Master Hsin Tao participates in the Global Religious Leaders Summit, advocating for spiritual awakening to safeguard environment

(中央社訊息服務20231123 10:46:40)The Global Religious Leaders Summit recently concluded in Abu Dhabi. In anticipation of the upcoming 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 28 religious leaders from around the world convened to discuss how to leverage the influence of religious communities to address the climate crisis. Master Hsin Tao, founding abbot of Taiwan’s Ling Jiou Mountain Buddhist Society (LJM), was among the religious leaders who were invited to the conference and signed a document known as the “Gathering Conscience: Uniting for the Revival of the Earth” calling for action through energy transition to achieve the goal set in the Paris Agreement, limiting global warming to within 1.5°C.

The declaration proposes inclusive dialogues between religious leaders and diverse groups including the scientific community during and after COP28, aiming to establish a strengthened alliance for sustainable development. Master Hsin Tao was one of the six speakers to represent Buddhist leaders at the signing ceremony. In his address, the master said that the common bond among religions is spirituality, the foundation that allows different faiths to unite and work together to save the environment. To achieve ecological sustainability, he emphasized the need to address the root cause, which he referred to as spiritual ecology, asserting that “spirituality is ecology, and ecology is spirituality.”

He underscored the importance of spiritual awakening, urging an understanding that humans and the environment form a diverse, interdependent, mutually supportive community of life. Recognizing the ethics of ecology, the master concluded that “by respecting the value of different species' existence, embracing each other's living space, and collectively contributing to a shared world, we can achieve a harmonious coexistence.”

The summit was jointly organized by the Muslim Council of Elders, the COP28 Presidency, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Vatican. Religious leaders in attendance included His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin representing His Holiness Pope Francis; His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew The First, Ecumenical Patriarch Of Constantinople, representing the Eastern Orthodox spiritual leader; and other globally renowned religious figures.

Master Hsin Tao has dedicated himself to world peace and environmental conservation. In 2001, he founded the World Religions Museum as a platform for inter-religious communication and has organized numerous dialogues for peace among different faiths. Invited to participate in the summit, he reunites with old friends to collaboratively discuss strategies for addressing climate change and the global crisis. This gathering holds significant meaning.