..續本文上一頁t large - which is something that each and every one of us desires.

　　The world we live in has been here since long before any of us were born. Even our creeds and religions all gradually came into being long after the world did. The history of the human world is that sometimes the world is advanced in both material and spiritual terms, leading to welfare for all; sometimes humanity is so degenerate in both material and spiritual terms, leading that it practically sinks into into the belly of the sea. Sometimes the spiritual side is advanced with people living in peace and security, while the material side is undeveloped.

　　When human beings have human values in their hearts, material progress can bring happiness and well being to all. When people lack human values - when they trample human values underfoot by going overboard in exercising their power and influence - material progress can destroy the peace and well being of human beings throughout the world. There is a basic truth that when people are bad, even good material objects can cause harm to people at large; if people are moral and just, even harmful objects can become beneficial.

　　When all the people in the world establish themselves firmly in human values, then it”s as if we were all friends and relatives. If people don”t have human values in their hearts, even families fall apart, friends become enemies - and when relationships on the small scale are like this, war on the large scale will be unavoidable. How will we be able to escape it

　　Thus everyone in the world should develop human values so that we can all view one another as friends, expressing in our behavior an attitude of good will and kindness for the sake of justice and fairness in the world.

　　The points I have made so far are principles of nature common to entire world. Even people who adhere to different religions should assist one another. We should remember our common humanity and help one another on the human level. The Buddha praised those who help others on the basis of common humanity; and as for other religions, I myself have met with a number of Roman Catholics and Protestants who, when they”ve come to our country, seem to be well-mannered, well educated, and possessed of strong human values. For example, some of them have helped donate money to build temples and monasteries. This has made me curious as to what their religion was, and when I asked them, they said that they were Christian. It struck me then that their hearts had human values in full measure, which is why they have progressed far in life.

　　As for the teachings of Buddhism, there is one point where the Buddha taught that when we deal with people outside of the religion, we should give thought to our common humanity and not make religion an obstacle. Otherwise, it will cause harm.

　　When this is the case, people who are well versed in human values can fit perfectly into any society and can create strong bonds of friendship with one another.

　　Thus I ask all who read this to consider the matter using their own discernment.

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