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Buddhist
master Chengxu from Macao admires a figurine of Avalokitesvara.
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A
Hangzhou temple newly refurbished for the World Buddhism
Forum.
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Senior monks from Sri Lanka making obeisance to the bone relic
of an ancient Buddhist master in Hangzhou’s Jingci Temple.
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Buddhism dates back 2,500 years. It is a belief system that has
300 million adherents around the globe, one third of them in China.
This April, the first World Buddhism Forum opened in Hangzhou,
capital of Zhejiang Province in eastern China. More than 1,000
Buddhist masters, scholars and statesmen from 34 nations and regions
gathered at the forum, its theme “A harmonious world begins
in the mind,” to discuss Buddhism’s role in achieving
world harmony.
There were discussions on 33 topics, most notably unity and cooperation
among Buddhists, their social responsibility and common mission
of peace.
In his congratulatory message to the gala, UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan said that the Buddhist ethic and humanitarian ideals
have engendered a vibrant spiritual tradition that continues,
after more than 2,500 years, to ennoble the lives of millions
of people. He called on peoples of all origins, races, cultures
and beliefs to remember that none of us is essentially different
because we all share the same home – a shrinking planet on
which everyone is bound to live. Annan appealed to all concerned
to “….. work together toward the common good and the
harmonious and peaceful coexistence of all peoples of the world.”
Buddha’s vision of peace is more relevant today than ever
before. The speedy growth of the Chinese economy has obviously
increased tension between humankind and nature as well as among
individuals. China has less than 10 percent of the world’s
farmland, 6 percent of its renewable water resources and 3 to
4 percent of its forests, yet it must feed and sustain 22 percent
of the world’s population. By 2020 China’s population
will have reached 1.45 to 1.49 billion, and its gross economy
will hit RMB35 to 36 trillion. Unless China’s traditional
mode of development changes, the burden on the environment will
be 3.6 times that in 2002.
Ye Xiaowen, director of the State Administration of Religious
Affairs and chairman of the Religious Culture Communication Association
of China said that Buddhism, to which the principles of harmony
and entelechy are integral, plays a vital role in easing the stress
on people and nature in this hectic contemporary life.
Buddhism teaches that all living beings in the universe are interdependent
and interactive, and that wisdom and virtue are the fruits of
a balance between the temporal and spiritual in human beings and
their relationship with all other forms of life on earth.
China’s efforts to build a harmonious society as a means
of promoting world harmony demonstrates the country’s resolve
to fulfill its duty as a prominent member of the international
community.
According to Buddhist doctrine, antagonistic thoughts are the
ultimate cause of antagonistic deeds. It is, therefore, necessary
to cultivate the mind before a harmonious life for all can be
achieved. A peaceful outlook brings peace to the peoples of one
nation and of the entire planet.
The World Buddhism Forum is an event that gives Buddhists from
around the world the chance to unite, talk, exchange and cooperate.
It also raises the issue of world peace the common goal of all
peoples of the world.
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