World religions for World Peace

His holiness, the Dalai Lama:

The principles discussed so far are in accordance with the ethical teachings of all world religions. I maintain that every major religion of the world - Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, Taosim, Zoroastrianism - has similar ideals of love, the same goal of benefiting humanity through spiritual practice and the same effect of making their followers into better human beings.

All religions teach moral precepts for perfecting the functions of mind, body and speech. All teach us not to lie or steal or take others' lives and so on.

The common goal of a moral precepts laid down by the great teachers of humanity is unselfishness. The great teachers wanted to lead their followers away from the paths of negative deeds caused by ignorance and to introduce them to paths of goodness.

All regions agree upon the necessity to control the undisciplined mind that harbours selfishness and other roots of trouble, and each teaches a path leading to a spiritual state that is peaceful, discipline, ethical and wise.

It is in this sense that I believe all religions have essentially the same message. Differences of dogma may be ascribed to differences of time and circumstance as well cultural influences; indeed, there is no end to scholastic argument when we consider the purely metaphysical side of religion.

However, it is much more beneficial to try to implement in daily life the shared precepts for goodness taught by all religions rather than to argue about minor differences in approach.

There are many different religions to bring comfort and happiness to humanity in much the same way as there are particular treatments for different diseases. For, all religions endeavour in their own way to help living beings avoid misery and gain happiness.

And, although we can find cause for preferring certain interpretations of religious truths, there is much greater cause for unity, stemming from the human heart. Each religion works in its own way to lessen human suffering and contribute to world civilization.

Conservation is not the point. For instance, I do not think of converting others to Buddhism or merely furthering the Buddhist cause. Rather, I try to think of how I as a Buddhist humanitarian can contribute to human happiness.

While pointing out the fundamental similarities between world religions, I do not advocate one particular religion at the expense of all others, nor do I seek a new 'world religion'. All the different religions of the world are needed to enrich human experience and world civilization.

Our human minds, being of different caliber and disposition, need different approaches to peace and happiness. It is just like food. Certain people find Christianity more appealing, others prefer Buddhism because there is no creator in it and everything depends upon your own actions.

We can make similar arguments for other religions as well. Thus, the point is clear: humanity needs all the world's religions to suit the way of life, diverse spiritual needs, and inherited national traditions of individual human beings.

It is from this perspective that I welcome efforts being made in various parts of the world for better understanding among religions.

The need for this is particularly urgent now. If all religions make the betterment of humanity their main concern, then they can easily work together in harmony for world peace. Interfaith understanding will bring about the unity necessary for all religions to work together.

However, although this indeed an important step. We must remember that there are no quick or easy solutions. We cannot hide the doctrinal differences that exist among various faiths, nor can we hope to replace the existing religions by a new universal belief.

Each religion has its own distinctive contributions to make, and each in its own way is suitable to a particular group of people as the understand life. The world needs them all. There are two primary tasks facing religious practitioners who are concerned with world peace.

First we must promote better interfaith understanding so as to create a workable degree of unity among all religions. This may be achieved in part by respecting each other's beliefs and by emphasizing our common concern for human well-being.

Second, we must bring about a viable consensus on basis spiritual values that touch every human heart and enhance general human happiness. This means we must emphasize the common denominator of all world religions - humanitarian ideals. These two steps will enable us to act both individually and together to create the necessary spiritual conditions for world peace.

We practitioners of different faiths can work together for world peace when we view different religions as essentially instruments to develop a good heart-love and respect for other, a true sense of community.

The most important thing is to look at the purpose of religion and not at the details of theology or metaphysics, which can lead to mere intellectualism. I believe that all the religions of world can contribute to world peace and work together for the benefit of humanity if we put aside subtle metaphysical difference, which are really the internal business of each religion.

Despite the progressive secularization brought about by worldwide modernization and despite systematic attempts values, the vast majority of humanity continues to believe in one religion or another.

The undying faith in religion, evident even under irreligious political systems, clearly demonstrates the potency of religion as such. This spiritual energy and power can be purposefully used to bring about the spiritual conditions necessary for world peace.

Religious leaders and humanitarians all over the world have a special role to play in this respect.

Whether we will be able to achieve world peace or not we have no choice but to work towards that goal. If our minds are dominated by anger, we will lose the best part of human intelligence - wisdom, the ability to decide between right and wrong. Anger is one of the most serious problems facing the world today.

W. Rathana Therao, (Meditation Instructor) Maha Bodhi Society of India, H.Q., Kolkata, inclusively to Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd., for publication.