[Column] We need ‘another new UN’

– The Earth Life Charter 2018 Seoul Draft Delivered to His Holiness Dalai Lama

March 18, 2019

 Prof. Lee Wonyoung (The University of Suwon)

Finally, it was the time for the pilgrimage team. It is the day when HH Dalai Lama will meet with the congregation after the four-day Buddhist service. A lot of people from many places, even from Tibet, came to visit HH Dalai Lama, who is also the symbol of the Tibetan Government in Exile. Although HH Dalai Lama is always busy with lectures and Buddhist conferences all over the world, there are days when he will meet with the visitors to his office like today. The Office generously arranged our team to meet His Holiness the last in order to have extra time.

The Charter is written by experts from home and abroad in the last three years and contains the following eight concepts. 1) The dignity of life is the highest value. 2) No life form can exist alone. All life forms are connected like a web. 3) The crisis of the life community is the crisis of humanity. 4) Humans have the responsibility to respect other life forms and protect and care the earth’s eco-system. 5) Nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants that can cause disaster and annihilation of all life forms must be abolished. 6) All scientific and technological actions, including genetic modifications that harm the dignity of humans and life forms, must be stopped. 7) Every government and organization, and the people of the global village must endeavor to create policies to promote the freedom and rights of life forms. 8) We propose the solidarity of religious people for ‘global life and safety’.

It is nothing more than the explanation of a Non-duality thought and the respect for life that are the core teachings of Buddhism. In other words, it contains the message of ‘Buddha-land’ which regards the earth as one’s own body. The pilgrimage team wrote the charter on a durable traditional Korean paper and made a scroll to be offered to HH Dalai Lama.

HH Dalai Lama gave a small statue of Buddha as a present. And then he said, “I know you walked through many countries. I know the danger of Nuclear Power Plants.  When I visited Japan after the Fukushima accident, I met the activists who were fighting for the safety of Nuclear Power Plants.  It is better for you to work with the Japanese people to spread this work. I hope you will accomplish good things to protect life.”

It was a very profound message.

It has been eight years since the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred in 2011. The main issue of the nuclear power plant problem is that it would be useless for only certain countries to do well. ‘Capitalization of risk’ is prevalent, and technical, organizational and capital-intensive risks are taking the global village hostage.

International apparatuses are also a problem. There is a limit to the ability of the United Nations to protect the planet. For example, in 2009, it was UNEP that cooperated with the South Korean government on the Four Rivers Project that destroyed the environment. IAEA started in good faith, but on the other hand it contributed to the destruction of the planet.

We cannot leave the destiny of the earth and mankind to the troubled UN. It only needs a few number of world religions to work together to ensure life and safety.

With that vision and hope, the New Silk Road for Life and No-Nukes, which departed from Seoul on Buddha’s Day in May 2017 and walking about 5,000 kilometers across 10 countries- Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Nepal and India, met with HH Dalai Lama.

The date was February 25, 2019.

Soon the pilgrimage team will walk 9,000 kilometers to the Vatican. And the time will come when Pope Francis and HH Dalai Lama will meet.

Original Article>> http://www.buddhismjournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=18635

Categories: Media Reports