The Flame of Hope was received and blessed by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in front of over 70,000 people during his international teaching and prayer gathering in Bodhgaya, India, from December 29-31, 2022.
"I have been given this flame from Hiroshima where an atomic bomb was dropped during the second word war,” said His Holiness the Dalai Lama. “I have been there (Hiroshima). At that time when the bomb was dropped, many people died, and I really felt, I reflected on how many were killed and (I) felt very sad. And I felt how good it would be if the world could be free of nuclear weapons, and I also prayed for that.”
Praying to End the Nuclear Threat
His Holiness praised the Flame of Hope’s efforts to raise awareness of the dangers of nuclear weapons and the great need to rid them from the world.
“Up until now, wars are still going on and weapons and bombs are still being used,” said His Holiness. “There has been no use of nuclear weapons so far. Many countries have built nuclear weapons, but there are increasing number of people who are opposing nuclear armaments. So at this very special sacred place of Bodhgaya we have this Flame of Hope from Hiroshima, and have this occasion to make our prayer for the world."
The international delegation of the Flame of Hope from Japan, the U.S., Israel and Austria is humbly grateful for His Holiness’ exceptional words and acceptance of the Flame of Hope as a living symbol for all humankind.
We are also very grateful to the Tibet House in Tokyo Dharamsala and Bodhgaya. Without their prayers and motivation to work for peace, the Flame of Hope’s visit to Bodhgaya could not have happened.
Thank you to the Office of His Holiness for accepting and sharing the mission of Flame of Hope.
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