Federation of World Peace and Love

Attending the International Conference of Chief Justices of the World for the 8th time
FOWPAL receives enthusiastic responses to their promotion of love and peace

 (By Emily Hu) The cultural goodwill delegation of the Federation of World Peace and Love (FOWPAL) left for Lucknow, India on the morning of Nov. 10, 2017 to attend the 18th International Conference of Chief Justices of the World. As soon as the FOWPAL delegates got off the plane, they received a warm welcome by a student band of City Montessori School (CMS), the event organizer. A grand celebration was held that evening. FOWPAL, attending such a conference for the 8th time this year, had a tight schedule. Through cultural performances, they conveyed the message of love and peace and promoted the endorsement of the “Declaration of World Citizens,” “Declaration for the Movement of An Era of Conscience,” and “Declaration on Taxpayer’s Human Rights,” making a deep impression on other attendees.

On Nov. 11, the FOWPAL delegates were invited to a gathering in the High Court of India, and they presented a song called “Love and Peace Song,” warming the heart of every attendee. That evening, they were invited to the official residence of Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, for dinner. During the visit, a group of FOWPAL delegates performed a beautiful peacock dance, which drew many journalists’ attention and took photos of them. Young FOWPAL delegates also gave a martial arts performance, which demonstrated righteous energy, inspiring people to protect their conscience. The “Energy Boys and Energy Girls” galvanized the entire room with their youthful and happy energy as they danced to one cheerful song after another. A grandson of Dr. Jagdish Gandhi, the co-founder of CMS, could not help but dance with them, making the atmosphere in the room even merrier. To express his gratitude to and respect for Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, the president of FOWPAL, Chief Minister Adityanath specially presented a statue of the Buddha of healing and medicine to Dr. Hong, and the FOWPAL delegation’s visit was reported by several Indian media groups.

On the evening of Nov. 12, the FOWPAL delegates were invited to a cultural feast at an auditorium of CMS’s second campus, where they gave cultural performances. They opened their performances with a famous Chinese folk tale—The Journey to the West. The master and his three disciples in the story visited India again; however, this time it was not for obtaining the Buddhist Scriptures but for promoting world peace. Young FOWPAL delegates, with a solid foundation of qigong, presented artistically beautiful performances. Their performances concluded with the presentation of a song called An Era of Conscience, which conveyed the message of goodness. Hon'ble Shri Keshav Prasad Maurya, deputy minister of Uttar Pradesh, said that he felt very happy and that the young FOWPAL volunteers’ performances were excellent. He indicated that it is very important to pass on the spirit of love and peace to the next generation.   

Many attendees of the International Conference of Chief Justices of the World have responded warmly to the movement of An Era of Conscience since it was launched in 2014. Last year, over 1,400 people at the conference joined the movement, and it was praised as a movement that helps people attain happiness. Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze once said that love, kindness and harmony derived from conscience are the key to global sustainability. “No matter how advanced our technology will become and how developed the world economy is, we will be left with nothing if the world is void of peace, security and happiness. Physical construction and building will collapse one day. Only the construction of conscience will last forever with lasting impact.”

After watching the FOWPAL volunteers’ performances, many justices and their families praised the volunteers and gave them big hugs. Ms. Graciela Monge Quesada, a national prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica, felt very amazed by the performances and said that she felt very happy to see so many FOWPAL youths getting involved in the event and that they appeared very well-educated and happy to help others. Justice Jorge Oscar Canon, chief justice in the Chamber of Appeals of Santa Rosa, Argentina, mentioned that he saw energy and confidence in the FOWPAL youths and noticed that they always had smiles on their faces and cheerfully interacted with others. He said he was affected by their positivity.  

Yi-Zhen Chen, a FOWPAL volunteer and sophomore at a university, shared her experience of interacting with the justices, "Even when there are language barriers sometimes, we can still communicate well by showing our sincerity. The justices said they can feel our energy and our desire to make a positive difference in the world." Another FOWPAL volunteer Le-Zhen Sun, a sophomore majoring in Japanese at a university, said, “Because our schedule is very tight, I have become more aware of the importance of unity. When we support each other, we bring out our best.”