International Conference on Religious Cooperation
Declaration of Commitments
On the theme “World Peace through Religious Cooperation” we have gathered from 18-21 September 2001 in the Grand Hotel, Taipei, Republic of China. The Buddhist Association of the Republic of China and the World Chinese Buddhist Sangha Congress sponsored the Conference. The organizers were the Chinese Young Buddhist Association, the Torch of Wisdom Buddhist Association the Taiwan Conference on Religion and Peace and the World Buddhist Sangha Congress. All these organizations come under the direction and chairing of the Venerable Ching Hsin.
A total of more than 100 delegates attended this conference. We represent 19 different religious traditions; we are from the Buddhist, Christian (Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Protestant), Hindu, Hsuan-yuan Chiao, I-Kuan Tao, Indigenous Religion, Jain, Li-Chiao, Muslim, Shinto, Sikh, Tenrikyo, Tien-Di-Cheng-Chiao, Tien-Di-Chiao, Tien-Te-Chiao, Unification Church, and Zoroastrian. We are from 29 different countries comprising of Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Palau, the Philippines, the Republic of China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
We stand together united in grief and indignation at the recent terrorist attacks in the United States and in deep sympathy for the victims of the floods and mudslides wrought by Typhoon Nari in Taiwan. We sought to understand some of the causes of such disasters, how healing could be brought and what preventive measures could be learned form them. We also faced the wider challenges of worldwide violence, injustice and suffering. We deplored the loss of balance and justice in the ambiguous processes of globalization and of rapid technological development as the poor grow poorer and the rich grow richer. In such contexts we are faced with the urgent need to preach and practise out religious teachings, to promote morals and ethics, to help in the purifying of people’s minds, and to contribute to maintaining social order that is based on tenets of freedom and tolerance, peace and justice. We believe that it is only through cooperative engagement between our religions that these sacred yet difficult tasks can be achieved.
The three sub-topics of our discussion have been: How to find solutions for conflicts where religions are involved; How to promote religious cooperation and rise to common aspirations; and How to contribute religious and ethical perspectives to scientific research, including bio-technology. Through earnest and open discussion, and despite some differences of perception or emphasis we came to a common mind and found that we could make common commitments on many burning issues.
RELIGIONS’ COMMITMENTS TO SEEK SOLUTIONS TO CONFLICT
We commit ourselves and appeal to all people of goodwill:
1. To oppose strongly any form of terrorism, and any aggressive or provocative war whether it be a civil war or a destructive invasion of another country; to seek to eradicate any form of discrimination or demonization against any race or religion; and to oppose no less strongly even the threat of recourse to the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.
2. To oppose strongly the recourse to any violent means, even in the guise of self-defense or preventive measures, which may launch or perpetuate a cycle of violence and which may harm innocent and vulnerable people; to promote non-violent means of mitigating, resolving and reconciling conflicts; to urge in both poor and rich countries steps towards total disarmament and to the redeployment of human and material resources towards sustainable forms of development.
3. To develop peace education and religious studies in order to promote mutual understanding and respect for the adherents of all religions or of none; to defend the basic human right to enjoy - and the responsibility to uphold for everyone else - the freedom of religion, conscience or belief, in order to oppose all forms of hatred and violent compulsion in the name of religion, even in the defense or propagation of one’s own religion.
4. To draw on religious teachings about peace and justice in order to prevent any form of manipulation of our own or others’ religious teachings and principles whereby they are used as excuses for oppressing and hurting other religions; and to refuse that our or others’ religions be exploited as a means for seizing political power or seeking to justify the use of violence.
RELIGIONS’ COMMITMENTS TO BUILD COOPERATION ON THE BASIS OF COMMON ASPIRATIONS
We commit ourselves and appeal to all people of goodwill:
1. To make deliberate efforts in supporting and strengthening the many existing initiatives in inter-religious dialogue and education at local, national and international levels, and to build on such dialogue among religions in order to enhance our spiritual friendship and practical cooperation; and to involve in these dialogues every sector in our own community (i.e. the leaders and members, women and men, young and old).
2. To work hard for human rights, freedom, equality, justice and peace, notably to protect vulnerable groups such as the poor, minorities, migrants, refugees, or any victims of discrimination; to support those who are put at risk because they practise non-violence; and to work especially against intolerance or discrimination based on their religion, belief or creed or fomented by misunderstanding and misuse of one’s own religion.
3. To cherish and to nurture the limited resources of the earth for future generations by setting the example of sustainable and unselfish life-styles, recognizing that the teachings of religions, especially the wisdom of many indigenous religions, affirm not only the sanctity of human life but the sanctity of the biosphere as a whole.
4. To include in all educational opportunities and development projects participation by the marginalized, the abandoned and the oppressed; and to empower with dignity and hope all those who suffer from poverty, disease and starvation, bearing in mind that religions’ universal teachings of love and compassion are far too seldom practised.
RELIGIONS’ COMMITMENTS TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR PERSPECTIVES TO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
We commit ourselves and appeal to all people of goodwill:
1. To work hard to learn methods and to adopt attitudes which will protect and honor the endangered eco-systems of the earth and share more equitably between North and South non-renewable resources, thereby helping to maintain the order and balance of the global village; to affirm and implement religious contributions towards the elaboration and application of global ethics and standards.
2. To provide for young women and men, in both secular and religious education, access to knowledge and values, as well as hope and opportunity, in order to build an equitable and sustainable world; to pay particular attention to empowering those who have no access to the means of modern technology and communication or who may misunderstand and abuse such opportunities as they have.
3. To work with governments and civil society to domestic violence, prevents substance abuse, sexual abuse and the spread of HIV/AIDS/ to seek to understand reasons for some of the moral failings (including the failings of religious people to provide appropriate support or guidance) which have led to these tragedies; and to promote compassionate attitudes and ministries to victims.
4. To offer moral and humanitarian guidelines for scientific research which affects all living beings; and, where necessary, to oppose strongly experiments such as human cloning, which could endanger human personality, family values and social order.
A COMMON PRAYER
Therefore, together with all people of goodwill:
Let us express, in deep compassion, our solidarity with all victims of violence.
Let us seek to correct the wrong and to heal the suffering when we ourselves or others become victims of hatred and greed.
Let us commit ourselves to treasure and build upon this inspiring opportunity of gathering together in dialogue, in order to deepen our friendship and in order to promote cooperation for the well-being of humankind.
Let us seek to build mutual trust and to expand altruistic love in order to resolve violent conflict and establish a serene world of virtue, peace, beauty and holiness.
Let us be guided by the spirit of helping those who are suffering, and of cooperating with others, in order to spread the light of compassion to illuminate the world and to increase happiness for all human beings.
September 18th - 21st 2001 in Taipei, R.O.C.