Buddhists offer message of peace at UN forum

Representatives of Buddhist communities from China, the United States and Canada, held a forum at UN headquarters in New York to discuss efforts to build a community of a shared future for mankind.

The 2019 China-US-Canada Buddhist Forum was held on Saturday, the second gathering after the initial one was successfully held in Canada in 2017. During the one-day event, guest speakers shared views on how to expand the positive impact of the Buddhist communities of the three countries. Lectures and discussions promoted mutual understanding and mutual learning between Buddhism and modern civilization.

Venerable Master Yanjue, vice-president of the Buddhist Association of China in Beijing, said in opening remarks that on Oct 24 the UN will celebrate its 72nd United Nations Day.

"The United Nations is the most universal, representative and authoritative intergovernmental organization. It has been playing an important role in the global governance," he said.

"The purpose of the United Nations tallies with the common value and principle of all major world religions. Kofi Annan, former UN secretary-general once proposed, when major religious and spiritual leaders in the world join hands to call for world peace, it will bring about a vision for peace in the new millennia," he said.

The Buddhist tradition with its long history of 2,563 years has been advocating compassion, equality, tolerance and peace, said Yanjue.

"It has been endeavoring to eradicate fundamentally the prejudice and misunderstanding among people, providing effective and feasible solutions for various civilizations to coexist with and accommodate each other, and dissolve cultural conflicts between them," he emphasized.

The world is facing great changes unprecedented in a century, Yanjue said, pointing out that peace, development, cooperation and win-win situations remain main themes of the times.

Under such circumstances, "the Buddhist circles of China, US and Canada join hands to hold this Buddhist forum, conduct friendly exchanges and cooperation, practice their loving-kindness and compassionate vows to devotedly maintain world peace, promote exchange and mutual learning between human civilizations, and enhance the welfare of all beings'', he said.

"This is of great significance to furthering religious and cultural exchange, enhancing understanding, mutual trust and friendship between people of the three countries, and even promoting cultural exchange and mutual learning between the East and West and establishing a human community of common destiny,'' he added.

The theme of this year's forum is Enlightenment in the Human Realm: The Spirit and Practice of Chan Buddhism.

"We aim to explore the promotion and role of Buddhism in the context of a new era," said Venerable Master Mingyu, president of the American Buddhist Confederation and the Buddhist community of the USA. "It is our intention to reveal the contemporary bodhisattva spirit that liberating others and liberating oneself are one in the same.''

Mingyu said through practicing the four great bodhisattva vows, "we can love and care for all beings. And we will surely write this chapter on contemporary Buddhism into the cultural histories of the United States, China, and Canada".

"I pray that this forum will discover a harmonious path that conforms to human development and build a community with a future for all humankind," he said.

Representatives of the three Buddhist countries also explored the mission and responsibility of Buddhism in the global community of a shared future for mankind, propagated the spirit of enlightenment and freedom of Chinese Chan Buddhism, examined the historical context of Chinese Chan Buddhism, disseminated the experience of the propagation and spread the development of Buddhism.

Lectures and discussions at the forum promoted mutual understanding and mutual learning between Buddhism and modern civilization.

At the end of the forum, the Buddhist representatives adopted the second China-US-Canada Buddhist Forum declaration, calling on Buddhists in the three countries to maintain the perfecting wisdom of middle-way, to inherit the great vows of eminent predecessors, to gather the upward strength of seeking for goodness, to propagate the spirit of four immeasurables, to encourage the various civilizations to communicate and learn from each other, to promote the equal collaboration of different countries in this world, to make efforts for the permanent world peace.

On Saturday night, more than 100 monks from China's most renowned temples staged the world premiere of the groundbreaking Peace & Well-Being Concert at Lincoln Center in New York.

According to Venerable Master Guangquan, abbot of Lingyin Temple and deputy secretary-general of the Buddhist Association of China, the show was the largest ever to feature a combination of ancient Buddhist music discovered only in recent years; chanting in innovative four-part harmony combining monastic traditions from China's Han majority population, and Tibetan and Yunnan minorities; and dazzling Shaolin Kungfu. The performance was also presented on Sunday afternoon.