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.