The River Does Not Reject the Waters
That Flow into It
Selfishness is rampant in the world. Ironically, however, the individual
is destroyed by this, and not just the individual, but those
around him and the nation as a whole. The greatest obstacle to
the world of peace is avarice in peoples’ hearts. It starts in individuals,
expands to the nation, and hearts stained with avarice cause division
and conflict at every level. Countless people throughout history have
shed blood and died in conflicts caused by avarice.
To eliminate such conflicts, we need a great revolution to change the
erroneous values and thinking that are widespread in the world today.
The complex problems our societies face today can be resolved quickly
if there is a revolution in peoples’ thinking. If each individual and nation
begins to look out for the other first, working together with the
other, the problems of modern society will be resolved.
Throughout my life, I dedicated myself to efforts for peace. Any
time the word “peace” comes up, I become emotional. I choke up, it
becomes difficult for me to swallow my food and tears begin to well up
in my eyes. It moves me deeply just to imagine the day when the world
becomes one and begins to enjoy peace. That is the nature of peace.
It links people who think differently, are of different races, and speak
different languages. Our hearts yearn for this world and harbor a hope
that it will be realized. Peace is concrete action; it is not a vague dream.
Building a movement for peace has not always been easy. There have
been many difficulties, and it has required large sums of money. I have
not done this for my own honor, nor to make money. All I did was invest
my full effort, so that we can have a world where a strong and true peace
takes root. For as long as I have been doing this work, I have never been
lonely. This is because, ultimately, peace is the desire of every person in
the world. It is strange, though. Even though everyone wants peace, it
has still not come.
It is easy to talk about peace. But to bring peace is not easy. This is
because people push aside the most elemental truth needed to bring
about a world of peace. They pretend not to know this truth is there.
Before we talk about peace among individuals or among nations, we
must talk about peace between ourselves and God.
Each religion today thinks of itself as the highest, rejecting and
looking down on other religions. It is not right to build fences against
other religions and denominations.
A religion is like a wide river flowing toward an ideal, peaceful
world. The river flows for long distances before it comes to the
wide expanse of peace. On its way, many streams flow into it. The
streams cease to be streams from the point they meet the river.
From that point, they, too, become part of the river. In this way,
they become one.
The river does not reject any of the streams that flow into it. It
accepts them all. It embraces all the streams and forms a single flow
as it continues toward the ocean. People in the world today do not
understand this simple truth. The streams that seek out the river and
flow into it are the numerous religions and denominations of today.
Each stream traces its origin to a different spring, but they are all going
to the same destination. They are seeking the ideal world overflowing
with peace.
Peace will never come to this earth unless we first tear down the
walls between religions. For thousands of years, religions have grown
in alliance with particular ethnic groups, and so they are surrounded
by high cultural walls. Tearing these down is an extremely difficult task.
For thousands of years, each religion has surrounded itself with such
high walls, insisting that it is the only correct religion. In some cases,
religions have expanded their influence and entered into conflicts and
fights with other religions, using God’s name in places that had nothing
to do with His will.
The will of God lies in peace. A world fragmented by differences in
nationality, race, and religion, where people attack and fight one another
and shed one another’s blood, is not what God wants. When we
shed blood and fight each other in His name, we only cause Him pain.
A world torn to shreds has been created out of the desires of people to
promote their own wealth and glory. It does not represent the will of
God. God clearly told me so. I am only His errand boy, receiving His
words and carrying them out on Earth.
The path to bring about a world of peace, in which religions and
races become united, has been exhausting. Many times, I was rejected
by people, or my own abilities fell short, but I could not put aside this
mission. When members and colleagues who worked with me would
cry out in anguish because of the difficulty of the task, I would even feel
envious of them.
“If you decide this path isn’t for you, you have the option to stop and
turn back,” I told them. “Or if you try and try and still can’t accomplish
it, you have the option to die trying.”
“But you should pity me,” I said. “I am a person with no such options.”
There are some two hundred countries in the world. For all these
countries to enjoy peace, the power of religion is absolutely necessary.
The power of religion is in the love that overflows from it. I am
a religious person whose role is to convey love, so it is natural that I
would work for world peace. There is no difference between Islam and
Christianity in their commitment to bring about a world of peace. In
America, I lead a movement for peace, bringing together twenty thousand
clergy who transcend denomination. Through this movement, we
discuss ways that Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and all faiths
can come together. We devote our full efforts to change the hardened
hearts of people.
My purpose is the same today as it was yesterday. It is to create one
world with God at the center, a world brought together like a single nation
without boundaries. All humanity will be citizens of this world, sharing a
culture of love. In such a world, there will be no possibility for division and
conflict. This will mark the beginning of a truly peaceful world.
