Address At The Concluding Function For The 2550th Anniversary Of Mahaparinirvana Of Lord Buddha, Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh

Truth is Supreme

"When there is order in the nation, 
there is peace in the world"

Dear Venerable and Holy Monks; let us all remember Lord Buddha, who has been a great source of enlightenment and inspiration through out the world, on this day of Buddha Poornima through the famous verse:

"buddham saranam gacchami.    
dhammam saranam gacchami.    
sangham saranam gachami"

I am indeed delighted to participate in the concluding function of the 2550th Anniversary at Kushinagar where Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana two thousand five hundred and fifty years ago.

Dhamma and Discipline are the teachers

When I am in Kushinagar, I was asking myself, why Lord Buddha chose this small town to stay during his final days of life before attaining Mahaparinirvana. Lord Buddha himself answered this question to Ananda, his disciple ?No Buddhist could ever rest on past achievements, the Sangha must always press forward to bring help to the wider world.? So, Kushinara for enlightened personality is indeed a place of importance to spread the best of Buddhism. When I read Karen Armstrong?s book Buddha, I am moved and inspired by the words of Lord Buddha through his disciple, ?You may be thinking Ananda: The word of the teacher is now a thing of the past; now we have no more teacher. But, that is not how you should see it. Let the Dhamma and discipline that I have taught you be your teacher when I am gone?. What a beautiful divine revelation to all of us and particularly to all holy monks. The leadership in various parts of the world, has to realize the life and the lessons of the great ones are indeed most important and they have to guide us to lead a peaceful and purposeful life. This is the message the whole humanity derives from Lord Buddha?s own words.

During the last 2550 glorious years, Buddha?s message of peace and harmony was radiated among the people living in different parts of the planet. Gautam the Buddha was the light of all that is eternally noble, right, virtuous and righteous. Hence the occasion of the 2550th Buddha Jayanti Celebrations, is not only for rejoicing but also for reformation and enlightenment. I am sure that Lord Buddha?s teachings will get into the minds of the children and the people and will spread among the entire humanity. My greetings to the organizers, theologians, academicians, students and distinguished guests participating in this programme.

Four noble truths

The philosophers, theologians, thinkers and many of reverent Monks who have assembled here know, what four noble truths are. However, I felt that I should narrate these noble truths, which are ringing in my mind in divine form.

The first truth is about Dukkha, which states that the world is transient and it is in Dukkha. The second truth is about the root cause of Dukkha ie. desire Samudaya. If we eliminate desire, Dukkha will cease, which is the third truth Nirodha. Fourth is to follow the Eight-Fold path Magga in order to eliminate desires. The Buddhism indeed stands on these great pillars. Now, I would like to discuss the inspiring message of Buddha.

Truth is supreme

Lord Buddha finds out the root of all evils. This led him to show the world the way of salvation, his teachings gave courage to the weak, the weary, the sad and the sorrow-stricken. His words were balm to those wounded, light for those who were in the dark and all through his teachings, truth was the core of his message. Eternal verities are the basis of the benign world order. Truth is omnipresent, eternal and permanent. Those blinded by greed and lust for power cannot see or experience it and for that, they are the poorer. Those who see it, imbibe it and live it are the blessed ones and they alone are entitled to genuine happiness, peace and bliss. The last words of Lord Buddha to his disciple Ananda, clearly sums up his perception of the ultimate truth showing the world the future path, clear and unmistakable, leading unhampered and unhindered, and unmistakably towards the ultimate destination to total peace and salvation. These words were ? ?Be island to yourself, Ananda! Be a refuge to yourself; do not take to yourself any other refuge. See truth as an island, see truth as refuge. Do not seek refuge in anyone but yourselves. Have done, Ananda! Do not weep, do not distress yourself! Have I not often told you that it is in the very nature of things that we must eventually be parted from all that is near and dear to us? For how, Ananda, can it be otherwise? Since everything born evolved, and organised contains within itself the germs of disintegration, how can it be otherwise than that a being should pass away? No other condition is possible!? Let us discuss how we can bring about Unity of Minds.

