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Behave arrogantly before no one, show anger to no one, scold no one, restrict no one, resent no one, badmouth no one, hate no one, sadden no one, criticize no one, hurt no one, discriminate against no one, betray no one, be jealous of no one, forgive everyone—this is how we should always hope to be.
Descended from the Royal Ryuku Family of Okinawa, Masami Saionji was born in Tokyo, Japan. She was educated in Japan at Gakushuin Women’s Junior College and studied English in the United States at Michigan State and Stanford Universities. At an early age she became a Master of Japanese Classical Dance, and taught students for more than ten years.
While in her teens, she came in touch with the peace vision of philosopher Masahisa Goi, who later designated her as his successor and adopted daughter. She heads several peace organizations, including the Goi Peace Foundation, founded in Japan, and the World Peace Prayer Society, headquartered in New York. She is perhaps best known for her leadership of the international Peace Pole Initiative, which places visual reminders of peace in key locations around the world.
In November 2001, she was named an honorary member of the Club of Budapest in recognition of her exceptional efforts for world peace. In August 2008, she received the Philosopher Saint Shree Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prize from the World Peace Center in Pune, India. In February 2013, she had the privilege of presenting the Symphony of Peace Prayers ceremony at the United Nations, in a special event entitled United for a Culture of Peace through Interfaith Harmony, which was hosted by the president of the UN General Assembly.
Masami Saionji has authored over twenty books in Japanese and eight in English and other languages. She has lived in North America and Europe, and travels extensively on speaking and seminar tours. She and her husband have three daughters. They currently live in Tokyo. |
