A Speech Delivered at the World Peace Conference of Religious Believers by Zhao Puchu, President of the China Committee on Religion and Peace
(July 25, 1961)
The Chinese delegation of religious leaders has come to attend this conference of Religion for Peace, with heartfelt gratitude and best wishes. We appreciate the invitation from Japanese religious circles, pay tribute to their insight in convening this conference, and support their three proposals as the major topics at this conference. We pray that this conference will bear good fruit and achieve success.
It is a suitable time that this Conference is convened by Japanese religious circles and is held in Japan. The Japanese people were once coerced into an aggressive war by the Japanese militarists and thus suffered a huge catastrophe. The peaceful Japanese civilians were victimized by the first two atomic bombs in the world. I have paid three visits to Japan. Each time I faced those victims, I felt a surge of sorrow and grief as if my own brothers and sisters were suffering. In recent years, in their persistent brave actions against war, atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs and advocacy for independence and peace, the Japanese people have made tremendous achievements and won sympathy and support from people of other Asian countries and the rest of the world. What particularly excites us is that Japanese religious circles have become an active force in these righteous actions. The beating of drums of peace by the Japanese Buddhist monks has caused resonance among all the kind people. Among many Buddhist leaders or venerable monks, some took to the street including those in their 80s, others resolutely declared their decisions to quit the ruling party, and some others went on a hunger strike. Many friends from Christianity, Oomoto, Maruyamakyo and other religions in Japan have also showed their undaunted spirit in their respectable efforts. Last August, I had the honor to take part in the Japanese people’s congregation of peaceful processions, and was happy to see that many processions were led by people with religious faith. What they did are just what true religious believers should, for the great actions they took along with other Japanese people are patriotic and righteous, with a view to safeguarding the peace of the Far East and the entire world. They gave a strong blow to the war conspiracy by those who meant to sabotage peace, and greatly supported and encouraged the world peacekeeping cause. The Japanese religious circles are worthy of admiration from their counterparts of the rest of the world.
Here, please allow me, on behalf of Chinese religious circles, to extend cordial greetings, ardent wishes and great respect to brothers and sisters of Japanese religious circles.
When they paid a visit to China more than one month ago, Ven. Otani Eijun, Ven. Nishikawa Keibun and Ven. Mibu Shōjun handed to the Buddhist Association of China a “Pledge of No War between Japan and China,” signed by 1,500 monastic and lay Buddhists in a campaign initiated at a Symposium of Japanese and Chinese Friendly Religious Believers. This signature scroll represents the sincere peace aspirations of the Japanese people including Buddhists and their deep friendship with the Chinese people. We will cherish and display the signature scroll as the most valuable gift. Here, on behalf of Chinese Buddhists, please allow me to express heartfelt thanks to Japanese Buddhist brothers and sisters.
It is not a coincidence that religious people from across the world happily gather under the same roof today. This is because we are facing the most significant issues in contemporary human history—the issues of peace and war. That is, should we allow a handful of people who profit from war to push mankind into the abyss of war? Or should we rise up to stop them? Should we tolerate a larger-scale massacre? Or should we rise up to end war and safeguard lasting world peace? As the people with religious faith, we definitely cannot ignore what is happening now by just standing there to do nothing, whether from the point of conscience or of the doctrines of each religion. We the Chinese religious believers, along with the counterparts of other countries, are willing to undertake this mission of our times.
