Peace is Now: Karmapa celebrates UN International Day of Peace

[Blueupali]

Sept. 21 is the United Nations International Day of Peace. 
http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/

Karmapa is celebrating the Peace Day and encourages us with the following perfect words:
"Sometimes when there are difficulties, it is difficult to smile, and to try and bring positivity to yourself and those around you. It might be beneficial to reflect for a moment on the most important people in your life. Reflect on their kindness, the sacrifices they have gone through at times to express that kindness. When we appreciate these people, we may also be inspired to show kindness, to share a smile, even when it feels hardest to do so. So it’s not about doing years and years of work and finally bringing something called peace. It’s not like that. Peace is now."

http://www.karmapa.org/vision-of-peace/?

http://www.karmapa.org/events/united-nations-international-day-of-peace/

[eyesoftara]

Just as suffering is pervasive, so is peace but it needs more realization and a bit of wisdom and work to achieve that. What the Karmapa is saying is that peace is not a target that we work on for years until we finally achieve it like some kind of degree from the university. He is saying it can be achieve now and he gave the method or remembering the kindness of others. By studying the Four Noble Truths and especially from the third Truth, we realise there is a possibility of cessation of sufferings, we will generate peace and joy in the realization that the disease of suffering has a cure.
From this we further thread the path to true cessation via the Fourth Truth.

[yontenjamyang]

Peace has a deeper connotation apart from the Karmapa's message that we should have peace now and not after working on it for some time. Peace should mean the realization that the deepest part of our soul is already peaceful originally and we just need to access it. Hence, it is very popular in the West especially to do meditation to access this peace.
In the Buddhism Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Higher Training and the Six Perfections, meditation is major emphasis. Without peace from meditation, we cannot gain Liberation or Enlightenment. So "Peace is Now" is important from the ordinary person to the highest of practitioners.

[Blueupali]

Ah, Yontenjamyang, you are right....

  Karmapa also says:

“The word “peace” may mean different things to different people. For me, peace is a state of mind where there is complete awareness, a seed-like nature of peace that is inherently present in the heart of every sentient being. We can find this peace through cultivating our Inner Wealth, our innate values of wisdom and compassion.
There is a very interesting Tibetan term in Buddhism called “tendrel”, which means something like “interdependent origination”, signifying that phenomena originate due to interdependent connection. We are all connected in many, many ways. We each have these seeds of peace within us, and together we can cultivate loving kindness.
Therefore, it is auspicious that there is a United Nations International Day of Peace. May we one day use every day to harvest and harness our Inner Wealth for the benefit of all sentient beings.”

http://www.karmapa.org/un-international-day-peace/

[Maleficent]

To have world peace we must have inner peace and hence we should start to train ourselves to have inner peace before all else.  For world peace to happen we need to have harmony starting from our homes and extending it to the nation and the world.  Celebration of International peace is a reminder to world peace.