After a serious earthquake shook Wenchuan county, Sichuan province, Fo Guang Shan and the Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) World Headquarters took initiative to donate ten million New Taiwan dollars on May 12 for the local Buddhist organization to help the victims. On the morning of May 13, over one thousand Fo Guang Shan devotees gathered at Taipei Vihara to attend a Dharma service conducted by Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Head Abbot of Fo Guang Shan Most Venerable Hsin Pei, President of BLIA R.O.C. Most Venerable Hsin Ting.
The devastating earthquake at Wenchuan county, Sichuan province killed more than ten thousand people. Venerable Master Hsing Yun, Founder of Fo Guang Shan, led more than one thousand monastics and lay devotees to chant the name of the Buddha and silently pray for one minute in order to transfer the merits to the deceased and the survivors. The eleventh floor of the Taipei Vihara was crowded with people who earnestly chanted the name of Amitabha Buddha, teacher of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, in the hope that the deceased could be received and the survivors blessed by the Buddha.
Venerable Master Hsing Yun said, “We suffer for the suffering people.” So far, numerous volunteers worldwide have gone to the afflicted areas to offer their help. “We hope to relieve those victims from suffering by chanting the name of the Buddha and transferring the merits with our Buddha mind and sincere vows.”
On the afternoon of May 12, the earthquake, measured 7.8-magnitude on the Richter scale equal to the power of 251 atomic bombs, seriously struck Sichuan, Gansu, Yunnan, and other places. The death toll is more than ten thousand now. As soon as the International Red Cross learned about the news on May 12, they contacted Fo Guang Shan and other Buddhist organizations. Venerable Master Hsing Yun, President of BLIA World Headquarters, immediately instructed Fo Guang Shan and BLIA World Headquarters to donate ten million New Taiwan dollars to the local Buddhist organization to offer help and contact Buddhists worldwide to show their care and concern and pray for the victims.
Venerable Tzu Jung, Secretary-general of BLIA World Headquarters, said that we had got the latest news from the worldwide BLIA members. In addition to donating ten million New Taiwan dollars for the disaster relief, Buddhists in Chengdu also went to the disaster areas and schools to show care and concern, assemble the survivors to chant the name of the Buddha for blessing, and comfort the frightened residents. All Fo Guang Shan branch temples would organize Dharma services to chant the name of the Buddha and transfer the merits to relieve the deceased from their suffering.