Since the two world wars, people all over the world have all expected that there would be no wars and that peace could last forever. Is there anybody who is unwilling to see his or her children to grow up under the shining sun? Is there anyone who does not wish senior citizens to spend their remaining years in comfort? Is there anybody who does not wish people of all countries to peacefully live together on this globe to create a better future? These are the dearest wishes of all the people in this world, especially of the nations and their people who have suffered from the disasters of war. The Chinese people had experienced all pains of imperialist aggressive wars since the Opium War 120 years ago. Thus, the Chinese people particularly hate the aggressive wars and love peace. Since the founding of People’s Republic in 1949, China has been pursuing the five principles of peaceful co-existence, consistently maintaining that all international disputes should be settled through peaceful negations. In fact, it has made significant achievements in this regard. We have been advocating disarmament and the prohibition of nuclear weapons. We have actively supported the Soviet Union’s positive initiatives such as universal disarmament, prohibition of nuclear weapons, cancellation of foreign military bases, withdrawal of foreign forces and dissolution of military groups. We ardently welcome the important measures that the Soviet Union has taken in these aspects. In recent years, China has reduced more than half of its army. The Chinese government has repeatedly called on all the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the U.S., to conclude mutual non-aggression treaties, and kept this region free of nuclear weapons. As for this aspect, Chinese religious believers are in agreement with both the Chinese government and the Chinese people. We regard peacekeeping work as our sacred cause. Tens of millions of Chinese religious believers have signed their names on the Stockholm Declaration. In order to support Japanese people’s struggle for independence and peace, China’s large cities have held congregations last year, with the number of participants totaling over 30 million, including many bishops, priests, imams, lamas and monks. The ideal of peace of religious believers can be smoothly realized in our country.
Dear friends, if the authorities of all countries in the world were able to obey the wishes of their people, couldn’t the three topics we are about to discuss today have already been done? For example, if certain countries, especially the U.S., could have accepted the Japanese people’s strong appeal for the prohibition of A-bombs or H-bombs, the proposals for safeguarding world peace advanced for years by the Soviet Union, and the initiatives raised repeatedly by China to conclude peace pacts in the Asia-Pacific region and to keep this region free of nuclear weapons, then couldn’t the peace issue of our concern have already obtained the key guarantees? However, the fact is that the grave war threats still exist.
As we all know, the disarmament negotiations have continued for more than three years in Geneva. It is said that Lake Geneva would overflow if the documents involved in the negotiations were poured into it. But the negotiations have remained in a stalemate, and recently, the USA is threatening again to restore its nuclear weapon tests and increase its military budget.
Many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America have gained or are gaining independence and freedom from the shackles of colonialism. All righteous people in the world cheer for their new life. But poisonous arrows have always been pointed at them. The murder of Congolese independence hero Patrice Mery Lumumba left the whole country overwhelmed by the dark clouds. Not long ago, Cuba encountered a flagrant armed invasion. Right now the Laotian people’s efforts for peaceful reunification are being obstructed externally.
Sixteen years have passed since this country, where we are gathering, was attacked by atom bombs. Although the victims have suffered this wrong forever, although the survivors have felt remorse for the rest of their life, although A-bomb diseases are like devils threatening many adults and children, although the call for “No More Hiroshima Incidents” can be heard throughout Mount Fuji and across the Sea of Japan, foreign military bases still cling to the Japanese people like a cancer. Okinawa is not only occupied against the will of the Japanese people, but has also become the largest A-bomb base in the Far East, a serious threat to peace in Asia and the entire world. With the support of foreign forces, The Japanese militarism, which brought great disasters both to the Japanese and other Asian people, is speeding up to revive. If such a situation does not change, when on earth could the Japanese people accomplish their wish to prohibit A-bombs and H-bombs and demand peace?
What I enumerated is merely part of facts, but it is already clear enough to prove who is actively pursuing peace and happiness for mankind and who is seeking by all means to make a war. The case is so clear that should we, as the people with religious faith, close our eyes and allow the devils to continue to threat the survival of mankind? Or should we keep to the truth and doctrines, take a firm stand with the people, and show the love of Christ and the commiseration of Buddha to engage ourselves in putting an end to war and rescuing mankind? This is a central issue that we must seriously handle, and now it is time that we are tested and must make our choice.
Here, we the Chinese believers put forward some recommendations to the Conference on the basis of our own experience and understanding.
