【佛法智慧】佛教獲全球最佳宗教世

界獎！The Geneva-based

International Coalitionfor the

Advancement of Religious and

Spirituality (ICARUS) has

bestowed"The Best Religion In

the World" award this year on

the BuddhistCommunity.

據《日內瓦論壇報》報導，國際聯合宗教會（ICARUS）票選佛教獲得全球「最佳宗教世界」獎。

總部設在瑞士日內瓦的國際聯合宗教會（ICARUS），基於提高並促進宗教和靈性的融合與交流，今年七月投票決議結果，賦予佛教團體最高榮耀獎，一致表決佛教是「世界上最好的宗教」。

這個獎項是由二百位宗教領袖共同參與國際圓桌會議，投票決定。會中值得一提的是，很多宗教領袖並沒有選擇自己的宗教，而是把自己手中神聖一票投給佛教，雖然佛教徒只佔ICARUS會員的極少數，但得票數與呼聲卻最高。

國際聯合宗教會的研究主管伊卡羅斯認為，佛教能贏得世界最好宗教榮耀，是因為在過去歷史中，沒有一場戰爭是以佛教名義而戰，與其他宗教明顯不同。他認為佛教徒真正實踐所宣導的宗教精神，而這也是佛教比其他宗教做得更徹底的地方。

Belfast天主教神父泰德（Ted O'Shaughnessy）表示，他也投佛教一票，他雖崇愛天主教，但內心常深感不安，因為在宣導基督愛的同時，往往在聖經裡發現為上帝而殺害異教徒的經文。

穆斯林的神職人員塔爾阿斌‧魏塞德（Tal Bin Wassad）說：「雖然我是虔誠的穆斯林，但看到很多個人的忿怒和瞋恨，藉用殺戮方式表達他們對宗教的崇敬，而不是自我調解的途徑。」

另猶太教拉比羅賓‧山謬‧華聖斯坦（Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein）說：「我愛猶太教，這是世界上最大的宗教，但自一九九三年以來，我每天都在練習內觀禪修，並將作為修持功課之一。」

「佛教徒備受肯定」，身為巴基斯坦的穆斯林社團，也是國際聯合宗教會投票權的委員之一的魏塞德（Wassad）說：「事實上，我最好朋友當中，有不少人是佛教徒。」

國際聯合宗教會目前尚未找到願意受獎團體，當被問及為什麼佛教界拒絕接受獎項時，緬甸翰達比丘（Bhante Ghurata Hanta）表示：「我們感謝佛教被肯定，但此獎是屬於全人類，因每人皆有佛性。」

委員會之一的葛力奇（Groehlichen）說，他們將會繼續尋找下去，直到找到一個佛教團體願意接受它。當找到時，一定會告訴大家。

The Geneva-based International Coalitionfor the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has bestowed"The Best Religion In the World" award this year on the BuddhistCommunity.

This special award was voted on by aninternational round table of more than 200 religious leaders from every part ofthe spiritual spectrum. It was fascinating to note that many religious leadersvoted for Buddhism rather than their own religion although Buddhists actuallymake up a tiny minority of ICARUS membership. Here are the comments by fourvoting members:

Jonna Hult, Director of Research for ICARUSsaid "It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in theWorld, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war foughtin the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keepa gun in the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed toeven find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army. These people practice whatthey preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritualtradition."

A Catholic Priest, Father Ted O'Shaughnessysaid from Belfast,"As much as I love the Catholic Church, it has always bothered me to noend that we preach love in our scripture yet then claim to know God's will whenit comes to killing other humans. For that reason, I did have to cast my votefor the Buddhists."

　　A Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad agreed from

And Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein said from Jerusalem, "Ofcourse, I love Judaism, and I think it's the greatest religion in the world.But to be honest, I've been practicing Vipassana meditation every day beforeminyan (daily Jewish prayer) since 1993. So I get it."

However, there was one snag - ICARUScouldn't find anyone to give the award to. All the Buddhists they called keptsaying they didn't want the award.

When asked why the Burmese Buddhist community refused the award, Buddhist monk Bhante Ghurata Hanta said from Burma, "We are grateful for the acknowledgement, but we give this award to all humanity, for Buddha nature lies within each of us." Groehlichen went on to say "We're going to keep calling around until we find a Buddhist who will accept it. We'll let you know when we do."

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