Box 20: Award and Ephemera, 2017

This box contains a Hiroshima Peace Award that was granted to Ved Nanda in 2017. He recieved this award in recognition of his contributions to the discussion of world peace. The medal is titled Soka Gaikka Hiroshima Peace Award. Soka Gakkai is a newer Japanese religion founded in 1930 based on the teachings of the 13th-century Japanese Buddhist priest Nichiren. Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is an international Nichiren Buddhist organization founded in 1975 which actively promotes peace, disarmament, and human rights, often giving awards and engaging in dialogue for these causes.

The other item in this box is a commenmerative glass block with the title "Soka University of America" and displaying the university's Founders Hall. This glass block can be placed on top of another glass item with lights that shine up through the top block. Soka University of America is a private liberal arts college in Aliso Viejo, California. It was established on its current campus in 2001 by Daisaku Ikeda, the founder of the Soka Gakkai International Buddhist movement. Though affiliated with Soka Gakkai, it maintains a secular curriculum which emphasizes pacifism, human rights, and the creative coexistence of nature and humanity. It is unclear whether this glass item and Nanda's Soka Gaikka Hiroshima Peace Award are related or were gifted at the same time.