18th International Human Unity Conference

Munich, Germany
October 29-30, 1999

Masami Saionji was one of the keynote speakers at the 18th International Human Unity Conference. Other speakers included Father Maximilian Mizzi of Assisi, Sant Rajinder Singh of India, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Lech Walesa of Poland, and other humanitarians, spiritual leaders and educators.

“All problems, no matter what they may be, come from within our individual selves. They do not come from others. Nor do they arise outside of us.

Problems are caused by feelings hidden within our hearts, such as dissatisfaction, intolerance toward others, vanity, greed, and competitiveness. Our problems also arise from the hunger to acquire more and more. Problems come from our boundless desire to increase our possessions and expand our power and authority.

The problem is not race, religion, nationalism, discrimination, or persecution. Rather, it is ourselves. It is our very own consciousness...

We each have the power to create our own situation, and in fact, we did create our own situation. We are responsible for it—no one else.”

Lecture at Inner Mongolia University

Hohhot, Inner-Mongolia
September 2, 2000

Addressed to three hundred students and teachers at the Inner Mongolian University.

“There are no boundaries between young people. You young people have the open mind to respect one another as equals and join hands...

Education and knowledge are both important, but the most important thing is your inner wisdom and self-respect. You have the power to change the world.”

International Symposium:
Medicine at the Beginning of the 3rd Millenium–
Medicine, Humanism and Peace

Warsaw, Poland
May 5, 2001

Masami Saionji was invited as a guest speaker at the international symposium on “Medicine at the Beginning of the 3rd Millennium” hosted by the Albert Schweitzer World Academy of Medicine and the Polish Academy of Medicine in Warsaw. She spoke on the theme “Reverence for Life,” one of the main principles of the Goi Peace Foundation’s Declaration for All Life on Earth, also a concept formulated by Albert Schweitzer.

“As our firm sense of identity as members of one global family develops, we will inspire ourselves to cherish and protect all life on this planet, and work together to halt the destruction of the environment, the extinction of species, and countless other problems.

Each individual has a unique mission, or role to play, in creating a peaceful future for the earth. And the greatest mission that each of us holds is to fill our heart with love, harmony and gratitude. Step by step, as each individual returns to the spirit of harmony, we shall bring harmony to the world.”

The Global Peace Initiative of
Women Religious & Spiritual Leaders

Geneva, Switzerland
October 6-10, 2002

Masami Saionji was one of the speakers at the historic summit of women religious, spiritual, business and government leaders, who came together from around the world to forge a partnership for building reconciliation and healing in regions of conflict.

The only way to change our earth, I feel, is for each human being to change their way of thinking and return to their essential belief in life itself. In other words, everyone living on this planet will have to rise above their ego and awaken to their higher, global consciousness.

Now, at this point in history, the time is ripe for this awakening. Now, when humanity is standing at the brink of destruction, let us make the best use of the moment for offering human beings a way to cut through the cycles of our past causes and effects, and take one step forward in the evolution of our consciousness.

Conference on Youth and Human Values

Geneva, Switzerland
October 8-11, 2002

Youth leaders between the ages of 18-30 from 78 countries participated in the Conference on Youth and Human Values, organized by the International Society for Human Values, for an intergenerational dialogue on some of the great challenges of our time. Masami Saionji addressed the youth participants in a plenary session on the topic of "Youth and Violence."

In the past generations we created many kinds of violence: the violence of war and oppression, the violence of rape and child abuse, discrimination, intimidation, and environmental destruction.

Until now, society has tried to quell these various kinds of violence with more violence. We have even taken pride in these efforts using words like: "the fight against disease," "the fight against poverty," "the fight against discrimination, the war on crime," and now, "the war on terrorism." Yet after pouring so much energy into fighting against violence, what has been the result? Even one look at today's world situation should give us the answer. Violence cannot bring an end to violence. It may briefly suppress it at a particular time and place. But, in the end, fighting against violence only adds fuel to violence. Someday it erupts again, even more forcefully.