Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 272

PROGRAM D
Monday, December 7, 2009
Homi Dhalla holds an MA from Harvard and a PhD from Mumbai University. He has represented the Parsi community at various international conferences, focusing on issues of peace, ecology, human rights and interreligious dialogue. He was awarded the Mother Teresa National Award for Interfaith Harmony in 2007. As the Founder-President of the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation, Homi has initiated various cultural projects for the Parsi community.
Jaina Doctrine of Ahimsa
and Sustainable Living
Dr Raksha Shah
Munishree Lokesh
Kirit C Daftary
Room 208
Panel Discussion
The Jaina doctrine of Ahimsa is gradually attracting the attention of the people of the world in the wake of the current environmental and ecological crises. Ahimsa-the Jaina concept of nonviolence-stresses not only abstinence from all forms of physical violence but also expects an individual to avoid disharmony or discomfort that would cause pain and misery to any creature on earth. This presentation will explain the Jaina doctrine of Ahimsa as a broad concept of nonviolence that encompasses thought, action, and word, and whose perspective considers more than the immediate consequences of one's actions. The presenters will show how Ahimsa forms a single foundation for various concepts such as human rights and environmental sustainability.
Dr Raksha Shah is a visiting lecturer at the University of Mumbai, where she was recently awarded a PhD. She is a Jain scholar who represented India at the Parliament of World's Religions in Barcelona in 2004 and at the Monterrey Mexico Conference in 2007. She is a naturopath and freelance journalist who has received three 'Best Journalist' awards. She is the editor of the Jain Newsletter, Jain Prakash', and a committee member of JAINA Shri Virchand Raghavji Gandhi Memorial Committee. His Holiness Munishree Lokesh, a world-renowned poet, teacher, diplomat and spiritual leader, was born in Pachpadra Nagar, India. At the age of 22, he renounced the world and received Diksha from Late Acharya Shri Tulsi. He has studied texts of Jainism, Buddhism and Vedanta and is proficient in several languages, including Prakrit, Sanskrit, Hindi, Gujarati and English. He has written more than twelve popular books of poems and essays, describing his doctrines of peace and harmony.
Kirit C Daftary is President of Anuvibha of North America and past President of the Federation of Jain Associations in North America [JAINA), which represents 67 Jain Centres and over 150,000 Jains in North America. He is also the alternative representative to the United Nations of Anuvrat Global Organization IANUVIBHA). Mr Daftary regularly lectures on Jainism and Hinduism at several universities and also participates in many interreligious dialogues.
268 PWR Parliament of the World's Religions Jain Education International
Sustainable Way of Life Through Shumei Natural Agriculture
9:30-11:00am INTRARELIGIOUS SESSION
Shumei Youth Members
Kohei Tsukuta Yoshinori Yokoi
Haruka Koide
Masanori Kaneko
Kanako Fukushima Room 209 Seminar
Shinji Shumeikai, informally known as Shumei, is a spiritual organisation dedicated to elevating the quality of life of all people. Shumei is committed to the creation of an ideal state of health, happiness and harmony in the world through the application of the wisdom and insights of the spiritual leader, Mokichi Okada. He taught that a world free of sickness, poverty and discord is possible through the spiritual exercise that we call Jyorei, the appreciation of art and beauty, and the practice of natural agriculture. In this presentation, we will focus on Shumei Natural Agriculture, which is not just an alternate method of growing healthy food, but also a way of growing spiritually by rebuilding our relationship with nature. In this age of ever-increasing material development, many people are beginning to feel that something vital is lacking in their lives. By sharing what we have learned through practising Shumei Natural Agriculture, we hope to generate ideas about what this way of life can do to help people restore harmony with nature and to keep their minds calm and balanced.
Shumei has been farming not only in Japan but also in other parts of the world. During this seminar, representatives of Japanese youth members from Shumei will present the essence of Shumei Natural Agriculture based on their personal experiences of farming in their own local areas.
Convening Education Session:
Schooling, Young People and Social Inclusion
Bronwyn Pike
Genevieve Peterson Maria Minto-Cahill Helen Butler
Room 210
Panel Discussion
Serving the educational and other needs of students from disadvantaged communities requires sophisticated policy responses from both government and non-government schools. The Salvation Army has experience with students who must deal with homelessness, addiction, unemployment, incarceration, single parenthood and sustained poverty. In this seminar, they will connect with the program response of Melbourne's Catholic Education Office and the Australian Catholic University, who have collaboratively developed a postgraduate course focusing on Student Wellbeing in Inclusive Schooling. Leaders and