A call for world peace – Mid Hudson News

KENT – Mornings at the Chuang Yen Monastery in western Kent are quiet and peace-filled with the dawn of January first no different.

The Buddhist Association of the U.S. will continue its holiday tradition by sponsoring an Interfaith Prayer for World Peace.

The President of the Buddhist Association of the United States, Bhikkhu Bodhi, invited area residents to “pray for our family, our friends, our nation, our neighbors and our planet. We are moving in one of two directions—increasing cruelty and violence as well as kindness and compassion.”

The priest said in order for mankind to survive it must empathize with the feelings of others by recognizing that “we all experience pain and pleasure as well as suffering and happiness. We must extend our sense of identity to others while removing their suffering enabling them to unfold their full potential.”

Representatives from religious groups including Buddhism, Catholicism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Bahá’í in addition to local governmental leaders will gather and recite prayers and well wishes.

The prayer vigil gets underway Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Big Buddha Hall with a vegetarian lunch provided to attendees at 11:45 a.m. at the facility’s dining hall.

The Chuang Yen Monastery is located at 2020 Route 301 in Kent Cliffs, one mile from the Taconic State Parkway.