“Unity in Compassion” Tsunami Relief Event Tonight Sends $$ & Monks to Japan
Yesterday after yoga, I sat in the dining room with two of the monks in charge at the An Lac Buddhist Mission in Ventura while a nun prepared some soup for us. We talked about a few topics including comparing the acts of a Christian Hitler with the Muslim Osama bin Laden, how the acts of a few religious fanatics impacts other members of the faith, and how celebrating the murder of one human, even someone like Osama bin Laden, diminishes all of us. The Buddhist way, as I understand it from our discussion, is to draw out the anger and hate and to replace it with compassion.
While we sat and reflected and discussed what messages Buddhism brings to make our world a better place, the Temple smelled heavenly with the preparation of vegetarian delights and buzzed with activity for tonight’s fundraising event to send both monks and money to Japan. In a week or so, Buddhist monks are flying to Japan from all over the world. They will gather near the nuclear reactor site at Fukishima to pray and they are bringing with them funds raised from their temples to help with the restoration and recovery process. Read on and learn how you can help.
Even if you can’t attend in person, you can light a candle at 8:30pm tonight Pacific time and join your prayers with ours.
