| Special Reports
By Mongolian News Group (Originally in Mongolian)
On January 27, Golden Year 6 (2009), the Mongolian members of The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association, in conjunction with the Mongolian government and local NGO agencies, organized a “GLOBAL WARMING – SOS” International Videoconference on the Urgent Problems of Climate Change, which was held at the Central Palace of Culture in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. More than 1,130 guests attended this important event, including hundreds of dignitaries and leaders of various organizations. Among the VIPs who attended were Mongolian Member of Parliament, Mr. B. Batbayar; Former Mongolian Prime Minister, Mr. D. Sodnom; Former Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Governor of Ulaanbaatar, Mr. D. Ganbold Davaadorj; Dr. B. Enkhtuvshin, Vice President of the Academy of Sciences; Religious and Church Affairs Advisor to the President of Mongolia, Mr. S. Tsedendamba; Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Prime Minister of Mongolia, Mr. O. Och, and many others. 
Featuring lectures by some of the country’s most distinguished scientists, as well as a question-and-answer session, the conference opened with a profound and informative speech given by Dr. Lhagva Gurragchaa, a technical sciences Ph.D. who is also a vegetarian poet and a recipient of the Cambridge University (England) Honor of “The 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 20th Century.” He said that the purpose of this event is to raise people’s awareness about the urgency of climate change so that governments and individuals will quickly grasp the opportunity to do all in their power to reverse global warming in the most effective way. Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar sent a special message1 for this event. As His Excellency was on an overseas trip at the time, his letter was delivered to the audience by his advisor, Mr. Tsedendambaa Samdan. Greetings also arrived via video link from the Director of the Soil Association in the United Kingdom, Mr. Patrick Holden, and the Policy Director of the same organization, Lord Peter Melchett.
Mr. Patrick Holden, the Director of the Soil Association of UK as well an organic farmer, conveyed his best wishes and support to the conference. He spoke passionately about his vision of future farming, “We need to switch from energy-intensive systems, need to re-localize food systems with a much more diverse mix of cropping, and a dependency mainly on primary products, such as vegetables and cereals. And we will move entirely away from animal production because at the moment many hundreds of millions, even billions of farm animals are kept in inhumane conditions and never see the light of day. And their production is not only violent, violent against nature, and violent against spiritual practice, but it is also completely unsustainable.” Guest speakers Professor G. Bold and Dr. D. Enkhbat, both of whom are vegetarians, explained in detail the current catastrophic effects of global warming on our planet and the detrimental effects of the meat diet by quoting abundant scientific data. Dr. Enkhhat said, “Everybody must be an environmentalist. To save our Planet Earth, to protect our health, and to leave a place to live for our children and future generations, let us significantly reduce meat consumption.”
During the question-and-answer session, Dr. Choimaa Sharav asked Master about the cause of human wrongdoing and how to subdue the evil of the greedy mind. Master pointed out that “It’s not just due to greed or evil-minded, just lacking of information that makes people not aware of the consequences of what we have been doing. So, now is the time that we must inform people.” “To be saved from this modern time disaster, we, humanity as a whole, must turn to a greater consideration of others. This is the reminder of virtue, that is truly of the greatest importance.” To encourage our youth to adopt the vegetarian lifestyle, Master said, “I trust in you young people. You have the power of the present and the future; you have the power to protect our planet. Please use it.” Hearing that Mongolia had the tradition of keeping the vegetarian diet nine months of the year, Master was very happy and optimistic, “Even nine months a year, so just another few months, I think the Mongolians can do it. Let’s make Mongolia the first ever vegan or vegetarian country in the whole planet.” She urged Mongolians to return to their original traditional lifestyle and live according to the high, moral standard of Buddhism. Following the question-and-answer session, a book release ceremony was held for the new Mongolian and Russian versions of The Birds in My Life, the number one international bestselling book written by Supreme Master Ching Hai. During the event, Association members shared with the attendees delicious vegetarian food and vegan cakes, as well as the addresses and telephone numbers of all the vegetarian restaurants and cafes in Ulaanbaatar and the surrounding areas. The celebration concluded with a “Save Mother Earth” concert showcasing live music performances by talented Mongolian artists and traditional Mongolian art forms like Uurtyn Duu (long song), Morin Khuur (horse fiddle) music and Huumii (throat singing), which UNESCO declared as one of the “treasures of humankind.” Master highly praised Mongolia’s rich culture and its national art. As a token of appreciation, She gave each artist US$500 for their excellent performance and selfless contribution to this beneficial occasion. All of the guests were happy to attend this videoconference. Some expressed their determination to change their attitude and lifestyle. A few TV channels told our Mongolian Association members that they intend to work with them to reverse global warming. The event was covered by 22 media groups, including nationwide networks such as Mongolian National Television, Eagle TV, Shine Mongol TV, UBS TV and TV 9, major newspapers and magazines such as Unen, Zuunii medee, Mongoliin medee, Express, Unuudur, and the Montsame News Agency as well as Mongolian National Radio and FM105.5. TV9, along with Supreme Master Television, broadcasted the conference live for its audiences. This event offers an inspiring glimpse
into how we can together change the world. “Go Veg, Be Green,
Save the Planet!”
Mongolian President’s
Message (In Mongolian)
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Supreme
Master Ching Hai was invited as the special guest of honor. She offered
Her insights on the pressing issue, its causes, and ways to cope with
climate change, highlighting specifically what is currently occurring
in Mongolia.“The Gobi Desert, which covers the Mongolian
landscape, it is a fragile ecosystem that is easily destroyed by overgrazing.
This results in the desert land turning into stony wasteland, where
not even camels can survive. It’s a very sad affair and very
urgent.” She reiterated the call for a return to the
virtuous way of life based on a vegetarian or vegan diet, as the fastest
way to stop global warming. “Only now, when the planet starts
heating up, then we begin to do research about the harmful effects
of the meat diet. So we all know that it’s hard to quit this,
but it’s harder to lose our planet. It’s harder to lose
this only home for our children. If we have a choice, exchange that
piece of meat for the whole planet, and all the lives and everything
else on the planet, all the comfort and the inventions, all the life
that we’re having. It is worth it!”
