[HWPL]
[HWPL] Message from HWPL's Chairman Man-Hee Lee
I would like to express my gratitude to all the participants for joining today’s 10th anniversary of our peace work.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is the same when we look back in history. When we look at what the world is facing today, it makes us think about what kind of future will unfold. Together, we are living in this same era. Then, what can we give to this generation?
I was born in a farming family and had lived as a farmer but when the Korean War broke out, I fought on the frontlines. At that time, South Korea was not prepared to fight a war. It was when Lee, Syng-man Lee was the president. However, North Korea had fully trained with weapons when they marched south. Then, the UN forces came to fight the war together, and I was near Seoul when I passed out. Why? It was not that I was shot—I had no food for days so I could not speak or even stand.
During the war, Koreans were fighting at the forefront, and the UN forces were the second line of defense. I could not stand nor talk, but the first line of defense kept marching forward, so I could not keep up. Then the UN forces found me. They wrote something to me here, but because I did not speak English (so I did not know what they had written). Then, they put me on a plane and evacuated me to Daegu.
After being discharged from the military service, I farmed in the countryside again. I thought to myself, how could I have survived such a war and was deeply grateful to God in the heavens and prayed every evening out of thankful heart. Then, one day, a huge and bright light came to me. I was not the only one who saw it, and this light ultimately led me to begin my life of faith, which I continue today.
In the Christian scripture, peace is mentioned around 70 times from Genesis to Revelation. When people excessively force what little that they know onto others, this can be detrimental to the people around them. We have no reason to do this, because in terms of imperfection, we are all flawed. We are all the same, as we are all human beings. Hence, we should work hand-in-hand to make a good world and leave (this peaceful world) as a legacy to future generations.
To this end, we all should strive to make this peaceful world under the title of “peace.” We should leave something invaluable for our future generations, but wealth is not all. We should stop focusing on what is mine or yours and have no cases where powerhouses oppress small states.
Truly, we are unlike other animals. As higher primates, we, humans, should fulfill our duties to become the light of the world that helps and gives life. What is it that we know and what is it that we should do? As human beings, we cannot help but think about these questions. We should not adhere to the outdated mindset that focuses on our differences. There are people with more knowledge because they have studied for a lengthy period of time, and people with less as they had shorter learning periods. However, this does not mean that the former can disregard or oppress the latter.
Under the Creator of the heaven and earth, everyone should become one. What would make us unite as one? It is love and peace. Love and peace. Only these can bring us together as one. Arguing day and night that I am better or you are wrong will only result in an endless cycle of conflicts and wars. There are people with more knowledge and those with less, someone with more skills and someone with less. How can everyone be the same?
For me, I used to take pride in that I am a descendant of a yangban (noble class) in Korea. This was in the past. However, everyone is a flawed, so who can be better or worse? This is what I believe. Someone who does not focus on the past but practice good deeds will be the truly good person. Why punish the descendants for what was done in the past? We should not let this happen. There is this saying that even if the father eats something bitter, will children’s teeth be set on edge. Thus, those who sin are the ones who will be punished accordingly. This is true, right? We need proper deeds, rather than calling people sinners or children of sinners or that someone is better or worse. These are not what we should be saying.
Today, there are many different religions worldwide. As a believer, I have read scriptures from different religions and have seen how believers of respective religions practice their faiths. In Korea, Buddhists are known to be the most calm and quiet. Christians boast Christianity as the best, but when they meet, they fight and speak ill of each other. Why do this? Are these good deeds? To be acknowledged as good and kind, we should be practicing virtues. Regardless of religion, I always say let us become one. I believe we should come as one under the Creator who made the heaven and earth.
These have led me to begin the peace movement. While working for peace, we visited Mindanao, Philippines, one day. It was an area where people with different faiths fought for 40 years, 40 long years and the number of death reached 120,000. When we were there, we invited professors, and people from both sides to a big hall we booked and asked them, you have brought about the death of countless people but is this what the God you worship told you to do? I also said why is it that others have died but not you?
At the venue, people from various walks of life have joined, and I said, let us make the decision then and there and decide what to do in the future. I asked whether they will continue to fight, blindly claiming my faith and my ways are better or stop the conflict. If one religion has what is good, we can put it to good use together, and if there are controversial things, we can talk about them together. Why should people kill and be killed? This is not what we should pursue. It was the division upon division that has instigated wars, so we should not be doing this.
As you can see, I have lived long, almost a lifetime, and have seen and heard many things. There was this time when I went to a quiet location to write books. It was at a Buddhist temple, and I visited there more than once to write books. Why? Because it was quiet, and they also gave me food and somewhere to sleep, so it was great.
Christian organizations considering Buddhists as enemies, speaking ill of them, and causing conflicts are the reasons why they were not able to join as one. Rather than doing this or pointing out other’s wrongdoings, we should look at ourselves first. We are all flawed and are sinners, so what is the point of pointing fingers at each other? We should come before God and first admit our sins and strive to not make the same mistakes again.
I have circled the globe multiple times on world peace tours. What did I speak of? If I talked about religion, not many would understand so what would the point? It will only make things seem stranger. Hence, I have been focused on the movement for peace. In the Bible, peace is mentioned more than 70 times. Regarding peace, what did Jesus say when he went to the Jerusalem temple? He called Jerusalem and said it would have been great if it also had known what would bring it peace. Then, rather than having disputes day and night, knowing and doing the work of peace will be much better. Also, we should converse and talk to each other.
The message I hoped to convey today is that all believers should gather in heart and mind to share what is good in my religion and check the gap between what I know and what the scripture says to learn the truth rather than speaking ill of and insulting each other.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Whether it is your mind today or in 1,000 years, it will remember this day. It will not disappear. Surely, today will be remembered in history. Also, if it is the righteous thing to do, we should voluntary look for it and carry it out into actions. We should help the weak and vulnerable people. The entire world will need to follow the commands of God. Let us strive together to build a peaceful world together. Thank you.
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