From China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States they came - twelve scholars, specialists in Buddhist or religious studies, who made their way to an island paradise earlier this year to participate in the thirteenth of an ongoing series of Lotus Sutra seminars sponsored by Rissho Kosei-kai. As Dr. Gene Reeves, one of the founding fathers of this conference series, stated in his remarks to open the first meeting on Wednesday, March 18, "to accommodate the Japanese love for Hawaii," and to take advantage of the marvelous Rissho Kosei-kai Retreat Center facility in Kona (on Hawaii's Big Island), "we thought we'd try Hawaii this year." Based on the smiling faces of the assembled scholars, it was quite clear that no one had seriously objected to the choice of venue.
