip is a podcast producer, improv actor and data analyst who believes that we would all benefit from more sincere, vulnerable conversation and cooperative worldviews. And Yuko is currently pursuing her masters in social work at Boston College. When she's not doing school work (which is all the time) she enjoys watching anime, eating vegetables, trying new types of sriracha sauce, and hand washing her clothes.    Music attribution: Podcast Music To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

In this episode, host Lillian I speaks with two friends of the Ikeda Center, Angie Lu and Sakshi Khurana, about the timely theme of interdependence. Angie is completing her Master of Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Sakshi is a Research & Teaching Fellow at Harvard University and a doctoral candidate in Value-Creating Education for Global Citizenship at DePaul University. Both Angie and Sakshi are regular attendees of the Center’s Dialogue Nights event series. In their dialogue, Lillian invites them to share what interdependence means to them, how this concept has changed the way they interact with others, and how they think the world would be different if more people lived with a deeper understanding of interdependence.    Music attribution: Podcast Music To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]   

In the episode, host Lillian I speaks with Dr. Bernice Lerner about her riveting book, All the Horrors of War: A Jewish Girl, a British Doctor, and the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen. In their conversation, Dr. Lerner reflects on the experience of writing about her mother’s Holocaust experience, how she sees her writing as an important vehicle for teaching about peace and justice, the transformative power of sharing our stories, as well as her perspectives on Mr. Ikeda’s notion of the greater self.  Dr. Lerner is the author of All the Horrors of War and other writings on the Holocaust and on virtue ethics. She is the former dean of adult learning at Hebrew College, former lecturer on the Holocaust at Boston University, and a senior scholar at Boston University’s Center for Character and Social Responsibility. If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Lerner and her book All The Horrors of War, you can visit her website here: https://www.bernicelerner.com/. You can also tune into her other talks here: https://www.bernicelerner.com/press.   This episode launches a special, multi-part series exploring themes from Mr. Ikeda’s 1993 Harvard lecture, Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first Century Civilization. Stay tuned for our next episode on the theme of interdependence.   Music attribution: Podcast Music To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

Welcome back to another year of the Dialogue Studio! On September 24, 1993, Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder, and educator Daisaku Ikeda gave a lecture at Harvard University titled, Mahayana Buddhism and Twenty-first Century Civilization. On the same day, he established our Center as a tangible commitment to the spirit behind his talk. In celebration of our 30th anniversary, we will be unpacking themes from this lecture throughout the year in the Dialogue Studio.    In this episode, host Lillian I speaks with Ikeda Center Executive Director Kevin Maher about the significance of the Center’s 30th anniversary; how the themes from Mr. Ikeda’s 1993 Harvard lecture have informed the mission and work of the Center over the years; as well as Kevin’s vision for the future of the Center.   Read Mr. Ikeda 1993 lecture here:  https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/lect/lect-04.html    Music attribution: Podcast Music   To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

In this final episode of 2022, Dialogue Studio host Lillian I speaks with two Ikeda Center youth committee members Anna Liao and Mary Schletzbaum about their experience participating in the 2022 Ikeda Forum, “Our Stories Matter: Dialogue As a Way of Knowing, Being, and Becoming.” Together, they reflect on their key takeaways from the forum, including the power and importance of sharing our personal stories, how to attend to each other’s story, and much more.   Read about the 2022 Ikeda Forum here:  https://www.ikedacenter.org/events/ikeda-forum/2022-stories    Music attribution: “The Falls”, "Kitten", Peas Corps” Podington Bear Soundofpicture.com    To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]   

In this episode, Dialogue Studio host Lillian I speaks with two doctoral students who participated in the 2022 Global Citizens Seminar at the Ikeda Center: Jonathan Jacob of Brandeis University and Olivia Fitzpatrick of Harvard University (their full bios are below). During the discussion, they reflect on their experience participating in the seminar; what dignity and agency looks like in their respective research; the role dialogue plays in their work and personal life; and more.      Jonathan Jacob is a doctoral student pursuing a joint degree in Social Policy and Sociology at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. His research interests include issues of labor, social inequality, and culture. Jon’s current research examines the inverse relationship between the usefulness of certain jobs and their pay in modern capitalist societies, and focuses on developing a metric to assess the social value of work. Prior to joining the Heller School, Jon worked as a high school educator in Los Angeles County.   Olivia Fitzpatrick (she/her) is a clinical psychology doctoral candidate in the Lab for Youth Mental Health at Harvard University. She originally hails from Ohio and received her B.A. in psychology and public health from the Ohio State University in 2017. Prior to joining the lab, Olivia managed a research program and urgent care clinic at UCLA designed to disseminate brief interventions for adolescents at risk for suicidal behavior.   Read about the Global Citizens Seminar here: https://www.ikedacenter.org/events/scholar-student-seminars/global-cit-2-aug-22    Music attribution: “The Falls”, "Golden Hour", Peas Corps” Podington Bear Soundofpicture.com    To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected] 

This month, we are joined by Dr. Melissa Bradford who is a Professional Lecturer in the Department of Leadership, Language and Curriculum at DePaul University. She teaches educational leadership, research methods, and value-creating education and directs the Internship Program for Principal, Superintendent, General and Higher Education Leadership Preparation. In 2008, she founded Tallgrass Sudbury School in Riverside, IL and currently serves as the president of its board of directors. Melissa was also a past fellow in the Ikeda Center’s Education Fellows Program. In this episode, host Lillian I talks with Melissa about her personal journey with dialogue; insights from her research on Daisaku Ikeda’s philosophical perspectives and practice of value-creative dialogue; what it means to have a dialogic disposition; the importance of dialogue today, and much more.    Music attribution: “The Falls”, "Kitten", Peas Corps” Podington Bear Soundofpicture.com    To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]   

In this episode of the Dialogue Studio, host Lillian I welcomes back her colleagues, Anri Tanabe and Preandra Noel, to discuss some of their necessary ingredients for genuine dialogue. In their conversation, they also examine some key foundations of successful dialogue emphasized by Mr. Ikeda. In addition, they explore the connection between dialogue and peace considering the current moment we are in.    Here’s a write-up on our recent virtual Dialogue Nights where we discussed the ingredients of dialogue with youth in our community: https://www.ikedacenter.org/events/dialogue-nights/may-2022   Read about Mr. Ikeda’s Foundations of Dialogue here: https://www.ikedacenter.org/thinkers-themes/themes/dialogue/ikeda-four-foundations    Music attribution: “The Falls”, "Kitten", “Golden Hour”, Peas Corps” Podington Bear Soundofpicture.com    To learn more about the Ikeda Center, visit ikedacenter.org or email us at [email protected]