The struggle between happiness and unhappiness is the story of human existence. The struggle between peace and war is the history of the human race. The power that leads us to eternal victory amid these struggles is the power of good within us. — Daisaku Ikeda

星期天（Mar 16）赶到Expo Hall 4去看一场演讲，主题是”Humanizing Religions, Creating Peace”。主讲人是Mr George Yeo (Minister For Foreign Affair)。能有这个机会去看看这样的活动，当然是Melic帮忙拿到门票给我。既然是”Humanizing Religions, Creating Peace”，那么新加坡的主要宗教都派了代表出席这个活动。虽然大部分的演讲辞都听不懂，还是能够感受到要达到不同信仰相互了解相互包容的努力。会上也发布了一本书，名字叫《180° Yearnings for Peace - self.family.community.PEACE.youth.education.humanity》，书中摘录了各个宗教的一些短句，分成self，family，community，peace，youth，education，humanity各篇。除了讲话，参插其中的文艺表演也是超赞的，比如Masjid Ba’alwi Mosque的那首非洲歌曲和Central Sikh Gurdwara Board的民族舞蹈。

《180° Yearnings for Peace》

Foreword

Everyone wants peace but peace is not easily achieved. Peace does not come without struggle. Sometimes it has to be fought for. In Singapore, all young men have to do National Service and bear arms. To have peace, we must be prepared for war. That is the hard reality.

Defence and foreign relations can help to create an external environment favourable for peace. Internally, however, we must also be at peace among ourselves and within ourselves. Very often, it is internal discord which invites external interference. When a person is not at peace with himself, it is difficult for the famly to have peace. When a group is unsettled for whatever reason, its relationship with other groups gets affected. Racial and religious harmony in Singapore cannot be imposed from the top by the government although the government’s role is important. It has to be built from the bottom up, starting with the individual.

This Symposium brings together youths belonging to different races and religions in Singapore. The values and beliefs which divide us are not superficial. We will fail if we try to homogenize them. While we should seek common ground, we should never think that all the differences can be bridged. Therefore, the first condition for peace is an acceptance of diversity. If we can find it in our hearts to celebrate diversity, that will be very good but it is not always possible. However, we are united by a common yearning for peace and that is a good starting point for our interaction.

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Fitri是我在Academic 1的同学，她来自印度尼西亚。前天我问她可不可以推荐些印尼的歌曲给我，她说现在只有基督的歌曲，但是回去印尼后她可以带其它的歌给我。昨天她带着两张刻录碟给我，让我吃惊的是，还有四页写满印尼歌词的A4纸，然后再加上一封信，说这是“Valentine’s present from God!”。她要抄完这么多歌词，我估计至少要花她一个晚上的时间，难道信教的精神力真的那么强大？昨晚大略听了一下那些歌曲，一半是英文版，另一半是印尼语的，好像是演唱会的剪辑，不像以前听的佛教那“昏昏欲睡”的念经，这些歌曲都改编或着是“职业歌手”写的流行或摇滚基督颂歌。我就很喜欢Bersyukurlah，细心的Fitri还专门列出Track List，Bersyukurlah的意思是Give Thanks。

Bersyukurlah

Bersyukurlah

Haleluyah, kumemuji-mu, Tuhan
Karna kasin-mu tak berkesudahah
Biar yang bernafas memuji sang Raja
Diatas gunung dan didalam samudra.

Tanganku ku-angkat padamu
Mensyukuri rahmat yang kau bri
Kaki-ku melompat bagimu
sbab rahmat-mu baru stiap hari

REFF:
Bersyukurlah kepada Tuhan
Sebab Ia baik, sebab Ia baik
Bahwasanya tuk selamanya
Kasih setia Nya, kasih setia-Nga..

Na, na, na, na….

然后，然后，今天，今天，她带了一本书给我，David Holdaway写的“the life of Jesus more than a prophet”，扉页上写着“Tuhan mengasihimu!”(Jesus Loves You!)。书的难度对我来说还是有点难，但是还是可以慢慢看下去的，Fitri说先看这个，比Bible简单。

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