"Nazi Did Not Invent the Swastika!”
- Swastika has been used as a peaceful symbol for over 2,000 years in many parts of the world -
Here is a interview by Japanese web news - "News Op-ed." It is about 5 minutes (I talked about my book from 3.30), but basically all in Japanese. You may try your Japanese ability.
The first part is the Vesak celebration by the Buddhist Council of New York. The interview part was taken at Chogyesa Korean temple where I teach Dharma class once a month.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bzbn63PiQeyRaUQzb1lEWGJXbGM
I am grateful for Japanese media to include my new book in the interview. Though I originally wrote this book in English, I was able to publish Japanese version earlier in 2013. It is not a controversial issue in Japan. So it was not much trouble to publish it. The book has received nice reviews in Japan.
However here in America, the swastika has to be evil, unfavored and taboo. That is one of the big reasons that I could not find a publisher. In fact, I worked with one well-known publisher for 8 months with three editors but at the last stage one of the board members strongly opposed to publish my book. I can guess why. The publisher did not tell me who opposed and reasons why my book was refused, even all the editors were ready to publish it.
This is what I expected to happen somewhere in my mind. Why we cannot talk about the truth? It is a simple fact that the swastika has been used as a peaceful symbol for over 3,000 years in many parts of the world. Nazi did not invent the swastika symbol. What stops revealing true facts of the swastika, and pushes the illusive fact of the swastika symbol?
One of the big problems in our world today, I feel, is that many political leaders try to control the people based upon their ego and their own profits, gathering convenient facts, not based upon the truth. They even created false fact, and manipulate the truth- it looks like the truth, but not really. This applies to the swastika symbol today in the west. At least I felt a lot of pressures to tell the true facts of the swastika symbol in America.
There is one another point that I want to draw your attention. IF one steals something, he/she should return it in the same way it was before, with a possible apology. For me it is simply a manner. In the case of swastika, who stole the swastika symbol? Who defiled the symbol? Why original swastika was blamed, instead of apologizing? Isn't it time for the western society to return the symbol where it should belong?
In any case, let us be always mindful to the truth and try not to be deceived by the false, so we do not live our lives, based on delusion, but the truth. I am sure my book will be a real challenge to your understandings of the swastika symbol. You will see how little you understand the universal peaceful symbol.
Peace,
TK
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