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Compassion is the core of Buddhism. The Sutra on Contemplation of Amitayus states:
“The Buddhas’ heart is Great Compassion”. Buddhist compassion is a broad, great and lofty
love. It is the panacea that could eliminate the sufferings of the world. Compassion is also the
true source of happiness. The theme of this conference is ‘Compassion in Action’, which aims
to remind Buddhists of the very importance of the practice of compassion. As Great Treatise
on the Perfection of Wisdom points out: ‘great love grants happiness to all sentient beings, great
sympathy pulls all sentient beings out of suffering; great love produces the karma of joyfulness
for all sentient beings, great sympathy generates the karma of leaving suffering for all sentient
beings’. In addition, although the vows of Mahayana Buddhas and Bodhisattvas lay particular
emphasis on different aspects, their commitments do overlap on one point, that is ‘not seeking
happiness for oneself, but wishing all sentient beings to leave suffering’. Among them, the
greatest and most touching vow is that of Earth Store Bodhisattva. He pledged that: ‘Until the
hells are empty I will never become a Buddha. Until every single living being is taken across, I
will never attain enlightenment’.
Great love can bring happiness, and great sympathy can remove misery. The essence of
compassion exactly lies in the practices of eliminating people’s sufferings and bringing people
happiness. Sages said: ‘in order to be the dragons and elephants of Buddhas, one must be the
horses and cattle of all sentient beings first’ (which means if one wants to be a great Buddhist,
he or she can only realize the goal through completely devoting himself or herself to serving all
sentient beings). To truly fulfil Buddhist compassion that benefits all sentient beings, Buddhists
shall do good deeds in a wide range of ways, with the selfless aspiration of ‘performing great
love regardless of reason, carrying out great sympathy without distinction’.

In today’s world, peace and development are still the common themes of all human beings.
The maintenance of the world’s peace and development not only requires a peaceful, equal and
mutually respectful international environment, but also demands people to have philanthropic
and compassionate hearts. I hope that Buddhist communities all over the world can work
together to transfer our compassionate aspirations into concrete practices, constantly enhancing
mutual understanding and trust among people of different countries, promoting the exchange
and mutual learning among different cultures, and making greater contributions to the peace
and prosperity of human beings.

We are confident that under Buddha’s blessing, with the active participation and full
cooperation of all delegates, this conference will be a complete success!
Sincerely pray: May Buddhism thrive and last forever! May the world be peaceful and
people be happy! May The WFB develop prosperously! May all Buddhists deepen friendship
with each other! Last but not least, I wish all of you all the best, may you be healthy, enlightened
and blessed. Thank you very much.
2018.11.07

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RECORD OF PROCEEDING | THE 29 GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE WFB
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