“On a day celebrating Buddha’s birthday and expressing gratitude to our mothers, let’s all take a minute to express our sympathy for those who lost their lives and those who are still suffering in Myanmar,” said Venerable Guo Dong, abbot president of DDM.

He said the DDM Social Welfare and Charity Foundation has deployed a team to Myanmar to provide material relief and other humanitarian assistance to the victims.

Myanmar’s military junta has said 23,335 people died and 37,019 were missing after Cyclone Nargis ripped through the southern part of the country last weekend, while aid workers and foreign officials put the death toll at around 100,000 people.

According to the Australia Broadcasting Company, Burma’s pro-democracy opposition says the death toll is rising daily because of the junta’s stonewalling of relief efforts, and the United Nations also said that at least one million survivors have not received aid.

Aside from its reflection on the tragedy in Myanmar, also called Burma, the DDM held a prayer service and a fun fair to celebrate the holy Buddha’s birthday and promote social harmony and peace.

The birthday of the Gautama Buddha is traditionally celebrated in East Asia on the eighth day of the fourth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, and this years falls on May 12.

In his opening remarks, Vice President-elect Vincent Siew lauded the DDM’s “Six Ethics Movement.”

“It is so meaningful for us to gather together today to celebrate Mother’s Day and Buddha’s birthday.

Mothers and Buddha share the same values — mercy and compassion,” Siew said.

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