Citing the famous quotation by Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, "He who plants a tree will go to Heaven," Buddhist masters note that the religion advocates the harmonious coexistence of mankind and nature, which will play an active role in building a harmonious world.

With "peace" and "harmony" as its two keywords, the World Buddhist Forum is the first major international Buddhist conference in China's history. The forum took place from April 13 to 16 in east China's Hangzhou, a city that has had much to do with Buddhism over the past thousand years.

"China's peaceful development cannot proceed without a harmonious international environment," said Liu Yandong, Vice Chairwoman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body.

With wars, terrorism, a widening wealth gap and a deteriorating ecosystem posing big threats to the world, the Buddhist forum reflects the call of the times, and the love and compassion advocated by Buddhism will help to promote the mission of building a harmonious world, Liu added.

In a congratulatory letter to the forum, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the Buddha's vision of peace may be more relevant than ever before and called on the public to work together toward the common good and the harmonious and peaceful coexistence of all the world's people.

During the forum, the first in 2,000 years of Buddhism in China, the 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, a spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, said that the three main schools of Buddhism (referring to Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism) respect each other and coexist peacefully. He pointed out that China has a favorable environment for cultivating a belief in Buddhism, and that defending the nation and working for the people is a solemn commitment Buddhism has made to the nation and society.

More than 1,000 Buddhist monks, scholars and government officials from 34 countries and regions attended the forum, which highlighted Buddhism's emphasis on unity and cooperation across the world.

Juexing, Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China, said at the opening ceremony that the forum, with the theme of "A harmonious world begins in the mind," served as an equal, diversified and open platform for talks among people who love the world, respect and support Buddhism and have a caring heart.

The widely accepted doctrine of dependent origination states that any phenomenon "exists" only because of the "existence" of other phenomena in a complex web of cause and effect; that is to say, all things are interdependent and can't be separated from each other.

"Following the doctrine of dependent origination and achieving harmonious and sound relations between oneself and all other things is the way people can approach the highest level of wisdom. And thus we have the 'harmonious world' as it comes in the context of the present world," said Ye Xiaowen, President of the Religious Culture Communication Association of China.

Mercy and peace

Buddhists have adopted a peaceful way and a rational attitude to promoting Buddhism and leading people toward a life of the correct view and faith over the past 2,500 years, so "harmony" is one of the facets of Buddhism, noted Hung I, who is from Texas.

"The development of Buddhism in America is to purify people's souls in a harmonious state, so it even benefits different religious believers without changing their own religions," he added. According to the December 2005 issue of National Geographic magazine, there are 3 million Buddhists in the U.S., and another 25 million in the country say their lives have been influenced by Buddhism.

"The concepts of mercy, equality and ahimsa have greatly contributed to Eastern civilization and peaceful coexistence among different peoples and even world peace. They will continue to play such a positive role in the modern world," said Shenghui, Managing Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China. Obeying the doctrines of mercy and peace of the Buddha, his followers have made Buddhism the only religion in history that was spread without resorting to force.

"All Buddhism has is a sword of wisdom, which aims at the only enemy: the evils inside the hearts of the people," Shenghui said.

According to Xuecheng, Secretary General and Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China, the world's entry into an intense, chaotic and discordant state of relentless religious (sectarian) conflicts, wars and terrorist attacks has its roots in the primitive greed and sheer obstinacy of the human race.

"It's paradoxical that religion binds people together but it also brings about conflicts. The reason is that the essence of religion has been misunderstood," said Suddhananda from Bangladesh. He also pointed out that it is the foundation of Buddhism—mercy, tolerance and understanding—that has kept believers together. In the West, people have taken Buddhism as a new path to seek world peace and harmony.

"The forum offers an equal and open platform for lovers of world peace," said Weijue from Taiwan, who is one of the eight initiators of the forum. "The forum is not only conducive to the general public in China but also represents a big effort to promote the development of peace in the world."

Participants in the First World Buddhist Forum held a prayer ceremony April 15 to pass over the sacred heart-shaped light, which stands for wisdom in the Buddhist traditions at Putuoshan Mountain, one of the four most sacred Buddhist sites in China. The next day, 108 Buddhist masters hosted a grand ritual to pray for world peace and paid respect to Buddha's sarira.

The concluding Putuoshan Declaration at the end of the forum underscored that peace is humanity's eternal hope and harmony is a desirable state. "Everyone is responsible for world harmony, which begins in the mind," it said.