“Reconciliation through the Teachings of Buddha”

The 25th General Conference and The 60th Anniversary of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB), The 16th General Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth (WFBY) and The 8th Meeting of the World Buddhist University (WBU) to be held in Cinamon Grand Hotel – Colombo, Sri Lanka from 13th to 17th November B.E,2554 (2010).

Cinamon Grand Hotel

Attending the General Conference from Japan Buddhist Federation were Norimitsu Masamoto (Chairperson of the WFB Humanitarian Services Committee), Yoshiharu Tomatsu (the WFB Executive Council Member), Tomohiko Irinishi (JBF Secretary of International Affairs), Sogen Fujita (JBF Deputy Secretary of International Affairs). Sri Lanka (Ceylon) is the birth place of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, and there have been three past General Conferences of the WFB, including the very first one, held in Sri Lanka. This time, the Conference was organized and hosted by All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC).

November 13

The 77th WFB Executive Council Meeting

The meeting was held as a joint meeting with Vice President and Chairpersons of Standing Committees. First, Phallop Thaiarry, Secretary General of the WFB, presented the Secretarial Report. Camellia Darmawan, a member of Executive Council and Humanitarian Services Committee, gave a report on activities for the Sumatra earthquake relief by Karuna Mitta, a relief organization she is affiliated. Also reported in the meeting was JBF’s contribution to the WFB Humanitarian Relief Fund in the amount of 1,000,000JPY. The meeting approved nominee organizations for the WFB regional centers. Lastly, South Korea was proposed as the venue of the 26th WFB General Conference, and the meeting accepted the proposal. The conference will be hosted by Jogye Order and has been scheduled in May 2012.

The 77th WFB Executive Council Meeting

November 14

General Council Meeting

　Goh Seng Chai (Malaysia) and D.M. Jayatilake (Sri Lanka) resigned from Executive Council, and newly appointed as Executive Council Members are Chang Ling(China) and Jagath Sumathipala(Sri Lanka). Yoshiharu Tomatsu of JBF was re-elected as an Executive Council Member. Also approval of the new WFB regional centers took place.

Opening Ceremony

400 people participated as delegates and office bearers from their countries. D.M. Jayaratna, Prime minister of Sri Lanka, presented a guest congratulatory speech.

Opening Ceremony	D.M Jayaratna, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
Phallop Thaiarry, Secretary-General of the WFB	Musical Performance by local students

The First Plenary Session

Congratulatory messages from top leaders of Bangladesh, Australia, Nepal, and other countries.

November 15

The Standing Committee Meeting

One of the nine committees of the WFB Standing Committee is Humanitarian Services Committee which Norimitsu Masamoto serves as a Chairperson. At the meeting, the Humanitarian Services Committee along with Mr. Phallop Thaiarry, Secretary General of the WFB, presented outcome of the past activities and then discussed the plans for future activities. They also agreed on the necessity for immediate action on a strike of natural disaster, examination on long-term humanitarian support for poverty, refugee, and victims of strife. The meeting also pointed out the form of Application for Humanitarian Support is to be refined. Japan Buddhist Federation expressed, at their contribution to the WFB Humanitarian Service, the importance of submitting in-detail report of each project which is indispensable for building trust with contributor.

Rev. Norimitsu Masamoto

The Second Plenary Session

Each Standing Committee presented a report on its committee meeting. Rev. Masamoto and Camellia Darmawan presented the report for The Humanitarian Service Committee.

November 16

Symposium

The theme of Symposium was “Reconciliation through the Teachings of Buddha” which is also the theme of the 25th General Conference. Ten speakers from different regional centers including Rev. Tomatsu proposed issues and ideas based on the theme.

Rev. Yoshiharu Tomatsu at Symposium

The 60th Anniversary Ceremony of the WFB

5000 people gathered in Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium for the cerebration of the WFB 60th Anniversary. With the presence of Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka President, the auspicious event was successfully held, as participants enjoyed the chorus of Vandana Tissarana and also an exhibition which was a mixture of ballet and traditional Sri Lanka dance. Most Rev. Taitsu Kohno, President of JBF and Patron of the WFB, attended the Ceremony and presented a congratulatory speech, as well as the contribution of 5,000,000JPY from Japan Buddhist Federation to the WFB Humanitarian Relief Fund.

Rev. Taitsu Kohno, President of JBF and Patron of the WFB at speech

Closing Ceremony

Returning from Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, the Closing Ceremony took place in Cinamon Grand Hotel. The WFB Merit Medal of Honor was awarded to Most Rev. Taitsu Kohno, Patron of the WFB.

Most Rev. Taitsu Kohno receiving the WFB Merit Medal of Honor
from Phallop Thaiary, Secretary General of the WFB

November 17

A tour was arranged to pay a special visit Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.

Inside Dalada Maligawa	Joining the JBF tour participants