In search of Unity of Minds

Today, what world needs is peace and prosperity for the more than six billion people. The unity of minds is indeed the foundation. How to achieve the unity of minds? Let me share with you friends few experiences in that direction.

Tawang Experience: Tawang, as you know, is a virtual Shangri-La tucked away at an altitude of 3,000 metres in a misty corner of Arunachal Pradesh. The people there seem truly happy and tranquil, living under the kindly umbrella of one the world's oldest Buddhist monasteries. During a visit, I asked the Abbot of the monastery about the secret of Tawang's tranquility that seemed to go beyond mere goodness. "You're the President of India. You know everything," he replied, trying to avoid answering the question. When I persisted, however, he called out to all the 300 monks to come and sit around the imposing statue of the Buddha with us and gave the message on the unity of minds:

"If one looks at the 3,000 years history of India, one will find that the country has always stood for peace. It worked for peace; it prayed for peace and it lives for peace. But these days, turbulence in mind is overtaking us." So, how does one bring back peace? The monk asked. This question was echoing in the whole monastery. The Abbot of the Monastery Reverent Pengyal Rinpoche took us to the new dimension of the world. He said, "I" and "Me" is a dominating factor in human affairs. If we remove "I" and "Me" in our way of thinking and in our way of action, then there is a possibility for removing the ego of individuals. If we can eliminate, ego of mind then hatred will vanish. Hatred is indeed a dominating force in the world. Can we remove hatred from our minds? If we remove hatred, then violence in mind will disappear. The day human beings annihilate violence in mind, peace will blossom in the humanity." This great message, I call it Tawang message for unity of minds. How to remove I and "Me", which is the sole cause of hatred and enmity. Our education system has to teach the youth, these great thoughts. This will enable the children to grow in an environment of unity of minds and peace, and transform them into enlightened citizens. While I was in Greece on 26th April 2007, I put forth this thought to the intellectuals and eminent thinkers of Greece during the meeting organized by the Hellinic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). All the participants listened to my lecture carefully. The thoughts on Tawang message were highly debated and they also felt that the unity of minds is a relevant factor in today?s world dynamics.

Now let me discuss about the universal thinking emanating from the ancient Nalanda University and the establishment of the tradition of the World Nalanda University for research and development of religion, theology, spiritualism and science and technology and their connectivities

Nalanda - The University of Enlightenment

Dear revered monks, scholars and thinkers assembled here, I would like to narrate the incident which took place in Nalanda, when I was there in May 2003. I was taken to the glorious history of Nalanda University which was established in 5th century BC. As I spent hours and hours in Nalanda, the glorious history of Nalanda University, since its establishment in 5th century BC, flashed past my memory. This is the place where hundreds of scholars from 93 countries assembled, discussed and did research on theology, philosophy and religion. The Chinese traveler Hiuen Tsang (630-645 AD) visited India and saw the glory of Nalanda University teaching at that time and stayed and did research. The traveler was first a student and later became a teacher.

What attracted the scholars from 93 countries to Nalanda in those days? That was the place where the thoughts were transmitted, discussed and integrated towards a good way of life, which people were looking for from many countries. Friends, at this critical juncture of universal turbulence and instability, arising out of mutual distrust and hatred leading to violence, world needs a university of peace, enlightenment and great thoughts.

International Nalanda University for Unity of Minds (21st Century)

The present project of creating ?International Nalanda University? by the state and central government through international partnership draws inspiration from the rich historical traditions of Nalanda, Bodhgaya where Lord Buddha got enlightenment. The university will create a new framework, in the modern context, to generate, share and disseminate knowledge and skills. It will be a place for meeting of minds from the national and international arena to do research on unity of minds linking human welfare, science, technologies, economics and spirituality with reference to ancient and modern thinking.

