這是一則來自國外訊息，根據瑞士日內瓦當地報紙「日內瓦論壇報」(Tribune de Geneve)2009年7月15日報導，佛教獲得國際聯合宗教會(ICARUS)頒贈「世界最佳宗教獎」，但卻沒有一個佛教團體去受獎，理由呢，很簡單。請看以下報導。
報導原文似乎是用法文撰寫，但是英文版則廣為流傳。以下是這則新聞的中英文內容：
【人間社記者滿容 日內瓦報導】
據日內瓦論壇報新聞報導，國際聯合宗教會票選佛教獲得全球「世界最佳宗教」獎。 總部設在日內瓦的國際聯合宗教會(ICARUS)，基於提高並促進宗教和靈性的融合與交流，今年七月投票決議結果，贈予佛教團體最高榮耀獎，一致表決佛教是「世界上最好的宗教」。
這個特別的獎項，是由200 名宗教領袖共同參與的國際圓桌會議中，由大家投票決定的。值得一提的是，很多宗教領袖並沒有選擇自己的宗教，而是把自己手中的神聖一票投給佛教，雖然佛教徒只佔 ICARUS會員資格的極少數，但得票數與呼聲卻最高。
以下是四名選舉成員的評論：
國際聯合宗教會的研究主管伊卡羅斯Jonna Hult認為：
對於佛教能贏得世界最好的宗教，他並不感到訝異，因為在過去的歷史中，並沒有一場戰爭是以佛教的名義而產生的，這是與其他宗教明顯不同的地方。他認為 佛教徒真的實踐了他們所宣導的宗教精神，而這也是佛教比其他宗教做得更徹底的地方。
Belfast的天主教特德神父Ted O'Shaughnessy表示，他也投佛教一票，他雖然崇愛天主教會，但他內心常常深感不安，因為在宣導基督愛的同時，往往在聖經裡頭發現為上帝而殺害異教徒的經文。
穆斯林神職人員塔爾阿斌Tal Bin Wassad透過巴基斯坦的翻譯，同意地表示：
「雖然我是一個虔誠的穆斯林，我可以看到很多個人的忿怒和瞋恨，藉用殺戮的方式表達對他們宗教的崇敬，而不是自我調解的途徑。 」
猶太牧師羅賓Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein說：
「我愛猶太教，這是世界上最大的宗教，但說實話，自1993年以來，我每天都在練習內觀禪修，並將禪修作為修持功課之一。（猶太人每日都要祈禱）」
身為巴基斯坦的穆斯林社團也是國際聯合宗教會投票權的委員之一Wassad繼續說：
「佛教徒備受肯定，事實上，我最好的朋友當中，有不少人是佛教徒。」
國際聯合宗教會(ICARUS)到目前並沒有找到願意接受這個獎勵的團體，他們發現所有的佛教徒宣稱他們不想要獲得這個獎項與殊榮。當被問及為什麼佛教界拒絕接受獎項時，緬甸Bhante Ghurata Hanta 比丘表示：
「我們很感謝佛教被肯定，但這個獎勵是屬於全人類，因為每個人都有佛性。」
委員會之一的Groehlichen 接著說：
「我們將會繼續尋找下去，直到我們找到一個佛教團體願意接受它。當我們找到時，我們一定會告訴大家。」
編註：原「人間福報」所報導為佛教受贈「最佳宗教世界」獎，對照英文後發現應為「世界最佳宗教」獎，故於內文已作更正。
Buddhism won The Best Religion In The World Award
15 Jul 2009, Tribune de Geneve
The Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has bestowed The Best Religion In the World award this year on the Buddhist Community.
15 Jul 2009, Tribune de Geneve
The Geneva-based International Coalition for the Advancement of Religious and Spirituality (ICARUS) has bestowed The Best Religion In the World award this year on the Buddhist Community.
This special award was voted on by an international round table of more than 200 religious leaders from every part of the spiritual spectrum. It was fascinating to note that many religious leaders voted for Buddhism rather than their own religion although Buddhists actually make up a tiny minority of ICARUS membership. Here are the comments by four voting members:
Jonna Hult, Director of Research for ICARUS said It wasn't a surprise to me that Buddhism won Best Religion in the World, because we could find literally not one single instance of a war fought in the name of Buddhism, in contrast to every other religion that seems to keep a gunin the closet just in case God makes a mistake. We were hard pressed to even find a Buddhist that had ever been in an army. These people practice what they preach to an extent we simply could not document with any other spiritual tradition.
A Catholic Priest, Father Ted O'Shaughnessy said from Belfast , As much as I love the Catholic Church, it has always bothered me to no end that we preach love in our scripture yet then claim to know God's will when it comes to killing other humans. For that reason, I did have to cast my vote for the Buddhists.
A Muslim Cleric Tal Bin Wassad agreed from Pakistan via his translator. While I am a devout Muslim, I can see how much anger and bloodshed is channeled into religious expression rather than dealt with on a personal level.
The Buddhists have that figured out. Bin Wassad, the ICARUS voting member for Pakistan 's Muslim community continued, In fact, some of my best friends are Buddhist.
And Rabbi Shmuel Wasserstein said from Jerusalem, Of course, I love Judaism, and I think it's the greatest religion in the world. But to be honest, I've been practicing Vipassana meditation every day before minyan (daily Jewish prayer) since 1993. So I get it.
However, there was one snag - ICARUS couldn't find anyone to give the award to. All the Buddhists they called kept saying they didn't want the award.
When asked why the Burmese Buddhist community refused the award, Buddhist monk Bhante Ghurata Hanta said from Burma, We are grateful for the acknowledgement, but we give this award to all humanity, for Buddha nature lies within each of us. Groehlichen went on to say We're going to keep calling around until we find a Buddhist who will accept it. We'll let you know when we do.
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