Buddhist clerics on Saturday called on U.S. President George W. Bush not to wage war against Iraq as they wrapped up a three-day international meeting.
The World Buddhism Conference, the third since 1998, brought together about 2,000 Buddhist leaders seeking tolerance and compassion as a means for solving violence and conflicts around the globe.
"Too many people throughout the world would not support a war against Iraq," said the Venerable Ajain Brahamavamso, 51, a Buddhist monk from Australia. "We've had enough wars already."
"If only Mr. Bush could actually go and live in Iraq and go to an ordinary person's home to know their fears, their root problem, then I think there would be an end to all this violence in the world," Brahamavamso added.
Conference participants also discussed ways to promote Buddha's teachings of "the middle path" in helping to solve conflicts.
While world peace was the conference's dominant issue, Buddhist leaders also discussed ways for reasserting their religion's influence, which they said is weak compared to Christianity and Islam.
"Buddhism is in decline" due to different trends among its followers in different countries, Venerable Kori Shinkai, president of Japan's Nenbutsushu Buddhist sect, said.
He called for Buddhists across the world to work together "to make stronger the unity and influence of Buddhism in the world."
The Buddha's teachings should become a foundation for working for global "peace and tranquility," he said.
The next Buddhism summit will be held in 2004 in Myanmar, also known as Burma, organizers said.