Missions of the University

To translate these thoughts, the University will have the following Missions.

(1) Recapturing in the modern context the holistic traditions of knowledge creation, acquisition and dissemination as practiced in ancient Nalanda.    
(2) Working towards building an inclusive society in a world free of violence, terror, war, and fear;    
(3) Making Nalanda a meeting place for equitable societal welfare, scientific, spiritual, philosophical and religious thoughts. This will provide a platform for research for exploring solution to typical problems of planet earth such as water and energy, survival from the environmental angle, international conflicts and above all elimination of poverty.    
(4) Creating an action oriented academic structure using the core competence of nations to give the planet earth leadership and the management in the education with value system, transforming religion into spiritual force and economic development.    
(5) Creating one of the largest libraries of the world in participation with various national libraries including a digital library.    
(6) Above all, providing leadership in world peace and it will be a knowledge platform.

Now I would like to talk about my experience when I visited Bodh Gaya.

Experience at Bodh Gaya

When I visited Bodh Gaya and sat under the great Bodhi Tree with young and experienced monks assembled all around. Under the holy tree a discussion started. One young monk asked me? Mr. President, you are sitting in the place of great enlightenment. How do you feel? I told them, that I felt, as though I am a student, looking for a message for the troubled world - the message of peace. Another young monk asked me, "Do you think Mr. President, Is Buddhism a religion or spiritual force or a code of conduct?" I said; let me share with you my experiences after my extensive travel in our country and abroad.

Religion transforming into spirituality: A message, I received is that most Indians experienced and old, energetic and middle-aged, young and innocent, they all look to religion for solace and safety. I have also visited great many religious places and houses of worship throughout the length and breadth of this great country and I have met many of our religious leaders. The religions are like exquisite gardens, places full of surpassing beauty and tranquility, like sacred groves filled with beautiful birds and their melodious songs. I truly think that religions are beautiful gardens. They are enchanting islands, veritable oasis for the soul and the spirit. But they are islands nevertheless. All the religions preach love and compassion, even though they differ in theology. How can we connect them so that the fragrance engulfs the whole universe? If we can connect all the islands with the bridge of love and compassion, as a 'garland', we will have a peaceful and prosperous India and peaceful and prosperous world.

Conclusion: Righteousness

Now, when I am with this audience, I would like to share a divine hymn which connects 'Righteousness to Peace in the World:

Where there is righteousness in the heart    
there is a beauty in the character.

When there is beauty in the character,    
there is harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home.    
there is a order in the nation.

When there is order in the nation,    
there is peace in the world. 

Friends, we can see a beautiful connectivity between heart, character, nation and the world. How to inject righteousness in the human heart? This is indeed the purpose of human creation - that is divinity. We are going through a complex situation as many of us are completely at war with ourselves, with society and with nation. At every instant there is a war in our mind, whether we should go in one direction or another. Whenever there is a dilemma, we must seek the wisdom from the Almighty to lead us to the path of righteousness. That is indeed the great message of Lord Buddha.

The message of Lord Buddha transcends time and geographic borders. The evolution of human kind over the centuries has brought about tremendous progress at individual, societal and national levels. However the human kind is continuously afflicted with acts of hatred, violence and wars. In my discussions with people from our country and abroad, cutting across age groups and the activities they pursue, there is one common concern: How do we bring about Peace and Prosperity? This is most essential for progress and for the human population to combat the many challenges it faces. In the search for peace and prosperity, the world will be greatly benefited by the message of Lord Buddha and all of you great thinkers and reverent monks will play a great role in spreading that message and elevate the minds of world citizens.

Once again let met greet all the Venerable Monks and other distinguished participants of this function on the Buddha Purnima Day for success in their mission of spreading peace and harmony in the planet Earth through the teachings of Lord Buddha.

May God bless you.

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam