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For All Lovers of Peace -- "Let Us Pray Together for World Peace"

Since 911, people around the world are still impacted by the terror. Our everyday lives are filled with uncertainty. Some political leaders have tried to solve the conflicts by using military force. Responding to violence with violence will inevitably bring further reprisals, perhaps even the Third World War. It is possible that this war between the U.S.A. and Iraq is the prelude to the destruction of this planet and the annihilation of the human race.

The only thing we can do today is to pray together for lasting world peace with truly sincere, pure, and loving hearts for all people. A Chinese proverb says, "True sincerity can split a stone of gold." We are confident that with our strong faith and love, we will be able to receive a blessing that will resolve all of this world's tragedies caused by hatred, confrontations, and conflicts.

　　With utmost sincerity, I hereby urge all peace loving and kind people of this world to unite, regardless of nationality, race or religious belief, and to sincerely pray in their own ways whenever possible, regardless of time and place, for the resolution of all conflicts and for lasting world peace.

　　At the same time I hope that we can persuade others to join us in this prayer for peace. Each additional person increases our strength. With more people our strength and determination will be more powerful and effective. This will not just save the lives and material goods of billions of people, it also is the best way to ensure our own safety and that of our families. If we fail to do this, we will be unable to save ourselves from sharing the terrible consequences of the world's annihilation.

　　We must know that our prayers are not solely for the temporary relief of pending disasters. Rather, they are a continuation of humanities' long-held prayer for peace. Since humankind's emergence on Earth, war has been waged. If we want to reach lasting peace, we need sincere and loving hearts. Only by praying with this genuinely sincere heart, can we achieve the peace we seek. If our resolve should weaken even a bit, conflicts and confrontations would again erupt. Therefore, we must never cease praying for peace.

　　We must deeply believe that our sincere prayers will emanate our message of peace, and furthermore, that they can end this war and resolve the looming disasters caused by the conflicts. This is not superstitious belief, but proven truth.

　　During the Second World War, in order to end the Japanese invasion of China, an article in the journal of the Chinese-Japanese Buddhist Society for Peace stated: "All the effects of bitterness are derived from bitter causes. Our karmas are all created and changed by our minds. We should know that in this universe, space is not the most vast phenomena; indeed, the vastest is the mind for it encompasses everything in the universe. Neither is a diamond the strongest object; our will is. The most important and effective way for us to cultivate together is for all to make the same wish at the same time. One man's voice can only carry a few yards. When thousands of people call out together, the sound can travel miles. The light of one candle can only light an entryway: The light of a huge fire can illuminate the entire sky. Even though the results of our karmas are unimaginable, so is the power of our wishes. Since the pending disasters we face together are the results of our common karma, this great misfortune can only be eliminated by the power of our great wish for peace in unity." The article also said: "Even though we pray to heaven for its blessings, we can only seek happiness from within ourselves. We are the creators of our own good fortune and misfortune. Without exception, this maxim is the principle used in all religions, be they past or present, to make our prayers come true." Therefore, praying is our best method to cleanse our common karma, and to resolve the pending catastrophes.

　　Currently in Australia, all the students of the Pure Land Learning College are diligently chanting Amitabha Buddha's name, trying to eliminate the pending disasters and praying for lasting world peace. All the students of the Pure Land school worldwide have also joined in the efforts of praying for world peace.

　　All of us deeply believe that the power of praying together for a common cause will give us an unimaginable response, a fact proven in experiments conducted by Japanese scientists. Just recently, a Dr. Emoto and his colleagues published their findings on water crystals. They proved that "Humans' conscious minds can change the shape of water crystals." Thus, from the same principle, we know that human consciousness has the ability to alter its environment.

　　Example one:

　　On the 2nd of February 1997 at 2 p.m., a glass of Tokyo tap water was sitting on Dr. Emoto's office desk. Five hundred Hado instructors across Japan had been requested to simultaneously visualize the glass of water. They were to wish for the water to be clean and to think "thank you very much." Afterwards, photos of the microscopic water crystals showed their beautiful patterns. This experiment proved that human thoughts could be jointly effective regardless of how far apart the individuals are.

　　Therefore, let all those who love peace pray together. As long as we pray with sincere and loving hearts, we know we can completely change our physical living environment.

　　Example two:

　　At Fujiwara Dam located at Minakami-cho, Gunma Prefecture in Japan, another experiment was conducted on "Purifying Water with Inspiring Words." The experiment held by Reverand Kato Hoki, the chief priest of Jyuhouin Temple, Omiya City, was a perfect success and its results were astounding. Before the experiment, the shape of the microscopic water crystals was jagged and irregular. After an hour of praying, people observed the water slowly turning clear and clean. Photos were taken again and this time, they revealed beautiful water crystals. All those present was surprised and moved by the experiment.

　　These two scientific experiments proved what the Buddha said in the sutras: "Everything is manifested from the mind. All causes and effects, as vast as the universe, as small as a dust particle, are formed by the all-knowing mind because everything in this world and beyond contains an all-knowing and all-capable true nature." This is the principle behind the reason of why, when we pray with utmost sincerity, we can create unimaginably positive real world responses.

　　We deeply believe that although we live in different parts of the world, all people with noble ideals and visions can come together to resolve the conflicts of this world, and pray with sincere, pure, impartial, and compassionate hearts for the rest of our lives for lasting peace, and for evil to transform into goodness, delusion into enlightenment.

　　Doing this, we will definitely gain incredible responses. The Buddha said that infinite merits and virtues would come forth as this is the best and surest way to save our world from catastrophe. I sincerely hope that all the kind and good people of this world would share this wish. Together, let us all respond to this kindest act of praying together for world peace. If we can all do so, our world will be most fortunate!

Chin Kung
The Pure Land Learning College
22nd March, 2003