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Originally published in Vajra Bodhi Sea, issue 410, July, 2004
By Julia He, 10th grader, Developing Virtue Girls School, May 6, 2004
Bhikshuni Heng Jiao Chinese translation |
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Despite the fact that members of the United Religions
Initiative (URI) were only here for four days, I really felt that I made a
deep connection with them. We all shared the same heart. The URI are a
terrific bunch of people. They have come from all over the world just to
help bring religions together, and that is truly a goal worth commending.
They had given up a lot of their time and money to come to CTTB, to get
together and reach a consensus on how to bring interfaith to the world.
The United Nations (UN) brings nations together, but the URI brings
religions together. These people do not see the color and accents of their
fellow global council members. They only see the hope and love glowing in
the eyes of their friends. These people are truly amazing and have done a
lot to help the world.
Even though the URI has only technically been in existence
for five years, their members have actually been together for ten years. I
received the honor of interviewing the chairperson of the URI, Mrs. Rita
Semel. She told me all about the founding of the URI, and its purpose. She
showed me that the world is actually capable of peace and unity, and that
there is still much hope for the world. She also demonstrated to me that
there are many people who have put aside their differences and come
together to form Cooperation Circles, which have done a tremendous amount
of good deeds. And she showed me that the world does want interfaith. I
was amazed to find out that 10,000 people have already signed the URI
Charter. Just meeting her made me look at the world in a different light,
a brighter and more hopeful light.
I went on a walk with a few of the global council members
this morning at 7:00 am. I got the chance to get to know quite a few of
the members. Many of them have made a resolve to promote interfaith and
bring peace to the world and that sole purpose renders me speechless.
Later on this morning at about 9:00 am, some students from the Girls’
School were blessed with the opportunity of leading the Sacred Opening on
the last day. When we arrived, we were escorted into their meeting room
and the ceremony began. We taught them a few mantras and Dharma Master
Heng Sure taught everyone how to sing, “She Carries Me.” During “She
Carries Me” there is a chorus and everyone was invited to sing. We’ve sung
it a few times before but when the URI sang it, it was as if the whole
room was shaking with indescribable hope and passion. Quite a few people
were moved so much that they broke into tears! When it came time for the
closing, the students went into the middle of the room and formed an
outward circle and bowed. The council members were on their feet and
bowing back and saying, “A-mi-to-fo” to us. It was such an incredible
moment. Everyone felt the positive energy nestled into that one room, and
soon, a majority of the people were in tears, including myself. Then
everyone began laughing and when we were about to leave, the URI council
members stopped us and showered gifts upon us, autographed of course. At
that moment I could see that everyone was happy, because all the tears
were tears of joy and happiness, not tears of hatred or pain. I will
always remember this day.
The URI has changed me in many ways. During their short
stay, I’ve got to know quite a few of the members, and we all agreed to
stay in touch. Unfortunately, they are gone now but I still can’t stop
thinking about them. I can thank them enough for what they’ve done for me
and for the entire world. |
