Vesak Day Message:

'We must open our minds to new ideas and possible solutions'

The UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon said in a Vesak Day message:

"We commemorate this year's Day of Vesak as the international community enters the final preparations for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set the world on a more equitable and sustainable path of development.

"Buddhism has much to offer that process. The Buddha's assertion that, "The way to change the world is to change the nature of man," offers a critical insight on how to improve conditions for our planet and its inhabitants. "The spirit to care not just for ourselves but for others, based on an awareness of our interlinked fates, lies at the heart of Buddhism and indeed all of the world's great religions.

"These teachings challenge families, communities and nations to act in concert for the advancement of our common well-being, which is the best way to secure individual and collective progress in an interdependent world.

"We must also change longstanding assumptions and open our minds to new ideas and possible solutions, if we are to address major global threats from the proliferation of deadly weapons to intolerance and inequality. I invite Buddhists and people of all traditions, to use the occasion of Vesak Day, to reflect on how we can change our actions to pave way for a more sustainable future."