Establishing a set of global, shared ethical values serves not only to prevent or fight against terrorist attacks, but, more proactively, it helps protect every individual within each ethnic group from the threat of mutual harm, and prevents each individual on Earth from suffering suspicion, misunderstanding, discrimination, denial, and attacks. In addition it enables mutual respect, consideration, tolerance, learning, and help. It is only then that our world will enjoy universal and lasting peace.
In recent years global terrorist attacks have brought panic round the world. The causes for terrorism are complex, and include ethnic, religious, political, economic, cultural, and historical backgrounds. The most fundamental of these is the difference between ethnic groups in terms of their standpoints. As a result, by their actions to safeguard and protect their own benefits and safety, one ethnic group may often fail to consider from a mindset of equality the benefits and sense of security others expect. In such cases the other ethnic group may feel slighted and insulted, and as a result might then use terrorist attacks as a means of revenge, considering it a justifiable means to bring justice.
However, every ethnic group brings their own perspective and standards to interpreting the concept of “justice”, thereby causing contradictions and opposition among peoples, whereby one group considers themselves to be on the side of justice and the other on the side of injustice. This happens when one clings to what one thinks is true and rejects what one thinks is wrong. Today therefore, we need to establish shared, global ethics, rather than insisting on the justice as identified by each individual group. We should be generous and tolerant of other people’s faults, reach out to help every individual, interact with others in peace and harmony, and seek mutual development.
What are global, shared ethical values? It means to respect every living being, to acknowledge the right of every individual to survive, and the responsibility of each person to protect and cherish all others. Global ethnics do not allow any ethnic group to seek to protect their own people by harming people from other ethnic groups. Once all of humanity can treat each and every individual life the same as they do their fellow countrymen and siblings, and strives to develop respect and tolerance toward each other, issues regarding who is and who is not on the side of justice will no longer arise.
How do we go about establishing global ethical values? The principle lies in replacing confrontation with tolerance, violence with respect and love, and exchanging revenge and hatred for healing and rehabilitation. If there are any teachings in the sacred texts and ancient wisdom of all nations that are in contradiction with peace and harmony among all the humanity, then they should be reinterpreted from the angle of global ethics. Twenty-first century human society must be open, diverse, and integrally interactive, while encouraging mutual respect and mutual learning—a society that, as an ancient Chinese saying puts it, seeks the common ground while allowing differences.
The way is to universally and continually promote the idea throughout different educational frameworks, such as schooling, social and religious education, and parenting. All of these different educational frameworks must highlight respect for life, acknowledge the right of every individual to survive and live, and promote the idea that all of us should develop a mindset tolerant of differences, and the need to take up the responsibility to protect the peace and happiness for all humanity. How should we go about implementing this undertaking? I suggest that the UNESCO should take these four educational frameworks on as its main undertaking for this century and promote the idea worldwide. The World Council of Religious and Spiritual Leaders should also try its best to help and urge religious leaders all over the world to share this mission.
Today’s topic of discussion is how to reinforce the guidance of global ethical values within the framework of school education and parenting. As we know, school education around the world today focuses on the transmission of knowledge and skills but rather neglects education bringing peace of mind to people. Moreover, it lacks education focusing on building a healthy character and personality. Also, today parenting is a problematic issue around the world . Within the wider domain of family education we should include parenting, child moral education, marriage guidance, as well as encompassing education in personal financial planning and maintaining a suitable pace of life. All aspects of family education can be combined and connected through a shared ethical education common to the world.
Within school education formulating educational policies to promote global education depends on the governments and educators . Family education, on the other hand is up to parents, who should teach their children to develop a mindset of love and respect toward other people, and should refrain from planting the seeds of hatred, terror, and violence in their children. Parents should teach their children to be tolerant of differences and to be forgiving of others. For instance, when I was a boy, my parents would often remind me to live in harmony with family members, and also to take care of people traveling from afar. Therefore throughout my life I have only encountered friends and have never known a single enemy.
To sum up, a shared global ethical education means we should not only respect every individual sharing the same environment, but that we should also do our duty and take up our responsibility to develop ourselves, help others, and share our knowledge, skills, and resources with our relatives, family members, friends, and every individual in the world. Only then can the world enjoy universal and lasting peace.
（A video recording of a speech given at the “Prevention of Terrorism: Enhancing World Peace through Education and Facilitating Global, Shared Ethical Values” Conference held at the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library on January 24, 2004）
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