{"id":328030,"date":"2016-03-01T05:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T04:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/the-100th-degree-conferred-by-sophia-university\/"},"modified":"2024-05-16T15:03:12","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T13:03:12","slug":"the-100th-degree-conferred-by-sophia-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/the-100th-degree-conferred-by-sophia-university\/","title":{"rendered":"The 100th degree conferred by Sophia University"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SophiaUniversity_01\"<\/a>\u201cWhen the administrative staff informed us that it was the 100th degree to be conferred, I thought it couldn\u2019t have been otherwise.<\/strong> Each graduate has marked an important moment in\u00a0our journey, but the fact that the hundredth dissertation was to be conferred precisely on Akie Otomo, was significant for us.\u201d comments Judith Povilus, vice-president of Sophia University Institute<\/strong>, who accompanied the academic path of Akie Otomo<\/strong> and Yukie Ohi<\/strong>, two students of the Buddhist movement, Rissh\u014d K\u014dsei-kai, who have completed a degree in Foundations and Perspectives\u00a0of a Culture of Unity. Yukie Ohi graduated in the summer\u00a0semester\u00a0last year, while on 11 February 2016 it was Akie Otomo\u2019s turn. The success of her research was greeted by a warm applause emphasizing its appreciation by the whole academic community. The subject of the thesis, a comparison between \u201cThe hoza<\/em> in Rissh\u014d K\u014dsei-kai\u201d and \u201cthe life of unity in the spirituality of the Focolare Movement<\/strong>\u201d, matured in a climate of mutual listening and acceptance with the active involvement of the two professors who guided the student:\u00a0Anna Pelli, Professor of Philosophy, and Antonella Deponte, Professor of Psychology<\/strong>. \u201cThe focal point is of great interest as it deals with two\u00a0such diverse\u00a0associations, the Rissh\u014d K\u014dsei-kai and the Focolare Movement,\u00a0yet\u00a0their pulse\u00a0beats as one: communion. And this was accomplished by implementing two unique practices: on the one hand the hoza<\/em>, which is characteristic of the \u201ccycle of compassion\u201d, whereby a group of people meet to share their personal problems and find mutual support in the light of the teachings of Buddha, and on the other hand, the \u201cspiritual communion\u201d guided by the words of the Gospel, which makes it possible for people to share their experiences and to walk together towards God.\u201d As the work progressed, it became increasingly clear that it could only be understood if channelled into the prophetic experience resulting from the meetings of dialogue between Nikkyo Niwano<\/a> and Chiara Lubich<\/a>, two eminent figures of the twentieth century: the first, the Buddhist founder and leader of Rissh\u014d K\u014dsei-kai, the only non-Christian observer at Vatican II; and the second, a Catholic woman who inspired a worldwide movement of spiritual renewal that speaks to the hearts of men and women of different faiths and cultures. Over the years, many similarities have led them to work together effectively for peace and mutual understanding between people and nations, reaching the point of giving their own particular experience of faith. Among other things, the thesis documents the exchange of correspondence between them, citing some paragraphs which allowed the Japanese student to focus in a surprising way on some of the cornerstones of the culture of unity, which, in her views, open up dialogue and sharing. \u201cIt was on this foundation,\u201d says Professor Pelli, \u201cthat the intuition that guided Akie in her research took shape. In the process, each of us experienced the\u00a0meeting point of that which is real<\/em> dwelling in ourselves and\u00a0the truth<\/em> dwelling in the other; we discovered that this connection was something that in a certain way already belonged to us while\u00a0at the same time it opened us up to broader perspectives. I am convinced that this experience is the fruit of being in this privileged place, at Sophia University, which strives daily to ensure that life and thought, intellectual pursuit and existential approach work towards\u00a0a substantial converging towards the good, through the reciprocal gift of our diversity.\u201d \u201cI am very grateful for the time I spent in Sophia,\u201d Akie concluded in her presentation. \u201cNot only have I come closer to knowing Chiara Lubich\u2019s thoughts, which I appreciate so much, but also to get to know more deeply the life and message of Nikkyo Niwano. I wish to take ahead this research. I want to be more committed in my daily life so that through the contribution of all religions, we can bring about harmony, unity and peace in\u00a0the world.\u201d   Souce:<\/strong> Sophia University Institute Online<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The experience of dialogue between Buddhist Nikkyo Niwano and Chiara Lubich, founders of two movements is the source of inspiration for the deepening of the concept of communion in Buddhism and Christianity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[893],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-328030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-focolare-worldwide-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.focolare.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}