Today’s
Enlightening Entertainment
will be presented
in Spanish,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean,
Malay, Mongolian,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish
and Thai.
We are in front of
the Gold Museum of
San José, Costa Rica.
Here, you will find many
examples of the skill
of the pre-Columbian
indigenous people,
who turned golden metal
into works of art –
invaluable works of art.
For many, this museum
holds the key to
the name of our country.
Actually,
in the year 1502,
during his fourth voyage,
Christopher Columbus
sighted the Atlantic coast
of our country and
called it a “Rich Coast”
(Costa Rica).
For many people,
this name is derived from
the gold that was used
by indigenous peoples.
However, history
has proven that the real
wealth of the country
was not their gold.
Here
at the national museum,
we will show you
the true wealth
of the country.
We are in the recreation
of a traditional house
of the 18th century.
Humble, with solid
and noble furniture.
The furniture is like the
inhabitants of this house:
simple but strong,
well-polished, durable
(the life expectancy of
the Costa Rican is among
the highest in the world),
practical, stable
(the democracy
is the second-oldest
in the Americas),
cozy (from almost
5 million inhabitants of
this country, 1.5 million
are immigrants,
and in its vast majority
are refugees).
The inhabitants of
this house
live on agriculture,
are quiet, and carry their
children to school on foot.
They go to Mass
on Sundays and
at six o’clock of each day,
they pray the Rosary:
they are people of faith.
In fact, the architecture
is a response to the culture,
the idiosyncrasy,
the ideology,
and traditions, etc.
of the people.
These corridors not only
served to protect
the building, but are also
related to the idiosyncrasy
of the Costa Rican.
A mostly open society,
we are calm, etc.,
with a rather low profile;
nevertheless,
we are sociable.
We go to the Caribbean,
to the Central Valley,
and the small corridor,
circling the whole building
with an “L” shape,
or with different shapes
and typologies,
but always the corridor,
because it was a tradition
sitting in the afternoon
to be there, to spend
the afternoon, waiting
for the night to come,
and waiting for the
people who were passing
by during the afternoon,
coming back home,
because they spent some
time talking, greeting,
and the children
in the street
and the sidewalk,
playing with the neighbors.
I would say, that is
a peculiarity of our cities,
that horizontal outline
where the cultural part
of the buildings prevails
along with the landscape
and the environment.
Costa Ricans do not like
fighting in any way,
and even though
it has been 300 years
since the discovery of
Costa Rica, they do not
have an organized army.
Certainly, there are
many schools already,
and towns called by
saints’ names, which
develop around
churches and chapels.
Here,
God is a daily presence
and the Marian devotion
is already a tradition.
The Basilica of the Angels
illuminates
the Cartago landscape.
Here in downtown
Cartago, the former
capital of Costa Rica,
the Basilica of Our Lady
of the Angels stands out
as testimony of
the unshakeable faith
of Costa Ricans.
The simple and kind
people of Costa Rica
have a simple and kind faith.
And it is
in the Virgin Mary,
the simple and kind
mother of Jesus Christ,
in whom they have found
their refuge and rock.
She is
“the bright morning star,”
“the comfort of
the afflicted,” “the savior
of the Christians.”
And the simple peasants
of the village come
en masse each year
to seek refuge in the soft
and always open arms
of the “negrita.”
Having appeared in 1623
to the young indigenous
Juana Pereira,
she has since been the
mother of Costa Ricans.
Queen of compassion
and kindness, she is
a sweet reminder that
God loves us with
the strength of a father
and with the love
of a mother.
Then, there is
a historical reason.
This is rooted in the
heart of Costa Ricans.
But apart from that,
there is a reason of faith.
Of course, each one comes
with a special intention.
They come because
they want to precisely
move with all their heart
toward the mother of God.
And that is what makes
many Costa Ricans
peregrinate many
kilometers to get here.
Every year, more than
2 million people,
almost half of
the national population,
travels by foot toward her
on the anniversary of
the apparition to convey
gratitude and filial love.
This love has been
translated into
the Costa Rican love of
the neighbor and
through a solidarity
that is transmitted
between generations,
and as a result,
into an intuitive search
of a peaceful resolution
to conflicts.
On this site,
a former barrack house,
Costa Ricans,
people of farmers,
simple and honest people,
wrote the most
memorable page in
the history of the world,
of the last century.
Here, at this wall,
on December 1, 1949,
President José Figueres
Ferrer ordained
the abolition of the army,
giving constitutional
form to one of the most
characteristic features
of the “Ticos”
(Costa Rican natives).
This people who never
wanted to sustain or
perpetuate a standing army
got rid of it forever,
banning it
in the constitution,
and thus became
the first and only country
in the world
to prohibit the army
in its constitution.
A little bit less than
10 years ago,
Panama did the same,
and today
Costa Rica and Panama
are the only countries
in the world that prohibit
as states the army.
In exchange, Costa Rica
is neutral permanently,
promotes the peaceful
settlement of conflicts,
guarantees freedom of
expression, assembly
and religion.
She also guarantees
in the constitution
the same treatment for
foreigners and nationals.
This implies that every
inhabitant in this country
has access to
universal health,
social universal security
and the right
to an education free,
compulsory, and covered
by the government.
For this noble policy of
abolishing the army,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
has honored
Costa Rica in the person
of President
Oscar Arias Sánchez with
the Shining World
Leadership Award.
We are in Buenaventura
Corrales School, which is
based in the so-called
“Metallic Building,”
a centennial historic
monument and
one of the many schools
that portray
the national landscape,
which owes its existence
to the fact that Costa Rica
never had a standing army,
and abolished it totally
in 1949, being able to
allocate more
financial resources to
education and health.
The strength of
this structure could be
an allegory about
the strength of
the national education
system, because 40% of
the current population
is enrolled in any of
the levels of primary
and secondary education.
And if we add to this
the university and
technical people,
this figure increases
substantially.
Education in Costa Rica
has emphasized
not only coverage
but also quality,
reinforcing the more
characteristic values of
the Costa Ricans…
…like solidarity,
respect for the rights,
respect for others’ rights
and freedom of speech,
part of everyday life.
According to tradition,
it was here 509 years ago
when Christopher
Columbus first spoke of
a “Costa Rica”
(Rich Coast)
and with that name
the country
was associated with
the gold and riches.
However,
time and history have
proven that this coast
is rich – in nature
prodigal and lush,
beautiful and harmonious,
and with its people,
strong, simple, happy,
believers in God,
friendly from that nature
that encircles them and
which has protected them,
declaring more than 25%
of their territory
as national parks and
wildlife sanctuaries.
The Costa Ricans
are calm people,
happy people,
people with hope,
for whom the right way
of living is to
respect and be respected,
it is each one
doing one’s duties,
it is each one staying
in one’s own place
but respecting the place
of others, in the end
are people of peace.
Thank you kind viewers
for joining us.
It was a pleasure
to have you with us
in Enlightening
Entertainment.
Coming up next is
Words of Wisdom,
after Noteworthy News,
on Supreme Master
Television.
May God´s peace be
with you today and always.