Conservation and Competition 

 November 6, 1996

 When closed within a very narrow environment, where they know only those of their own race and religion, people can create within themselves imaginary and deceptive images of others who belong to other races and religions. However, Odysseus of ancient times, “saw cities of many people and acknowledged their intelligence.” He was able to ascertain, as we the modern day Odysseuses are able to ascertain with him, that all of us descend “from one human race,” as the Apostle Paul wrote, and consequently, that we are all brothers and sisters.

This brotherhood unites us and at certain times separates us. This happens when we heartlessly treat our siblings unfairly when it comes to dividing up a rich inheritance – namely, this small earth which hosts us and which perpetually moves within the unfathomable universe – given to us by the Father, our good God, who is ever-beneficent and possesses superabundance. For our loving Father has organized everything so well in order that this Garden of Eden, our earth, might sufficiently provide for all the needs of those who live upon it. A simple demonstration of this would be the voluntary destruction of surplus production of goods from the developed nations, while for others there is a scarcity of goods for consumption, even to a dangerous level. A further example of this would be the total waste in inconceivable proportions of work and money for the production of weapons systems and their catastrophic deployment. Clearly, if all of these efforts were put toward the good of humanity, life on our planet would be much better.

Here in the peaceful and progress-oriented city of Hong Kong, you live within an efficiency and creativity of human effort, and you well understand the truth of our words. They are the words of a father or brother who beholds with sorrow some of his children destroying one other. He pleads with the rest of his children not to be misguided toward such situations, but rather to resolve their differences peacefully through mutual withdrawal. There is always a solution that is more advantageous than the one that leads to conflict. The obstacle for discovering this solution is not found in our external world, but rather within ourselves, because all our decisions spring from deep inside us.

We bless your peaceful place. We greet you with love and emotion at this gracious welcome, which you have reserved for our modesty and our entourage. We wish you health, peace, and progress. May you live and be a universal example of a peaceful and civilized community, an example of the effectiveness of freedom and of noble competition. For in this blessed place of yours, virtually all of the peoples of the earth meet and work together, coexisting peacefully in spite of their various differences. This is because, among yourselves, you have accepted your neighbor and his or her right to be as he or she is. It would be an oversight if the effectiveness of this attitude, which is characterized as freedom, mutual respect and labor were not duly noted.