Your
holiness, your Excellencies, distinguished guests, dear friends, ladies and
gentlemen.
I am very honored and grateful for the
opportunity to meet all of you happy smiling people here today and to have the
chance to speak about peace and conflict resolution, a subject dear to my
heart.
I would like to
begin by warmly thanking those individuals who have offered me this
opportunity: first of course his holiness Luang Phaw Dhammajayo to whom I am
greatly indebted. A very special thanks to Mr. Song Watcharasriroj for the
outstanding generosity he has shown me and for having had the kindness to
obtain an audience with his holiness and introduce me to the centre’s
activities and philosophy. I would also like to warmly thank Mom Luang
Rajadarasri for her kindness and friendship.
I have myself some experience and background
in work for peace, I was born and raised in Sweden
and lived most of my life in Switzerland,
two countries who have not had a conflict with their neighbors for hundreds of
years. My great grandfather’s brother Alfred Nobel created the Nobel Peace
Price, and I spent 12 years of my recent past as head of a non-violence project
which succeeded to reach out to over 2 million young people around the globe to
teach them non-violent behavior through various programs in schools. I sit
today on several boards of conflict resolution foundations trying to make young
urban children adopt a non-violent lifestyle.
">
">Today we are here on a very joyous occasion,
the glorious event of the casting in solid gold of the statue of
Phramongkolthepmuni.
Phramongkolthemuni (Sodh
Candasaro) dedicated his life in order to rediscover the wisdom of Dhammakaya,
the key to the enlightenment of the Lord Buddha, for the benefit of Buddhists
worldwide. He taught us how to practice bringing your mind to connect to the
centre of your body to attain Dhammakaya, the body of enlightenment of all
mankind. In order that these teachings may once again announce to the world
that the peaceful state of the mind is the secret of success.
">">
">A hundred years from now
people will ask why the image of Phramongkolthemuni’s was cast in solid gold.
They will realize he must have been a very important person to receive such an
honor and veneration. The casting of his gold image is not merely a material expression
of gratitude for his compassion and sacrifice or a monument of love for the
much-revered Bodhisattva. His gold image will also serve as a historical
evidence of his existence and the most important rediscovery while his timely
teachings will remain a precious legacy to the world and continue to bring
peace and happiness to humankind.
">
In his best-selling book, AFRICAN GENESIS,
Robert Ardrey postulated that Man is by nature a predator and prone to violence
and all that normally prevents people from attacking each other physically is
the training of parents, teachers, and other moderating influences and the fear
of punishment or reprisal.
">Man has done little enough to dispel his
brutish image. His readiness to massacre millions of his fellow human beings –
let alone obliterate whole species of the other creatures sharing this planet
with him – hardly support the rosy view of him as a noble and compassionate
animal.
">">
">And yet, there are too many truly good men
and women in the world to dispute the horrendous view of humanity, too many
examples of kindness and selflessness to simply accept violence as a natural
human characteristic.
One only has to think of the millions of
people whose lives are devoted to teaching children life skills, to fighting
pain, disease and poverty, to protecting lives and property and to promoting
ideals of morality and truth. We have a shining example here today, in the
person of his holiness Luang Phaw Dhammajayo.
These, rather
than barbaric exceptions, are surely the ones who reflect the true nature of Man. These are our hope
and salvation even if the good that they do is often over-shadowed in the media
by the evil done by a comparatively few others.
">
">Let
me come back to the practice of meditation. I have never practiced this method
before I met his holiness and even if it was the first time in my life I still
felt a strong feeling of inner peace and relaxation. Anyone with such inner
peace cannot believe or engage in external violence. I am very grateful to Luang
Phaw Dhammajayo for introducing meditation to me as a method to obtain this
harmony and achieve a peaceful state of mind. I have as a consequence decided
to join a retreat course organized by the centre and learn more how to obtain
this state of bliss.
">">
">There is no doubt in my mind that if all of
the statesmen of the world, the military, the politicians and the corporate
leaders accepted the principle of meditation and agreed to assimilate the
wisdom of Luang Phaw Dhammajayo the world would surely become a haven of peace
and tranquility.
I have looked with admiration upon the works
of his holiness; the temple, the foundation and all its activities and the
results obtained are truly impressive. Let me tell you about some of them.
">
">Luang Phaw is dedicated to
advocating world peace through inner peace via meditation to bridge and
reconcile differences between people from different countries, religions and
cultural backgrounds.
">">
Luang Phaw’s teachings of peace, humanity, compassion and
kindness have touched the life of many, many people worldwide. His social and
humanitarian work as, well as Buddhist teachings have earned him many
international awards and recognitions. Luang Phaw’s meditation for inner peace
have positively impacted the life of people from all walks of life and inspired
many people to respect sanctity of life and to practice peace.
">
Luang Phaw is a great teacher, an advocate of non-violence and a very
special kind of person with words that encourage and beautify the life of
others. His many contributions to the world peace process have been well
recognized and accepted around the world. For instance, the "Path of
Progress" - Ethics Quiz Contest - was honored as one of the "Programs
of the Peace and Non-Violence of the Century" by UNESCO and awarded the First Place by His
Majesty the King of Thailand.
">">
">The Program was chosen for
presentation to 1600 Non-Governmental Organizations at the “Future of our
children” conference in Switzerland. Some 4.7 million people and about 20,000
educational institutes partici-pated in the program and most schools in Thailand have
incorporated it into their curriculum.
">
">
">
">Its objectives are not only to
promote ethics and morals but also promote love and understanding within
participating families.
">This is a testimony
that Luang Phaw Dhammajayo has the right vision for creating world peace
through ethics and moral development in youth, an approach of great value to
the world’s communities.
">His humanitarian work include,
among others, assisting victims of Tsunami and Flood, orphanages, poor and
destitute hill tribe people. His "no smoking" educative process
and work that instill respect for life are
"> also among his
hallmarks.
">
">
Luang Phaw Dhammajayo has initiated the televised program DMC that has brought
immense benefits to many audiences around the world. Recently the DMC channel
has received well-known international awards such as The Telly Awards.
">">
">And the best proof of the effectiveness of
the power of meditation is shown here today in front of me, 300.000 people, all
happy and smiling. Friendly faces everywhere; you see no aggression, no
conflict. This clearly shows the beneficial results of the thoughts and
teachings. As I mentioned, if this method was extended worldwide, a true peace
and harmony would ensue.
">">
So
conferences and meetings such as this one are important but only as a part of
the whole. Peace building, by its very nature, demands grassroots action on the
part of many people. Each of us should know that we can and do make a
difference. One of the most powerful tools would be to teach others in our
surroundings how to acquire a peaceful personality thorough meditation. World
peace through community building in the Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King
tradition demands a global outreach to engage the empathy and understanding of
ordinary people and to induce them to take action in form of meditation.
Now, meditation is a truly wonderful tool.
It requires no instruments, no drugs, no external assistance once the basics
are acquired, no baggage to carry around. You carry it with you inside your
head and your heart wherever you go in the world. It is easily taught; you do
not need years of practice to master it. Everyone in the world should learn to
practice it. Peace, tranquility, contentment, happiness, self- confidence, all
positive values to be inspired from.
How to do this feat? Well, this is where you
people come in. It is your role and responsibility to expand these teachings,
to the members of your family, to your friends, to your business associates.
Like the waves from a stone thrown into the water the teachings of the
blessings of meditation will then sweep outwards and around the world and
finally conquer violence, that is my trust and hope.
">
">So, thank you for coming today and share in
this great occasion. But equally important, thank you for taking part in this
movement of meditation which is the harbinger of true global peace.
">
THANK YOU
">
">
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