The Power of Listening: Hearing Voiceless Voices

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Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki believes that Asian values such as “listening” are as valuable as the western values of “talking.”  “Express yourself” seems to be the way of Western society, but this tends to create a more selfish society with little respect for others, and inattention towards people who don’t express themselves strongly. We need to develop more mutual-understanding and mutual-respect among different cultures, religions and ethnicity, through listening and learning from others. Listening is the way to respect others and learn from others. This nurtures kindness and compassion towards others who are also members of society.

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Author Bio

Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki, D. Min. is a Buddhist priest, ordained in the 750-year-old Jodoshinshu tradition of Japanese Buddhism. He is President of the Buddhist Council of New York, a Vice President of The Interfaith Center of New York, Clergy-on-Call for Columbia University, Community Clergy Liason for the NYC Police Dept., and Religious Advisor to the Japanese-American Lions Club.

Since 1994, Rev. Nakagaki has organized an Interfaith Peace event to commemorate the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. He organized the annual 9-11 WTC Memorial Floating Lanterns Ceremony from 2002-2011.

Rev. Nakagaki was ordained in 1980 at the Nishi Honganji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. In 1985, he was sent to the US as an overseas minister, serving first with at the Seattle Buddhist Church, (1985-1989), the Parlier Buddhist Church (1989-1994), and the New York Buddhist Church (1994-2010).

Rev. Nakagaki is the author of two books in Japanese: “No Worry, No Hurry, Eat Curry: New York Bozu Indo o Aruku” (A Buddhist Monk Walks in India, published by Gendai Shokan, 2003) and “Manhattan Bozu Tsurezure Nikki” (Diary of Manhattan Monk, published by Gendai Shokan, June 2010).