On Sep 25, 2011 Ven. Myong-Ahn and Ven. Mooh-Sang in collaboration with Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition participated in the International Peace Day. The celebration took place at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Somerville and featured representatives from various religious traditions. Ven. Myong-Ahn's address was followed by guided loving kindness meditation led by Ven. Mooh-Sang. The following is the transcript of Ven. Myong-Ahn's address:
The Whole World is a Single Flower
There is a famous calligraphy by Zen Master Man Gong that reads “The whole world is a single flower”. The statement is short and simple yet points to a deep, deep truth, namely: that we are each indeed a part of a whole. In fact each one of us can make a statement the “I am the most important person in the world”. It is said that when the Buddha was born he pointed one finger up and another down and declared: “Heaven and below, earth and above I am only one”. For it is up to you to carve your destiny out of the ephemeral mist that is our thoughts. Because the ancestor of every action is a thought. Peace, begins in your mind, and your mind begets reality. There is a running thread between those great souls who actually experience their unity with the life around them. A relationship that declares peace among all. To borrow a phrase from Mother Theresa “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other”. The root, the stem, the petal, is there one more important than another, can any of us live disconnected from anyone else? We all breathe the same air, we all drink the same water. When you poison the rivers you poison your own blood. When you pollute the air it is your lungs that will be diseased.
When you raise the sword in the end it is your own flesh you will cut. One man’s inhalation is another’s exhalation. The tides, the coming and going of the waves are the expansion and contraction of the universe. It is all a heartbeat of one life. It is as the Upanishads tell us:” As is the human body, so is the cosmic body. As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind. As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm.” You cannot harm another without ultimately hurting yourself. From the Buddhist, but as we can see not only the Buddhist perspective, we are called to live these truths. But although universal truths and lofty spiritual goals are enticing our lives are always reduced to the practical. For a Buddhist this often means taking the 5 Precepts, very first of which is to “Avoid killing living things”. To avoid killing, to refrain from causing harm, to be a banner of peace. We can each only hope that in a world made dark by violence, ignorance, greed and suffering we can be, and must be, a beacon of peace.The world is a single flower.
Together, we can make it blossom.