The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler's Cross

Rev. Dr. T. K. Nakagaki is a Buddhist priest, ordained in the 750-year- old Jodoshinshu tradition of Japanese Buddhism. He was ordained at the Nishi Hongwanji Temple in Kyoto, Japan, in 1980. He graduated from Ryukoku University in Kyoto, majoring in Buddhist History in 1983, and later conducted advanced study in Jodoshinshu Buddhist doctrine at Gyoshin Buddhist Seminary in Osaka, Japan, from 1983–1985. He received an M.A. in Linguistics from California State University at Fresno in 1994, and earned a Doctorate of Ministry in Multifaith studies from the New York Theological Seminary in 2012. Rev. Dr. Nakagaki is a Founder and President of Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York, and current executive officer and former President of the Buddhist Council of New York, Hiroshima Peace Ambassador, Peace Correspondent of Nagasaki City, Community Clergy Liaison for the NYC Police Department, and former Vice President of the Interfaith Center of New York. He served as a resident priest for Jodoshinshu Buddhist communities in Seattle from 1985–1989, in Parlier, CA from 1989–1994, and at the New York Buddhist Church from 1994–2010. Since 1994, Rev. Nakagaki has organized an annual interfaith peace event to commemorate the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings, and from 2002–2011 he organized the annual 9-11 WTC Memorial Floating Lanterns Ceremony. He is the author of three books in Japanese, A New York Buddhist Priest Walks in India (Gendai Shokan, 2003); Diary of a Manhattan Monk (Gendai Shokan, 2010); and Manji and Hakenkreuz (Gendaishokan, 2013) He is also a noted Japanese calligrapher.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii



Preface 1



Western vs. Eastern Perceptions of the Swastika



A Few Notes on Terms and Images 3



My First Encounter in the US ... 4



Why Discuss the Swastika Now? 6



The Human Capacity for Atrocity 8



Encountering Holocaust Survivors 10



Importance of Dialogue 12



Our Own Monsters Within 13







Chapter 1 14



The Swastika Symbol in My Tradition



The Swastika in Japan 14



Meaning of the Swastika in Japanese language 26



Meaning of the Swastika in the Buddha’s Discourse 29



The Standard Buddhist Swastika is Left-Turning 35







Chapter 2 39 A Universal Symbol



Swastika Use in Various Religions 40



The Swastika Symbol in North America 56



Chapter 3 69 Hitler’s Flag



Design of the Hook-Cross 69



Hitler and the Eastern Swastika; 74



Swastika usage in 19th and 20th Century Europe 74







Chapter 4 77 Hitler’s First Meaning of Hakenkreuz: Aryan



Meaning of “Aryan” 77



Ārya in Buddhism 78



The Western Concept of What is an Aryan 82



The Meaning of “Aryan” for Hitler 87







Chapter 5 96 Hitler’s Second Meaning of The Hakenkreuz : Anti-Semitism



Meaning of Anti-Semitism 96



Anti-Semitism and Hitler’s Early Life 99



Martin Luther (1483 -1546) 100



Richard Wagner (1813 -1883) 107



Luther, Wagner and Hitler 117



Political Symbol vs. Religious and Spiritual Symbol 117







Chapter 6 119 Hitler’s Symbol Is a “Hakenkreuz,” Not a Swastika



Difference between “Swastika” and “Hakenkreuz” 119



Definition of “Hakenkreuz” 125



Swastika and Hakenkreuz in Dictionaries 127



Translation Problems of “Hakenkreuz” 131







Chapter 7 140 Conclusion – Present & Future Meaning of the Swastika Symbol



Current Swastika Issues 140



Where Are We Going? 143



Epilogue 147



Action Plan for the Public



BIBLIOGRAPHY 152