I received this from Bhavana Society
[info@...]
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December 28, 2004
Dear Kind Friends,
As probably you might have already known, the worst
ever disaster has happened in Sri Lanka. Global news
media has reported at least 18,706 people have lost
their lives and billions upon billions dollars worth
of properties have been destroyed by the huge tidal
waves caused by the under sea earthquake of 9.00
magnitude in Jakarta. The worst hit is Sri Lanka, a
country that has been devastated by the war between
1983 and 2002. Sri Lanka, already poor and trying to
recover from chaos and unrest from the war, now hit by
this unspeakable earthquake causing enormous degree of
suffering to millions of people, needs your help.
There is a massive task ahead: removing and disposing
18,706 dead bodies, treating the wounded, the sick;
providing food, clean water, and temporary shelters
for millions of people who have lost their homes. If
you wish to donate any other material things like
cloths, medicine, food items please send to: Bhante K.
Uparatana at 2600 Elmont Street, Wheaten, MD. 20902-27
Please read Bhikkhu Bodhi's letter below.
With Metta,
Bhante Gunaratana



Bodhi Monastery
67 Lawrence Road
Lafayette N.J. 07848

December 27, 2004

Dear Dharma Friends,

The terrible tsunami that swept over large parts of
south and southeast Asia on Sunday morning caused
unimaginable destruction and a horrific death toll
that continues to spiral upwards each day. The country
hardest hit by the tidal wave was Sri Lanka, the
island-nation off the southeast tip of India directly
opposite the earthquake's epicenter. Sri Lanka is the
country where I received monastic ordination and spent
twenty-three years of my thirty-two years as a
Buddhist monk. Since the third century B.C., Sri Lanka
has maintained a continuous Buddhist heritage,
beginning when the monk Mahinda and the nun
Sanghamitta, son and daughter of the Indian Buddhist
emperor Ashoka, brought the Buddha's teachings there
from India. Buddhism has profoundly shaped all aspects
of Sri Lankan life and culture, and even today Sri
Lanka can claim some of the world's foremost exponents
of the Dharma.

The tidal wave killed at least 12,000 people along the
coasts of Sri Lanka. It has left up to a million
people homeless, bereft of all their life's
possessions, lacking even the simplest necessities. To
cope with this emergency, the country is in desperate
need of all the amenities of life: dry food rations,
tents, medical supplies, mosquito nets, etc. There is
even a shortage of sanitary drinking water. The
nation's economy has been severely damaged by the
quake, and it will take a long time before it can
recover from this calamity.

At Bodhi Monastery we are collecting funds to send to
Sri Lanka to provide emergency aid to the victims of
the tsunami. From deep in my heart I appeal to you to
make a donation. The money we collect will be sent to
the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka at the United
Nations, which has established a special relief fund
for this purpose. Please kindly make your check
payable to Bodhi Monastery and mark it: Tsunami Relief
for Sri Lanka. Please send your donation promptly, as
we would like to present the check to the Sri Lankan
Mission by the end of the first week of January. We
will issue receipts for all donations received.

Donations can be either sent by post to the monastery,
given to me personally (with your name & address
attached so we can issue a receipt), or given to Kathy
Wu, who has offered to collect funds on behalf of the
monastery (again, attach your name & address).

I thank you in advance for your help. Please remember
that generosity, according to the Buddha, is the root
and foundation of all wholesome qualities - the first
basis of merit and the first of the six and ten
paramitas. May the merit serve you as a source of
happiness in this life and a cause for spiritual
progress in future lives.

With metta and blessings of the Holy Triple Gem,

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi

Please note no e-mail addresses will be sent to any
organization, this is the only e-mail you will
receive.





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