International Day of Peace
Promoting Global Peace and Sustainability with Love and Conscience
Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze
President of Federation of World Peace and Love
Vice-President of Association of World Citizens
Zhang-men-ren of Tai Ji Men
Sep. 21, 2021
The United Nations General Assembly unanimously declared September 21 as a day of nonviolence and ceasefire in 2001, calling on all nations and peoples to end hostilities on this day, practice 24 hours of nonviolence and ceasefire, and promote the idea of peace through education and activities on a variety of peace-related topics. It is intended to not only honor the International Day of Peace, but also strengthen and raise awareness of peace among global citizens. Twenty years later, the UN Secretary General underlined in his message for the 100-day countdown to International Day of Peace 2021, “The world cannot go back to what it was. As we count down to the International Day of Peace, I call on people everywhere to be part of a transformation for peace, by standing up against hatred and discrimination, by caring for the planet, and by showing the global solidarity that is so vital at this time.”
Peace affects every aspect of human life, including relationships between people, between countries, and between humans and nature. Peace is essential for maintaining positive energy, and love is a strong foundation for creating peace. Technological advancement has provided us with many modern conveniences. However, at the same time, we have lost balance with the natural environment. This imbalance between mankind and nature has resulted in the global pandemic, which has forced humanity to reflect on the challenges brought by globalization. Many nations around the world are confronting each other. People are fearful and lack mutual trust. This mentality has exacerbated tensions among peoples and nations, obstructing rational communication and peace talks. Now is a critical time as the world needs to recover quickly and global solidarity and dialogue are urgently needed. Only by providing mutual support and care and uniting with love and conscience will we create a win-win situation to enhance our collective well-being and to usher in true peace.
The International Day of Love and Peace is September 15, and the International Day of Peace is September 21. In honor of these two peace days, I declared this September to be the “International Month of Love and Peace,” and I organized a series of events, including many online forums, inviting peace activists from all walks of life to join us to offer suggestions and share practical actions to promote love and peace. The International Day of Love and Peace reminds us that we all have a long way to go in maintaining international peace and security, as well as promoting democracy and freedom, and that we must all work together to ensure the survival of the world's more than seven billion people. The International Day of Peace emphasizes the importance of using peace actions to safeguard the sustainable future of democratic and free societies, and it encourages the promotion of a culture of love, peace, and conscience to protect human rights and achieve global security, stability, and peace.
Peacemaking and nonviolent conflict resolution are at the heart of a culture of conscience. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, advocated nonviolence in the fight for African Americans' basic rights. The father of the Indian nation, Mahatma Gandhi, successfully led India to independence, and his nonviolent ideology impacted the global movement for peaceful reforms. The key to peace is to promote the purest love of mankind. As a result, all activities motivated by love and conscience are the most powerful force for peaceful reform.
There is no peace without love. Peace needs love, and love needs to be balanced. Balanced yin and yang is achieved through the middle way. The fruit of conscience is true love. The fruit of true love is altruism, and the fruit of altruism is peace. We believe that sowing seeds of love and peace deep inside our hearts will facilitate the awakening of conscience and allow us to grow amid the warm exchanges of hearts. Conscience is like a compass, guiding people onto the right path and unleashing their boundless potential. Conscience enables people to become compassionate and courageous and empowers them to use wisdom to resolve conflict. When people act in accordance with their conscience, they benefit both themselves and others. By handling people and things with conscience, we will know how to tolerate and forgive each other, love and care for others, shorten the distance between people and between nations, and promote an all-round stable and peaceful society.
Every human being yearns for love, peace, and goodness, and we can achieve a win-win situation if we work together for mutual benefit and reciprocity. We are committed to continuing our conscience-driven efforts, and we welcome everyone to join the conscience ranks in order to benefit the world through acts of love and conscience. Let conscience guide us to create a sustainable society of peace, unity, and love through collective action, and together we will move toward a true era of conscience in which love, peace, and human dignity prevail. The more seeds of conscience we sow today, the larger the tree of love and peace that will grow tomorrow. By uniting the actions of all conscience advocates, we will move together toward the ideal of a culture of conscience and peace!
Thank you all for your participation. May you all be blessed with peace and happiness.
*Presented at the ICDAY’s virtual event in support of UN International Day of Peace