1. People with religious faith have no reason to neglect the reality and hold an indifferent attitude toward the world. The great hierarchs, prophets and sages were all activists among the people, all regarding the rescuing of both human beings and society as their greatest wish. Christ called himself “Son of Man”, and Buddha said, “All living beings are my parents.” In Buddhist scriptures, the stories of Buddha in his previous existence are almost all those of sacrificing himself to help others and relieving others of sufferings. A true religious person should be closely related to the people. As Buddhist scriptures say, all living beings are like roots, while Buddhas and bodhisattvas are like flowers and fruits. Only when all the living beings are benefited with the water of ultimate commiseration, can the fruits of Buddhas and bodhisattvas be yielded. Without all the living beings, there would be no achievements at all. Our experiences show that disengagement from the masses or realities will bring no good to the people even though out of our kindness and good will. We could even be exploited by the people’s enemy to become a tool of jeopardizing the people. Among the kind religious people, some expected aggressors to repent and mend their ways, while others expected to resort to reason and conscience, but such expectations could only encourage the invaders. Experiences have proven that there are no alternatives but two before us: either to be enslaved and slaughtered, or to join the people in their fight against the invaders.
2. All religions teach love and benevolence, but we have our principle for this love and benevolence. No ambiguity is allowed between good and evil, right and wrong, true and false, justice and evil. It is unimaginable that a true Christian would not call Satan to stand down but usher him to the seat next to Jesus, and that a true Buddhist does not fight against the troops of devils but regard them as being of the same family. If so, could such a religious person still be viewed as a true believer? According to the doctrines of Buddhism, right or wrong and good or evil should be measured by regarding the interests of the masses as the highest standard, and we are convinced that all the other religions hold the same standpoint, too. Then, it must be made clear what conforms to the interests of the masses and what harms such interests, as well as what safeguards the interests of the masses and what endangers such interests. We should have both broad benevolence and discerning wisdom. Benevolence and wisdom are like two wheels of a cart, which cannot move in the absence of either of them. Any ambiguity between right or wrong and good or evil will benefit only evil persons and devils rather than the people and the Lord’s kind subjects.
3. All great religions advocate infinite benevolence, calling on their believers to regard the masses as their own brothers and sisters, as their own flesh and blood. Both the past and present reactionary rulers rack their brains to weaken the people’s strength, and carry out secessionist activities among the people in the pretext of differences in race, skin color, belief, language, etc. All people present today have their own religious faith. We have different beliefs, doctrines and viewpoints, but it does not prevent us from having a happy get-together under the same roof. This is a delightful scene. It is an obvious fact that to safeguard peace and prevent war is a worldwide cause. We have a common goal, and we believers of different religions should join hands for the same objective. Unity means strength, and we will certainly be able to play an important role in safeguarding the peace cause and making glorious contributions to the cause so long as we are alert to the enemy’s intrigues of secession, remain closely united, particularly with the people of the rest of the world. As long as our actions benefit the masses, they will certainly benefit our religions. Sakyamuni once asked his disciples how to keep a drop of water from being dried, but the disciples could not reply. Put it into the sea, Buddha said. Our strength, our wisdom and even our religions, are all a mere drop of water. Only if we are willing to put the drop of water into the ocean of the people, this drop will never dry.
Our present age is a great one, and the world has experienced an earthshaking change. We are happy to see that people of more and more countries have awakened and stood up. They have won their independence and freedom, beginning to take the fate in their hands, or having become the masters of their countries. People of all countries have increasingly realized that they have to closely unite each other and regard world peacekeeping cause as a common sacred one for humankind if they want to strive for the rights of democracy and life, obtain guarantees for the environment of a peaceful life and peaceful construction, and protect the fruits of their industrious labor and the happiness of future generations. All signs indicate that the strength of the people and that of peace are becoming increasingly stronger, while the invaders and the forces to start a war are becoming more and more isolated. We are convinced that religious believers both in Japan and in other countries will certainly win their final victory in their efforts to strive for the people’s happiness and peace. The current peace movement is just like waves, moving ahead all the time despite ups and downs. As long as we remain united to fight continuously, justice and peace will prevail. Let’s make a loud call:
Long live the unity of world religious believers and world people!
Long live world peace!
