The Words of the Balcomb Family
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The Words of the Balcomb Family |
Seoul, Korea -- The UPF Interfaith Assembly opened in Seoul on October 9 at the Cheon Bok Gung, the Unification community's inspiring new sanctuary in the up-and-coming district of Yongsan. Around 1200 people came early on a Saturday morning to participate in a moving ceremony of prayers and readings from seven different faith traditions: Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Druze, Shinto, Christianity, and Buddhism.
One by one, faith leaders from around the world came to the microphone to call upon God to bestow His grace. First was Sheik Samir Aasi, the Imam of Acco, who sang in Arabic the hauntingly beautiful words of the Al-Fatihah sura that begins the Qur'an:
In the name of God, the Beneficent,
the Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds,
The
Beneficent, the Merciful,
Owner of the Day of Judgment.
Thee
alone we worship; Thee alone we ask for help.
Just a few weeks ago, Imam Aasi hosted Rev. Hyung Jin Moon, the UPF International Chairman, and his wife Yeon Ah Lee, during their August visit to the Holy Land for the Middle East Peace Initiative. This was a pleasant opportunity to return the favor to Imam Aasi and several other religious leaders who participated in the MEPI program, including Father Dimitri Mussa from the Greek Catholic Church and Sheikh Gaber Mansur from the Druze Community.
Other religious leaders included Prithpal Singh Khalsa, a Sikh from Switzerland; Thakur Prasad Baral, a Hindu from Nepal; Pastor Rolando Hernandez from Panama; Rev. Sarah Abimbola Sobo from Nigeria; and two Buddhists: the Ven. Jisho Shizuka from Japan and the Ven. Yong Wha Na, the Supreme Patriarch of the Korean Buddhist Imje Order.
Following the ceremony, congratulatory remarks were offered by Dr. Hamdi Murad, a member of the UPF Presiding Council and a leading Islamic scholar from Jordan; Dr. Po Ya Chang, President of UPF-Taiwan; and the Rt. Hon. Parmanada Jha, the Vice President of Nepal.
"Religion has the solution for each and every problem of the human being," said Nepal's Vice-President, "but it has to be understood nicely and implemented properly in life. Religion does not teach us to fight amongst ourselves. All the religions of this world and all the religious scriptures teach us only one thing, to love our neighbor."
In his keynote speech, Rev. Hyung Jin Moon took the opportunity to elaborate on the vision of his father and UPF Founder Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon for an interfaith council to be incorporated into the structure of the United Nations.
"In a speech he delivered at the United Nations, just prior to the Millennium General Assembly, my father explained that the UN would not be able to fulfill its mission without creating a council that would uphold the spiritual wisdom and heritage of humanity," he said. "That council would represent God's guidance for all of us, functioning as a spiritual compass and conscience."
Peace cannot come through institutions alone, the UPF Chairman noted. "When we are lacking in spiritual discipline and wisdom, peace is not possible," he said. "Peace arises when we are in a right relationship with God, when our mind and body are united. If we are people of internal struggle, selfishness, and sin, then all our efforts in this world will bear no good fruit, and will only lead to struggle and conflict."