UNJournal Jon Lee |  In 1992, a clear milestone was established when World Buddhist Peace Day was officially established and proclaimed.

 

At the center of this historic declaration stood His Holiness Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo (一鵬 徐京保), First World Supreme Buddhist Leader.

 

In the early 1990s, Cold War tensions had not fully dissipated; the world remained shaken by war, division, and inter-religious conflict. Supreme Leader Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo was keenly aware of the problems facing this era.

 

He determined that Buddhism must no longer remain confined within the walls of temples and practice. His firm conviction was that the Buddha's compassion and teachings of peace must speak beyond individual liberation to address the human community as a whole.

 

World Buddhist Peace Day, established and proclaimed in 1992, is not merely a commemorative occasion. It represents Buddhism's official peace declaration to humanity and an expression of Buddhism's collective will "to remain silent no longer in the face of war and violence."

 

 

Supreme Leader Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo’s proclamation clearly stated:

"The Buddha's teachings do not stop at individual enlightenment. Only when they reach out to a suffering world are those teachings truly fulfilled."

 

This declaration deeply resonated with Buddhist leaders worldwide and international religious and peace organizations, becoming an important catalyst for Buddhism's emergence as an agent of peace diplomacy and universal human ethics.

 

His Holiness Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo was not simply a sectarian leader. He was "a practitioner and diplomat who connected the world through Dharma" and a thinker who presented universal human values through Buddhism.

 

The establishment of World Buddhist Peace Day was the culmination of three great vows he held throughout his life:

 

● Religion must become a language of connection, not division
● Buddhism must respond to humanity's suffering beyond mere practice
● Peace must endure not through prayer alone, but through institutions and action

 

These vows were embodied in the concrete institution of "World Buddhist Peace Day" and became the foundation for Buddhism to speak with a responsible voice in international society.

 

Supreme Leader Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo's peace philosophy did not end with declarations. He devoted his entire life to prayer and action for human harmony and peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and traces of this remain today in the 788 "Peace and Reunification Prayer Stone Monuments" erected throughout the country.

 

The Supreme Leader emphasized that "peace does not come through words alone; it must be carved into the earth and permeate human hearts." This conviction became action, as he personally traveled on foot, erecting monuments in mountains, fields, cities, and villages, praying for human harmony and peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. These monuments are not mere stone structures but coordinates of prayer and milestones of peace.

 

The Supreme Leader's final journey in 1996 still possesses profound resonance. On the very day he entered nirvana, Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo erected the 787th peace and reunification monument in Tongil (Unification) Village) at the Demilitarized Zone near Imjingak. Even in his life's final moment, this was an act that prioritized not personal comfort but the peace of the nation and humanity.

 

Even though His Holiness entered nirvana in 1996, his great vow for peace has not ceased. General Master Damhwa—then the Chief Secretary overseeing World Buddhist administration and international exchanges—inherited the will and lineage of His Holiness and, to this day, continues to serve as heir to the spirit of World Buddhist Peace Day.

 

General Master Damhwa is not simply a practicing disciple or administrative officer, but one who most closely absorbed and practiced the spirit of World Buddhist Peace Day and Supreme Leader Il-bung's worldview. He has preserved the Supreme Leader's philosophy in written records and expanded it into the languages of institutions, culture, and diplomacy, demonstrating that "peace is a practice to be inherited."

 

This transcends the activities of one individual, proving that the era of Supreme Leader Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo has not transitioned into mere "memory" but is living on as "present progressive." This is why World Buddhist Peace Day continues to be invoked and its spirit can still speak to today's world.

 

 

In 1992, one Supreme Leader proclaimed peace as Dharma. And that declaration remains valid today.

 

World Buddhist Peace Day is the hand Buddhism extends toward the world, a promise to choose solidarity over silence, compassion over indifference.

 

The 788 peace and reunification monuments scattered across the nation stand silently, yet their silence carries a clear message: "Peace is not a completed result, but a practice that must be pursued endlessly."

 

The peace of His Holiness Il-bung Seo Kyung-bo, First World Supreme Buddhist Leader, has not yet ended. His Dharma lineage has not been severed and continues even now.

 

We now stand before this question: Where are we establishing peace?