Let the world be peaceful

Vesak message from World Buddhist Sangha Council President Most Ven. Liao Chung

The United Nations designated the Buddhist Day of Vesak as the United Nations' Day of Vesak. This is the common wish of the Buddhists all over the world. The actualization of this wish is a great progress of mankind's open-heartedness. As the day approaches, all our celebrations in the name of the Buddha's greatness and compassion should aim to promote world peace, human well being, and equality of life.

The Buddha's birth on earth brings infinite brightness. His wisdom guides us towards the road of peace and goodness, and deeply nurtures all beings. Under the guidance of the Buddha's bright strength, we work continually for a charitable society, and a harmonious humanity, enabling people to live more happily and more peacefully.

Forgetting responsibilities

The human history has entered the 21st century. However, we are facing many tragedies. Natural calamities and man-made disasters have caused increasing uneasiness to the life of mankind, and have affected the world in many aspects.

A gathering of devotees. Picture by Saman Sri Wedage

Although we understand that we world is transient, yet human beings cannot deny their responsibility for damaging the earth. People's irresponsible acts (for example, wars and excessive chemical pollution) have lowered the living quality of mankind, and have damaged the ecological balance. Contrary to the careful use of natural resources, this kind of squander would certainly accelerate the destruction of earth.

While mankind are pleased with their success in culture and scientific-technology, they often ignore, and are afraid of admitting that they are the living beings who had done the worst damage to the natural environment.

To pursue material comfort is very nature of humankind. Man's born ability lets him have the opportunity to manipulate all things to obtain greater power and interests.

In the pursuit of satisfying their desire, men often become savage easily under the disturbance of greed, anger, and ignorance. To date we have already directly or indirectly destroyed the earth's normal climate system. Global warming is one of the unfavourable consequences resulted from long-term damage to the environment.

Save our planet

The gradual increase of global temperature will threaten the survival, or even cause the extinction of all species including ourselves. However, we still have a little space an opportunity to save the planet with our compassion, and to reconstruct the living surroundings with our wisdom as to find back the ideal living quality of old days.

All kinds of organizations and social groups worldwide are devoted to improving the climate issue. However, all efforts would be futile if don't start from ourselves. Saving the planet requires everyone's enthusiastic participation. Looking back on human history, we can conclude that mankind had been doing all means to pursue happiness, and to avoid suffering with the view to improve their living quality. This common goal is therefore a strong motivation to unite all of us to work together on the climate issue.

Improving the quality of life

Although we come from different places, and we have our own background, religion and culture, yet we have a common wish-to benefit the sentient beings. This is a universal wish understandable by the world, but the coming true of the wish needs our hard work together.

A clear and calm mind can guide us to everlasting happiness, and free us from greed, anger, and ignorance, thus improving the living quality of all beings. On the other hand, if we utilize power or wealth, or even squander resources to obtain the so-called happiness, we will induce more calamities, and never solve the problem completely.

Thereby, we believe that only the balanced life by means of transcendental wisdom can create the harmonious environment, and distance us from selfishness, fear and anger. On the other hand, the good environment can bring forth a calm mind.

We bear the great responsibility to construct a living circumstance of no-disaster and no-fear for our next generation.

I believe that the perfect and bright Vesak can well inspire us, light up people's hearts, and create world peace. Let's work incessantly to protect the earth. May all sentient beings co-exist happily under the guidance of Buddha's compassion!

May the light of Vesak shine the world forever!