Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL) is a global peace NGO that aims to achieve world peace through practical methods. The organization was founded by Chairman Lee Man Hee, a veteran who survived the Korean War. Experiencing the cruelty of the war at a young age, he decided not to inherit the war. This is how he started peacebuilding work.

One of HWPL’s major peacebuilding projects is achieving religious peace. Especially, the WARP (World Alliance of Religious Peace) Office is a well-known project and is supported by many religious leaders around the world.

So, why does religious peace matter? According to the organization, 70-80% of the causes of the wars are religious conflicts. The conflicts rooted in misunderstandings towards other religions would be resolved through conversations among different religions, removing misunderstandings and stereotypes.

The WARP Offices provide the platforms for the interchange of various religions. On the given platforms, religious leaders would compare different religious scriptures, discuss doctrines from various religions, and even give lectures of the deep teachings of the religions. Most importantly, the participants fully understood the purpose of the meetings, seeking religious peace through religions, respecting the differences of each religion, and participating in the meetings with a harmonious spirit.

As mentioned, the WARP Offices run various projects to find religious peace. Holding a religious peace camp is one way to achieve religious peace. The camp is to find the causes and answers of the wars and conflicts around the world.

On Feb. 24, 2024, the “Daeyaksa Temple HWPL Religious Peace Camp” was held at the Yeorae Order of Korean Buddhism. The event was jointly held by HWPL Global 10 branch and Daeyaksa Temple in South Korea.

Participants varied in religion – Buddhism, Islam, Jeungsando, Gungeuldaedo, and Hinduism.

A participant is making a lotus-shaped lantern.

The camp also provided a Buddhist cultural experience and participants had time to consider the value of coexistence between different religions through continued interest, understanding, and respect for other religions.

Jeong Rae-Gyun, the leader of the Daejeon headquarters of Gungeuldaedo said, “HWPL’s peace activities are very meaningful, and I think Mr. Man-hee Lee, the Chairman of HWPL, is doing a great job. I was very happy to attend this event,” expressing his thoughts about attending.

In the event, participants from different religions also prayed for the end of wars in their own ways.

It’s astonishing to see this harmonious event considering ‘religion’ isn’t a preferred topic to bring up even in family convos because of its sensitivity. I hope HWPL and its partnered organizations do something more surprising to achieve peace in many fields.

Source: https://www.hwpl.kr/language/en/hwpl-religious-peace-camp-held-at-daeyaksa-temple/