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Presidential Address

Venerables,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of The World Fellowship of Buddhists and its networks, I wish to take this opportunity
to welcome all participants to the 29 General Conference of The World Fellowship of Buddhists
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(The WFB), the 20 General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth (WFBY) and
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the 11 Meeting of the World Buddhist University (WBU) Council, taking place from 6-9 November
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B.E.2561 (2018) in Narita, Japan, hosted by the Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF). On behalf to the
attendees, I would like to convey my sincere thanks to Most Reverend Shinzan Egawa, President of
the Japan Buddhist Federation and Patron of The World Fellowship of Buddhists, to the Executives
of JBF, and to all members of the Organizing Committee of the 29 WFB General Conference for
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providing convenience and extending a warm welcome to all of us.
I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF), the host
of this year’s Conference, and all representatives from the Regional Centres of The WFB who have
come thousands of miles to take part in our deliberations and to share our joys and aspirations.
Today, The World Fellowship of Buddhists has grown into a large organization with its rich history.
JBF has hosted the General Conference of The WFB for 3 times ~ the Second, the Twelfth, and the
Twenty-fourth. This year conference ~ the Twenty-ninth General Conference of The WFB ~ is the
fourth time. Since the inception of The WFB in B.E. 2493 (1950) and throughout my presidency
term of 20 years from B.E. 2541-2561 (1998-2018), The WFB has been successfully recognized by
regional and international countries, and has received a good co-operation and acceptance from
the United Nations, the UNESCO, and other reputable international communities. Our gathering
here is not an ordinary event. Rather, it embraces a diversity of cultures, traditions, denominations
and nationalities, joining together to open minds, to harmonize with each other, and to share our
concerns about the future of humankind.
The theme of this year’s Conference is ‘Compassion in Action: Creating Hope and Life in Death’.
Most of us can admit to being self-centered at times ~ thinking of ourselves first and only then of
others. Buddhism in particular highlights the intrinsic connection between our personal well-
being and that of others. Compassion is not merely offering sympathy and a helping hand. Genuine
compassion must have both wisdom and loving-kindness. That is to say, one must understand the
nature of the suffering from which we wish to free others (this is wisdom), and at the same time
experience deep intimacy and empathy with other sentient beings (this is loving-kindness). When
we help people who are suffering, it is important that we also develop the wisdom of understanding
the suffering; otherwise, there is a risk that we will suffer even more than the people we are trying to
help. When we lack wisdom, we can easily become overwhelmed by their suffering and emotionally
exhausted by the situation. For compassion to be effective, we need to recognize if our actions will
be of real help and value or instead, exacerbate an already unhealthy situation.
Buddhists of all sects and schools are assembled here today and for the next two days will share
their perspectives and experiences in which they can transform compassion into action for the
benefit of society and the world at large.
On behalf of The World Fellowship of Buddhists and its networks, I wish to extend my sincere
thanks to the Japan Buddhist Federation for kindly hosting this Conference and its associated
meetings with such efficient arrangements and generous hospitality. On this auspicious note, I would
like to offer my best wishes to all participants for a successful Conference with outcome satisfactory
to all desired objectives.

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RECORD OF PROCEEDING | THE 29 GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE WFB
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