Shinnyo Fellows engage in campus and community service and peacebuilding endeavors for one school year as they identify and actualize their paths to peace.
Each year, an undergraduate and five post-undergraduates from select universities across the country bring alive the Foundation’s Infinite Paths to Peace initiative on their campuses and community organizations as they immerse themselves in a school-year long Shinnyo Fellowship in their communities. The Fellows will work closely with a supervisor at their chosen local, national or international organization in the topics or fields of their choice with the guidance and support from a faculty or a staff advisor on campus. They are also given opportunities to share their fellowship experiences with a wider audience either in an intimate gathering or at a larger conference.
Over time, the format of the Shinnyo Fellowship Program has taken many shapes, evolving into the post-undergraduate fellowship at five universities that it is today. The following universities and institutions are partners in the Shinnyo Fellowship Program: Chapman University, George Mason University, Redwood City Together in partnership with the Haas Center for Public Service and The John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities at Stanford University, Seattle University, and The University of California, Berkeley. The Shinnyo Fellows from these partner organizations come from diverse academic disciplines and backgrounds, who are all deeply committed to be of service to others for peacebuilding.
The Shinnyo Fellowship Program officially starts with the Fellows’ Orientation and Annual Retreat in the summer. This is an opportunity for all of the Fellows and their supervisors to meet and share each other’s aspiration for service and peace, and dialogue on their experiences, resources and wisdom.
In Buddhism, “Shinnyo” is defined as the fundamental nature of all things. It refers to a truth that is unchanging and everlasting, such as sincerity, loving kindness, and compassion. We hope that Shinnyo Fellows will discover and/or deepen the goodness that exists within themselves, and that they will also nurture these qualities, regardless of the circumstance, to create harmony and peace.
This past week, Shinnyo-en Foundation welcomed our 2015-16 Shinnyo Fellows! Shinnyo Fellows range from undergraduate to doctoral students who are recruited and selected by the Foundation’s four partne …
Contributed by Stuart Haruyama, 2013-14 Shinnyo Fellow Stuart Haruyama is on the far right. Wiping the sleep away from my eyes, I push my way through the vast caverns and concourses of Tokyo’s Shinjuk …
