Prayer of Peace

Ilchi Lee presented this prayer at the Opening Ceremony of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations on August 28th, 2000.

I offer this prayer of peace

Not to the Christian God

Nor to the Buddhist God

Nor to the Islamic God

Nor to the Jewish God

But to the God of all humanity.

For the peace that we wish for

Is Not a Christian peace

Nor a Buddhist peace

Nor an Islamic peace

Nor a Jewish peace

But a human peace

For all of us.

I offer this prayer of peace

To the God that lives within all of us

That fills us with happiness and joy

To make us whole

And help us understand life

As an expression of love for all human beings.

For no religion can be better

Than any other religion

For no truth can be truer

Than any other truth

For no nation can be bigger

Than the earth itself.

Help us all go beyond

Our small limits

And realize that we are one

That we are all from the earth.

That we are all earth people

before we are Indians, Koreans, or Americans.

God made the earth

We humans have to make it prosper

By realizing that we are of the earth

And not of any nation, race, or religion.

By knowing that we are truly one

In our spiritual heritage.

Let us now apologize

to all humanity

For the hurt that religions have caused.

So that we can heal the hurt

Let us now promise to one another

To go beyond egotism and competition

To come together as one in God.

I offer this prayer of peace

To you the almighty

To help us find you within all of us

So that we may stand proudly one day before you

As one humanity.

I offer this prayer of peace

With all my fellow earth people

For a lasting peace on earth.