目標を持って生きる / To live with a goal

とんでもない大きな目標を真剣に掲げると、とんでもない真剣な努力の人生が開けます。しかし、そのためにはとんでもない勇気も必要です。恥ずかしながら自分の体験をお話しします。

Ambitious goal opens a new life of ambitious endeavors. However, it requires great courage. Please allow me to share with you my personal experience.

私は大学の工学部を卒業し、そのまま立正佼成会の学林というセミナリーに入学しました。そこで3年弱、仏教や一般教養などの座学と、実際に立正佼成会の教会やオーストラリアの姉妹仏教組織などの現場に出て布教経験を積み、卒業後は本部職員となり、主に国際畑を歩んでまいりました。

I entered Rissho Kosei-kai’s seminary after graduating from engineering faculty of institute of technology. For three years, I studied Buddhist teachings and liberal arts, as well as received missionary training at some RKK branches in Japan and affiliated Buddhist organization at Sydney in Australia. After graduating from seminary, I became a full-time staff member and have been working mainly in the international field.

30歳までは国際宗教協力分野を中心に仕事をしましたが31歳から42歳までは主に難民支援や人道支援の分野で働きました。ちょうど1980年代末から2000年初頭の期間でまさしく東西冷戦が終焉し、民族紛争が次から次へと勃発した時代でした。

I had worked mainly in the field of inter-religious cooperation until 30 years old, and I worked in the field of refugee assistance and another kind of humanitarian activities during my age from 31 to 42. It was a period from the end of the 1980s through the beginning of 2000s in which the cold war ended, and many ethnic conflicts and wars started to emerge.

私はUNHCRジュネーブ本部で3年間難民救援活動に従事し、第一次湾岸戦争勃発後にはイラク、イラン、トルコの国境地帯のイラン・ウルミエ地域で3か月間、クルド難民救援活動に従事しました。その後はソマリア北部のソマリランドで同じく4か月間中央病院再建プロジェクトに従事したのちに、旧ユーゴスラビア難民・国内避難民救援でクロアチアやボスニアに約1年弱滞在しました。短期活動ではアフガニスタン難民支援などにも関わりました。この間、ほとんど日本にいませんでした。

During that period, I engaged myself with refugee assistance for three years at the Headquarters of UNHCR in Geneva, Kurd refugee rescue activities at Urmie region in the boundary area of three countries of Iraq, Iran, and Turkey for three months. After that work, I engaged in the reconstruction of the Hargeisa Central Hospital in Somali land for four months. Then, I spent about one year in Croatia and Bosnia for emergency rescue activities for refugees and internally displaced people in the former Yugoslavia region. As for the short term activities, I worked for Afghan refugee assistance, etc. During this period, I was almost not in Japan.

学生時代には想像もしなかった人生を歩んできました。29歳の時に日本政府と民間合同のアフリカ緊急救援合同調査団に参加してアフリカ大陸の8か国を訪れたことがきっかけです。当時は大干ばつで多くの方がなくなりました。実際に現地で生死をさまよう多くの人々に出会ったことで私のその後の人生は一変したのです。

I have been living my life which was never foreseen by myself during my student life. The motivation for my new life at that time was the visit to the eight most affected countries by the heavy draught attacking those countries as a member of the joint emergency investigation team between the Japanese government and non-governmental organizations. During that time, so many people were dying due to the heavy draught and famine. My life changed completely through my encounters with so many people who were at the border of life and death in the African continent.

その後は立正佼成会の国際分野で仕事をし、そのうち約8年間、立正佼成会の布教者として日本の教会で布教に従事したのち、55歳の時に本部に戻り、以来現在まで宗教対話・協力や平和社会活動、人道支援活動等に従事しています。

After going through these experiences, I worked at RKK HQs again in the international field, out of which for eight years I served to RKK members as a minister. I returned to HQs at the age of 55 and have been working in the field of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, social and peace actions as well as humanitarian activities.

本部に戻った時、長女が大学を卒業し、長男は大学生でしたが、一人分の学費が浮いたことをきっかけに、私はこれまで経験してきた日本人としては非常に珍しい様々な経験と活動を学問的に振り返り、より専門性を身につけて更なる社会貢献をしたいと強く思うようになりました。そして東日本大震災が発生し、現地を訪れた帰りの車の中で生涯学習の新たな第一歩として大学院を目指そうと決意したのです。55歳でした。とんでもない目標を立てたのです。

When I returned to HQs of RKK, my daughter had just finished her university, and my son was still a university student. Covering the university expenses for my daughter was over, and it gave me a chance to consider reflecting on my unusual experiences and activities as a Japanese. I started to wish that I want to make a social contribution through equipping myself with more specialized ability by looking back on my life academically. Then, the Great earthquake occurred. It was on my way from the destructed cities of North-East Japan that I determined myself that I should try to enroll at the master degree program as a first step of my life learning process. I was 55 years old at that time. I set up a very ambitious goal for myself at the age of 55.

56歳で入学し、現在62歳ですがACRP 事務総長の仕事をしながら研究を続けています。一人一人の命の平等なる尊厳と人生の安全をいかに確保していくかという人間の安全保障分野での研究です。とんでもない目標を立てたお陰様で、人生がまたまた一変し、時間の使い方も変わりました。自分のための勉強や研究は長続きしません。人さまや社会に貢献するための勉強や研究は不思議と疲れず、大きな喜びになるのです。

I entered the postgraduate school at the age of 56. I am soon becoming 62 years old and continuing my studies while working as an incumbent SG of ACRP. I am majoring the human security studies which focus on how we should secure the equal dignity of each person’s life as well as the safety of each person’s human life. Thanks to the very ambitious goal set up by myself, my life changed completely again including my way of using time. Studies and researches only for oneself cannot last long. But those for others and societies don’t make oneself tired, rather such studies become a great joy.

実際に学んでいること、研究していることも仕事の上でとても役に立っています。もっとも厳しい環境で生きなければならない人に常に目を向けて生きること、力を合わせて共に生きていくことの大切さ、宗教者同士が手をつなぎ、宗教者と政治家、NGO、学者が手をつなぎ、大変な状況で生きる選択しかない人々と共に生きていく努力です。

What I am learning and studying are of great help for my actual work and activities. Particularly, it helps a lot to be fully aware of the importance of living by always paying attention to peoples who have no other options to live under very severe circumstances. Also, becoming aware of living together each other, particularly with those who are under hard environment, through working hand in hand between religious people, religious and political leaders, peace activists as well as people of the academic field, etc.

人それぞれに目標は異なります。どんな領域でも目標を持って生きること、達成できなくとも目標を持つことによって努力できることこそが最も価値あることだと思うのです。失敗を目指して努力するくらいの気持ちです。自分なりの目標、それも自分のためもあるけれど、それ以上に人のため、社会のための目標です。

Each one has a different goal. I think the most important value exists in living with a goal in any field, making an effort by setting up a goal even one cannot achieve it. It is just like doing utmost toward failure. A goal which fits oneself, not only for oneself but rather for others and societies.

ACRPの目標もとてつもなく大きいものです。だからこそ大きい努力ができると言い聞かせてお互いに頑張っていこうと仲間たちと話しています。

The goal of ACRP is tremendously ambitious. We are talking with each other in ACRP family that we can make more significant efforts without giving up, as our goal is huge.