Harmony of All Religions，A Peaceful World

All religions are from the teachings of one true god whose wisdom is fundamentally “benevolence, compassion, and universal love.” From this perspective, all religions can cooperate with one another in unity.

• The Christian sacred texts say, “God loves all people” and “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.”
• Islam teaches, “Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” and “There’s only one guideline for being moral. It’s being selfless, do good with universal love for all.”
• Zoroastrianism teaches, “ One should love others as oneself. This is as the faith of man should be.”
• Sikhism teaches, “More than all else do I treasure love at heart, which makes me live an eternal life in this mundane world.”
• Baháism teaches, “The purpose of the one true God manifesting Himself to our world is to summon all mankind to uphold truthfulness, sincerity, filial piety and trustworthiness.”
• Buddhism teaches in the Infinite Life Sutra, “Revere the saints and respect the decent [people]. Be benevolent, compassionate, and universally loving.”

Why is it that the core teachings from all saints and sages are about benevolence, compassion, and universal love? It is because the universe was created by one creator? The creator is the true body of all phenomena and the universe. Here, Judaism, Catholicism, and Christianity are referring to God. In Islam, the creator is Allah. In Buddhism, it is the true nature, or Dharma nature. In Taoism, it is called Tao. It creates all phenomena and also exists in all phenomena. It is everywhere. It is everything. “All phenomena” means everything, including us human beings. Therefore, it is our true nature (our true form). We and all phenomena are from the same origin. Everything is one entity. Therefore, when we love all people, when we love everything, we actually and truly love ourselves.

Consequently, we realize that the sacred texts of all religions teach us to learn from God, Buddha, Saints and Sages to love all beings equally, to learn to have “a mind that encompasses everything; a heart that reaches throughout the whole universe,” to learn to be selfless, to learn to abandon evil and promote goodness, and to learn to let go of greed and raise our spirituality while dedicating ourselves to helping and serving all beings so they can end pain and suffering, and attain happiness.

If each religious adherent could follow their own teachings, treat other religious adherents equally, live in harmony, respect and care for each other, and cooperate, then this strong and positive force would surely be able to resolve all conflicts and promote world peace.

Not only should all religions live in harmony and cooperate, we should all learn from each other. Religious adherents should use the loving kindness demonstrated by the saints and sages in our daily lives. Each of us should start from ourselves—expand our broadmindedness, love our religion as well as all other religions, and learn our own sacred texts and those of other faiths. Furthermore, we should realize that all religions are really just part of one family, all religions are about social education of “benevolence, compassion, and universal love.”

For a society to be peaceful, harmonious, and prosperous, education is the key. The Book of Rites stated, “Education is the priority in establishing a country and leading its people.” Religious prayers are temporary answers but not a cure for our problems. The cure lies in moral education, which transforms the mindsets of the people and enables all to “abandon evil and promote goodness, change from being deviated to being decent, and correct one’s mindset.” We must do our best in realizing and practicing these religious teachings, and promote their values. While each religion teaches their sacred texts continuously, with the passage of time, it would surely help in dissolving disasters and promoting peace and harmony.