United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon hailed the commemoration of Vesak at UNESCO in Paris and thanked Sri Lanka for making the events possible.
Issuing a special message in view of the events being organized by the Permanent Delegation of Sri Lanka to UNESCO, the UN Secretary General recalled the decision made by the Buddha to leave the safety of his palace and discover the four sufferings of birth, sickness, old age and death.
He further noted that “while such painful realities cannot be avoided, Buddhism offers insights into how to cope with them,” and added that “History is replete with inspiring examples of the transformative power of Buddhist philosophy.”
Laying emphasis on the events being organized at UNESCO under the theme of “Buddhism and Inter-Faith Dialogue: Reconciliation through Education”, the UN Secretary encourage the spread of the message of interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence expressing the view, that “now more than ever, we need the spirit of non-violence to help inspire peace and quell conflict.”
The commemoration of Vesak at UNESCO brought together religious leaders representing Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam for two days of reflection and discussion with a view to enhancing the need for religions and their followers to come together in spirit of unity and solidarity and to thereby convey the timely message of the need for religions to be paths towards achieving peace and harmony.
Permanent Delegation of Sri Lanka to UNESCO
Paris
28th May 2013
