Peace Activist & Buddhist Monk Handa Shonin San R.I.P.

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press

Friday August 24, 2007 08:43

by Ciaron O'Reilly - Pit Stop Ploughshares

Friend, and Buddhist monk, Handa Shonin San was killed in a tractor accident at Milton Keynes Pagoda, England, on August 21st. Handa led us to court at the Pit Stop Ploughshares trial and held vigil while the court was in session.
Photo and funeral arrangements details on the following website
http://www.mkbuddhism.org.uk/

I first met Handa Shonin San on a peace walk to Belfast in the summer of '96. Over the years that followed we shared many vigils at British Aerospace, military sites and plowshares trials. I was also fortunate enough to visit and stay at the Milton Keynes temple on numerous occasions. He was always gracious, hospitable and possessed a great humility and humour. It was wonderful to have him in Dublin for our plowshares trial . When sharing his company, one knew one was in the presence of a truly holy man. Sympathy and solidarity to friends, family and all those of Nipponzon Myhoji.
Ciaron O'Reilly

By Richard Cooper
Tributes have flooded in from all over the world after Rev Seiji Handa, the chief monk at the Buddhist Temple at Willen, was tragically killed in a tractor accident this week.
The Rev Handa, aged 50, died after he was trapped underneath a tractor while mowing the grass next to the Peace Pagoda just before midday on Tuesday.

The area was roped off by police until later that afternoon and members of the temple said prayers at the scene while the tractor was removed from the scene by a recovery vehicle.

An inquest will open this morning into the cause of his death.

The Rev Handa was responsible for building the Buddhist Temple at Willen, which was completed in 2004. Dedicating his life to campaigning tirelessly for peace, he spent 12 months in the early 1980s walking across Asia to Japan.

He was also closely involved with bringing the Peace Pagoda " the first in the Western Hemisphere" to Milton Keynes.

Rev Sister Yoshie Maruta, the chief nun at the temple, who had known the Rev Handa for 30 years, said: "He was a really devoted man. He was never angry at anything. He was really compassionate. He was really dedicated to peace."

She added: "His spirit is still here."

He left high school in Japan, rejecting materialism and met Fuji Guruji, the founder of the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist order, in Sri Lanka, where he later became ordained as a monk.

On a visit to the UK he met the architect Tom Hancock, who was interested in building a Peace Pagoda, and managed to persuade the Development Corporation to build one in Milton Keynes.

In 1980 the Peace Pagoda opened and the Rev Handa began work on the temple, particularly excelling at carpentry.

Bruce Kent, the vice-president of CND, said: "He was a gentle, quiet and helpful man who believed in what he was doing and was immensely practical.

"All the decoration and gardening at the temple was his work and, tragically, that was what killed him."

When the Japanese Buddhist Temple was opened at Willen in 2004, the Rev Handa told the Citizen: "We are very much concerned with what is happening in the world.

"When we feel it is very necessary, we do fasting, witness to peace and peace walks â€“ which are sometimes a few thousand miles.

"We care for life and if life is threatened we try to prevent it, even by confronting the army or policemen."

His body will be brought back to the temple at Willen at about 5pm today (Thursday) and members of the public will be able to pay their respects.

On Sunday, a ceremony will be held at the temple, starting at 9.30am, followed by a cremation at midday.