| Ambassador for Peace |
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Speech given in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 28, 2005, during conference on “Ethics and tomorrow´s society”.
By Hans Karlsson Chairman, IIFWP Sweden (Interreligious and International Federation For World Feace)
We are going to honor Ven. Phramaha Boonthin Taosiri as Ambassador for Peace. But let me first share with you some background. We are here today for different reasons, but one common point is that word which is so frequently spoken about but so hard to realize. That word is PEACE. Humanity has struggled throughout history to achieve peace. But the dream has never become a reality. During the 20th Century we were plagued by two world wars and this year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of the second World War. At that time United Nations was created, an organization that was supposed to secure peace.
However, the world has changed in ways which we couldn´t foresee during the last 50-60 years. This country, Sweden, is a good example of that. When I grow up in the 50s and 60s Sweden was a one-religion-country with one common culture. But since the early 70s Sweden has received about one and a half million immigrants, many of whom have brought their own religions and cultures along. As a result this is a multi-religious and multi-cultural society with all the challenges it brings. And Sweden is not unique in this sense, many other nations throughout the world faces similar situations.
In this rapidly changing global village, we are in desperate need of people I would like to call Ambassdors for Peace, people like the Ven. Phramaha Boonthin Taosiri. I represent the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace. It is a group with a clear goal: to create peace. The road to peace has to take into account the international and interreligious nature of the world today. We need to broaden our horizon and understand that peace can only be reached if we cooperate beyond national boundries and also work to break down barriers between religions and cultures. IIFWP has created peace initiatives in various parts of the world. We also started the Ambassador for Peace Initiative in 2001.
What is an Ambassador for Peace? One receives the Ambassador for Peace certificate, not fundamentally as an award, but rather as an appointment or a commission. The certificate installs or appoints a person to a position that carries new and on-going responsibilities aimed a creating a world of peace. Living for the sake of others, this central principle transforms a ‘self-serving’ or ‘nation serving’ perspective into one of ‘selfless service’ and living for the sake of the whole. This is an essential ingredient in building a world community and a core principle of IIFWP. Many Thai people have married with Swedes and moved to Sweden, and Ven. Phramaha Boonthin Taosiri and the Buddharama Temple are playing a great role in harmonizing Thais and Swedes. Especially after the Tsunami-catastrophe, ties between the two nations have become even closer and also here Ven. Phramaha Boonthin has played an important role.
Ven.Boonthin has a wide range of contacts with other religious groups, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, and is working with them and teaching about meditation. Also many Swedish students from high schools and universities come to the Buddharama Temple to study, or sometimes Ven. Boonthin visits their faculties to teach.
He is not only working in Sweden, but visits many European nations, and beyond, to promote peace and co-operation. Only last week he attended a United Nations Conference on Buddhism in Bangkok. The work of Ven. Boonthin has been acknowledged by the King of Thailand and has been reported in Swedish TV and newspapers, by Thai TV and newspapers, and even globally by the CNN.
A huge project now being started is the building of a Buddhist Temple in Fredrika in the northern part of Sweden, a remote village with peaceful and beautiful surroundings. This will become the biggest Buddhist Temple in Europe and is being constructed in co-operation with Åsele commune.
As you realize, Ven. PramahaBoonthin is a person who is an example of what an Ambassador for Peace stands for. He will receive this Ambassador for Peace diploma as an award but it is at the same time an appointment. He will surely play an important role in promoting peace in our multireligious society.
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