Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne to Speak in Michigan

Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne (pictured at left with me last fall), one of the great and inspiring founders of the modern Engaged Buddhist movement, will speak at One Peace this September in Michigan. Sarvodaya USA has more information:

One Peace is a multi-ethnic, large scale meditation and dialogue to be held September 21, the United Nations International Day of Peace. Held at the Eastern Michigan Convocation Center in Ypsilante, the event is expected to attract up to 10,000 people from the Detroit metropolitan area and across the country. It will be hosted by an interfaith, non-partisan coalition of local, regional and nationwide organizations in collaboration with Sarvodaya USA.

Primary speakers will be Gandhi Peace Prize winner Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvodaya Movement of Sri Lanka, and Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith of the 8,000-member Agape International Spiritual Center in Culver City, California. Representatives from diverse religious and ethnic communities in Michigan will share the stage.

One Peace is but one of an expected minimum of 3,500 such events in 200 countries worldwide on September 21. Its purpose is to focus positive spiritual energy and commitment to the cause of peace in individuals, families, communities, countries and the world. Participants will be asked to become conscious of basic human needs that are the precursors to peace, and commit themselves to a better world. For more information: www.onepeace.us

A Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Dr. Ariyaratne is often referred to as Sri Lanka's "Little Gandhi." As mentioned above, he is the founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement--the largest NGO in the South Asian nation. The organization is dedicated to the "sustainable empowerment" of rural Sri Lankans "through self-help and collective support, to non-violence and peace." Today, Sarvodaya's 1,500 person staff benefits 15,000 villages in 34 districts throughout Sri Lanka.

I believe very strongly in Dr. Ariyaratne's and Sarvodaya's work. If you have a chance to attend One Peace on Sept. 21st in Ypsilante, MI, I hope you will do so. And for more information on this extraordinary man, take a look at the post I wrote about him late last year)

I leave you with a clip of Dr. Ariyaratne speaking in Michigan last year...