[HWPL]

[HWPL] Peace Tours of Man-Hee Lee (26): The World Finds the Missing Answer for Peace in Heavenly Culture

Chairman Man-hee Lee (center) speaks during the UN Peace Conference held at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel in New York on September 2nd, 2014

On August 28, 2014, the first country visited on the 14th Peace Tour was Japan, also called the “land of the gods”, which is comprised of a mixed religious demographic of Buddhism and other faiths based on the indigenous Shinto religion. It is a country with hundreds of thousands of religious influences, where the will of God the Creator is needed more than anywhere else. This visit by the peace delegation was made in response to numerous requests from Japanese officials.

On that evening, a peace seminar was held for the first time in Shinjuku, Tokyo. People from all walks of life who have been taking practical steps for peace gathered at that seminar, held on the theme of “Materials to Achieve World Peace.” Social and religious leaders, women, and young people were all united in their desire for peace. At the seminar, Katsumasa Kakehashi, Founder and President of the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Culture, expressed a liking for the 'heavenly culture' presented by Chairman Lee as the material necessary to attain world peace, saying, "The world of peace that Chairman Lee envisions is fully consistent with our thoughts." He also emphasized, “We, mankind, have the duty to bring peace together.”

Chairman Lee delivers his message of peace during a peace seminar held in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan, on August 28, 2014

On August 28, 2014, Chairman Lee and Katsumasa Kakehashi, Founder of the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Culture, are taking a commemorative photo following the Tokyo Peace Seminar

Following the seminar, the Association for the Promotion of Japanese Culture presented Chairman Lee with a certificate of appreciation. The founder of the Association presented Chairman Lee with the Imperial Regalia of Japan. All speakers signed the peace agreement and gathered their hearts for Chairman Lee's peace movement.

Throughout Chairman Lee's world peace tour, numerous requests to meet have been made beyond the boundaries of border and religion.

The next day, Soumitra Barua, secretary-general of the Japan-Bangladesh Buddhism Friendship Association, personally visited Chairman Lee's accommodation. After hearing the news that the messenger of peace would soon be leaving Japan, a guest came from India. Pema Gyalpo, a law professor at Toin University in Yokohama who was born in Tibet and served as the Dalai Lama's chief representative of the Asia-Pacific region, said that he had hurriedly come to Japan from India in order to meet Chairman Lee and find a practical way to achieve peace among peoples. Professor Gyalpo said, “Because Chairman Lee has been in war, I think he knows, more than anyone, the value of peace.”

Local media, including the television network TBS, showed keen interest in Chairman Lee and his delegation, who breathed life and peace into the Japanese archipelago.

On August 31, 2014, Chairman Lee meets and talks with ‘Queen Mother’ Delois Blakely, Harlem Community Representative and UN Goodwill Ambassador to Africa (right)

There is a place that Chairman Lee and his delegation frequently visited on their peace tours to listen to the voices of people around the world who yearn for peace - New York, the headquarters of the United Nations. In New York, Chairman Lee has interacted with UN figures and formed a consensus for world peace.

This third visit to New York by Chairman Lee included a full-fledged meeting with UN officials.

On August 31st, Chairman Lee held a meeting with ‘Queen Mother’ Delois Blakely, Community Mayor of Harlem and UN Goodwill Ambassador to Africa, at Hotel Pennsylvania in New York. Her autobiography is understood to be the inspiration for the film and stage musical 'Sister Act'. After listening to Chairman Lee's peace message, she said, "Chairman Lee is someone who works with a mission for future generations. He is proof to us all that world peace can be achieved, not only with words but with actions.” She expressed her gratitude for the inclusion of HWPL's Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) within the UN Declaration, and delivered a letter of appreciation to Chairman Lee assuring him of her full support.

The next day, on September 1, Chairman Lee met with the heads of Yemeni regional peace organizations. At that meeting, Chairman Lee said, “The majority of wars in the global village are caused by religion. Corrupt religions are dedicated to serving their individual masters, so now, if we come to the true Creator and religions become one, there will be no more conflict.” In Yemen, where civil war continued due to inter-religious conflict, peace had remained a vague possibility, but Chairman Lee's proposal came as a beacon of hope. Sadik Kaid, head of the Yemeni American Association, said, "I believe that Chairman Lee's peace movement is essential to the problems we are facing in the Middle East, where I live." "I believe that the World Peace Summit will be an epochal event for people from all over the world to come together to achieve peace.”

On September 2, 2014, at the UN Headquarters in New York, Chairman Lee is taking a commemorative photo with UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Youth Ahmad Alhendawi (right), following a meeting

Chairman Lee also met with the UN Global Educational First Initiative (GEFI) Steering Committee and UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Youth Ahmad Alhendawi to suggest a way for the world's youth to move forward with this peace movement. Special Envoy Alhendawi said, “I think young people will benefit the most through this peace work, because it is young people who suffer the most in war.”

On September 2, the UN Peace Conference was held at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel. Leaders within the United Nations invited Chairman Lee to give his message. The conference was attended by representatives of the UN, including the late Noel Sinclair, former President of the UN Security Council; Mary Singletary, President at the National Council of Women of the United States; Isaiah Chabala, former Ambassador of Zambia to the United Nations and Founder and President of Visionary Empowerment Inc.; and Carlos García, former Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations and Founder of CG Global Consultant.

Those who have struggled with ways of achieving peace in their respective fields immediately realized the value of peace after hearing the clear and flawless solution to peace proposed by Chairman Lee. The path to world peace, vague even to the United Nations despite its vast resources and talent, became apparent. Without hesitation, they promised to become one with Chairman Lee's peace movement, which is more active and innovative than that of the UN, which itself had been established for peace.

On September 3, 2014, after a meeting with religious leaders, Chairman Lee emphasizes the importance of being born again through the Word of God to Rabbi Jacob Dovid Cohen (right), who came to visit him

Chairman Lee's visit to the UN was of great interest to numerous media outlets. After the peace conference, Al Jazeera reported on the conference and related coverage, and UN-based media outlets and PTC News USA took up microphones and asked Chairman Lee to give a message of peace.

In a conversation with religious leaders that followed, Shankal Parial, the chief priest of a Hindu temple in Bangladesh, made the following resolve: "Bangladesh has become independent, but it has not completely achieved peace. Therefore, I will proudly work as a volunteer and messenger of HWPL." After the meeting, Rabbi Jacob Dovid Cohen, who had come of his own accord to see Chairman Lee  and was deeply impressed by Chairman Lee's message of peace, pledged to participate in the peace movement.

Peace!!