Speech of Demberel Choijamts, hamba lama Chief of the Gandantagchilen monastery (Mongolian Buddhist Center)

Most Esteemed Spiritual Leaders,
Your Excellencies,
Brothers and Sisters,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is my honor to participate in this Congress together with all of you, the most eminent spiritual leaders of traditional religions and deliver a speech to this significant gathering.

And let me, please, on behalf of all Mongolian Buddhists express my gratitude to the organizing committee of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions.

Also I would like to take this opportunity to express my best wishes and heartfelt congratulations, as well as to all the most eminent and esteemed participants of this significant gathering.

This Congress is a historical and remarkable event for the human family, because every aim from this Congress is fully meant to trend towards world peace and peaceful cooperation among different religions and all ethnic groups of diversity and other crucial issues.
Therefore, it is very remarkable that this is taking place at the very time that the world is undergoing complicated and fatal situations, due to the scourge of violence and terrorism and all kinds of racial and religious conflicts in its many parts today.

The Lord Buddha, the Fully Enlightened Being taught "Not only humans but all other living beings have the same wish to live a life of happiness and to avoid facing suffering.

On this very basis, every human being has the same right to live a life of happiness. There is no doubt that every religion aims fundamentally at the goodness of the humanity.

Historically, religious leaders have been holding important roles in establishing and preserving peace in their own ways of diversity. But the current world situation is making religious leaders united in order to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between all our religions to create a harmonious world.

I am greatly happy that through the process of dialogue and unity, all the traditional religions are now becoming united for strengthening justice, human rights, freedom, international and national security, and against using religions as means for rousing hatred or an excuse for crimes, which are the current major challenges today against individuals, nations, morality and the human family itself.

United, we are starting to integrate in the very core of spirituality, as the establishment and preservation of the world peace are so dependent on religious theologies.

United, all the traditional religions are starting to share a common sense or responsibility for the safety of the human family.

United, we are starting to use our joint spirituality in order to establish solutions without hostility to global problems and create security for the sake of our human family by our joint efforts, eliminating i inter-religious problematic issues, such as ignoring, misinterpretation and non-regarding one another.

United, we are starting to sense our universal responsibility to seed the spiritual understanding of acceptance and respect to other religions, tolerance and patience, compassion and wisdom in the very environment where our next generations will grow up and face new and even newer challenges.

This is a very significant start of unity and it must not become just slogans and this common sense of unity for the goodness of the humanity in spite of our cultural and doctrinal differences, needs to be supported by all kinds of followers in this world, which has been torn apart by distortions on religious differences and political interests. This unity, aimed at the goodness of the human family, always needs to be supported through education, mass media and teachings of spiritual leaders.

I strongly believe the word "united" means a dialogue, mutual understanding and peaceful cooperation for the world, beyond all the inauspicious events in and between various political systems, nations, and different religious traditions of people.

Also I strongly believe, this word "united" means just and durable solutions of international and national conflicts, obtained only by peaceful means, and prevention from any other conflicts and disputes at both international and national levels as well. Hence, I, on behalf of all Mongolian Buddhists, call upon people of all faiths, religious leaders and political leaders as well to work hard together for strengthening this profound unity in order not to give any space to any distorted theologies, all forms of violence and terrorism as a firm basis of the international security.

Since we are members or brothers and sisters from one big family of the humankind, there should be no contradiction of different views but competition of different views on our path to come united for the better future of the world civilization."May all mother sentient beings have happiness and the causes of happiness¹.

May all mother sentient beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!

May all mother sentient beings be inseparable from the happiness that is free from suffering!

May all mother sentient beings abide in equality and free from desire for friends and hatred for enemies, not holding some close and others distant!".

Thank you all very much.