Photo：California State Assemblyman Alex Lee rang the Bell of World Peace and Love on September 7, 2022 at Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy San Jose. He is the 428th bell-ringer of the world.
September 10,2022
International Day of Peace on September 21 is a day sanctioned by the United Nations and dedicated to world peace. It is observed annually by many nations and designated as a period of non-violence and cease-fire, allowing access to humanitarian aid in combat zones. To commemorate this special day, Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy has dedicated the month of September as International Love and Peace Month since 2021.
Photo: Dr. Hong, right, presents the “Key to the Heart” to California State Senator Dave Cortese after the senator rang the bell at Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy San Jose on August 26, 2022. He is the 426th bell ringer around the world.
The theme for Peace Day 2022 is “End Racism, Build Peace.” As part of the celebration for Peace Day 2022, on August 26th, California State Senator Dave Cortese rang the Bell of World Peace and Love at Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy San Jose and made a wish “for peace among every nation.” Two days later on August 28, 2022, U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna rang the Bell and made a wish “to have good relations with all countries working on climate” during a town hall meeting in Sunnyvale, California, and the ceremony was witnessed by hundreds of Sunnyvale residents.
Photo:U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna rang Tai Ji Men’s Bell of World Peace and Love during a town hall meeting in Sunnyvale, California on August 28, 2022. He is the 427th bell ringer around the world. (AP Images)
On September 7, California State Assemblyman Alex Lee from California’s District 25 rang the Bell at Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy San Jose and made a wish for “global prosperity and harmony to all folks of the world especially now given the strife and divisiveness we have in the world.” During an interview, he mentioned, “It's really important to make sure we have that peace and harmony especially for a lot of people who are the downtrodden, especially you're making sure we are advocating from the best.”
Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, the leader of Tai Ji Men, presented to Assemblyman Lee a Compass Clock of Conscience and two books titled Embodying the Wisdom of Tai Ji: Achieving Inner Peace and Balance and The History of International Day of Conscience. The clock is a symbol of time, direction, and purpose. It guides people toward the right path in life and reminds them to live every moment guided by conscience and do good deeds. Embodying the Wisdom of Tai Ji: Achieving Inner Peace and Balance contains 55 uplifting true stories of Tai Ji Men members at different stages of their lives. The History of International Day of Conscience documents the crucial cooperation between Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze and the Permanent Missions of the UN that led to the designation of April 5 as the International Day of Conscience.
Photo: California State Assemblyman Alex Lee, left, is presented with the Compass Clock of Conscience by Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze, the leader of Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy.
Assemblyman Lee is the 428th ringer of the Bell of World Peace and Love. Bell-ringers of the past comprise leaders of all fields from 128 countries, including 49 heads of state and government, 7 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, UN ambassadors, and other visionary leaders. The ceremony of ringing the Bell of World Peace and Love is an ancient, solemn ritual in which ringers make wishes for peace with a reverent heart toward Heaven and Earth, and then spread them with the sound of the Bell to all living things. The bell ringers are encouraged to exert their positive influences to advance global peace and sustainability.
Photo:California State Assemblyman Alex Lee, left, is presented with The History of International Day of Conscience by Dr. Hong, which documents important events leading to the UN's designation of April 5 as ICDAY.
Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy: Tai Ji Men is an ancient menpai (similar to school) of qigong, martial arts, and self-cultivation. It has carried forward the wisdom of Taoist philosophy, one of the highest philosophies of humankind. It is an international nonprofit cultural organization. Its contemporary zhang-men-ren (grandmaster), Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze established the Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in 1966, and since then it has grown to 15 academies worldwide.
Dr. Hong teaches his dizi (similar to disciples) methods to achieve physical, mental, and spiritual balance, and tens of thousands of families have benefited from his teaching. At Tai Ji Men, martial arts and wisdom have been passed down from the shifu (master) to his dizi. Through this time-honored tradition, the shifu and dizi promote the Tai Ji Men culture and martial arts around the world while embodying what is true, good, and beautiful as well as spreading the ideas of conscience, love, and peace. Over the past half-century, the shifu and dizi have self-funded trips to over 300 cities in 101 nations to conduct more than 3,000 cultural performances and exchanges and have been recognized as “International Ambassadors of Peace and Goodwill.”