• PH urges religious tolerance on Vesak Day • Elizabeth Ramsey, daughter to perform in CT
Ambassador Libran Cabactulan
The United Nations celebrated on May 16 the Day of Vesak commemorating the 2,600th year of Buddha’s enlightenment.
UN officials led by Acting President of the General Assembly Ambassador Hasan Kleib of Indonesia and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, dignitaries and an estimated 150 Buddhist monks took turns to stress the Buddha’s message of compassion, peace and goodwill, while underscoring the importance of interfaith dialogue among nations.
Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Libran N. Cabactulan said Buddha’s profound teachings have transformed the lives of millions for centuries with messages of purpose, balance, meditation, healing, spirituality and compassion.
“All of which will lead one to live a life of peace, within himself and with others,” he said in his speech.
The Philippines, he stressed, respects the plurality of faiths. “While our peoples are predominantly Christian, we are a secular state, and we are respectful and tolerant of any religion. We have a significant Muslim population. We have those belonging to other Great Faiths. We have those who adhere to indigenous beliefs. And we are also home to many Buddhists.”
In fact, since 2001 the Philippines – through Proclamation No. 24 – has officially observed Vesak Day on the full moon day of May every year.”
The Philippines has pursued interfaith dialogue in the wider international context, according to Cabactulan. From 2004, Manila has worked on General Assembly resolutions on interfaith cooperation and interreligious and intercultural dialogue.
“Mistrust and hatred threaten to rend the ties that bind us all as one diverse human family and cause tension and instability in many parts of the world,” he said.
For his part, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said this year’s theme of socio-economic development may sound modern, but its core is the “very problem of human suffering that Siddhartha Gautama sought to address more than 2,500 years ago when he left his palace, relinquished his worldly possessions and went out into the world.”
He is deeply grateful, he said, for the numerous Buddhist organizations that are “putting these teachings into practice.”
He urged member nations to “draw on the universal values of Buddhism to act in solidarity with those who are suffering, thereby contributing to a more compassionate and enlightened world for all.”
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The Philippines’ Queen of Soul, Jaya and her outrageously funny mom the Philippines’ Queen of Rock and Roll, Elizabeth Ramsey will perform at Parson’s Auditorium in Milford, Connecticut on July 16.
Jaya
Elizabeth
The legendary comic Elizabeth Ramsey will not be upstaged by her daughter as she will be performing songs such as “Besame Mucho,” “Sway,” “You Mean Everything to Me” and many more.
Joining Jaya and Elizabeth will be Sheryn Regis. Sheryn, also known as the “Crystal Voice of Asia,” is a pop singer, actress, host and composer and has been dubbed as “Power Belter” when she garnered the runner-up award from the “Star In A Million” TV show in the Philippines.
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A Memorial Day Commemoration was held May 30 to remember the fallen World War II veterans of in Jersey City.
More than 30 community leaders, led by Consul General Mario de Leon Jr. (seated second from left), and veterans attended the event. Among them are Linda Mayo and Bobby Yalong of the Pan American Concerned Citizens Action League, Jose Red of the American Legion, Nestor Enriquez of Filipino New Jersey Historical Society, Madelyn Yu of the Philippine Nurses Association, Armand Porto of the Knights of Rizal, and U.S. Medicare Philippine organizer Eric Lachica.
Give peace a chance.