Notable Moments

September 7 was the day Inamori entered the priesthood in 1997 at Enpuku-ji temple in Yawata, Kyoto, and received the monk's name, "Daiwa." How did his life as a business manager and as a Buddhist monk come together?

Inamori has stated that the purpose of life is to become a person with a beautiful heart. In his later years, he wished to calm his mind, have more time to study humanity, and he also wanted to read many religious books. Before the departure of the soul we know as death, he wanted to refine his mind, and if possible, he wanted to enter the Buddhist priesthood and undertake training--that was his thinking.

At the age of 65, Inamori realized he could not postpone this any longer despite his busy schedule, so he asked Tansetsu Nishikata, the elder priest of Enpuku-ji temple, to conduct the ordination ceremony and train him. Then it was discovered that Inamori had stomach cancer, and the day he was scheduled to enter the temple turned out to be the day of his surgery. He had surgery to remove two-thirds of his stomach, and three months after being discharged from the hospital, Inamori decided not to miss another opportunity to enter the priesthood. Despite being weak from his illness, he went through the ordination ceremony and committed himself to training in the temple and collecting alms as part of the monastic practice, following through on what he originally intended to do.

After this, Elder Nishikata offered these words to Inamori, "Returning to the real world and contributing to society is your way of walking the path of Buddhism." After stepping down from the front line of management as honorary chairman, Inamori wanted to do work that would be useful in the world and carried out these intentions through acts such as running the Inamori Foundation, coaching young business owners at Seiwajyuku, and constructing the Kyoto Daiwa Children's Home, a facility for underprivileged children.

Photo: LiVE ONE, Katsuo Sugano