New law allows deportation of naturalized US citizens

Buddhists sell a temple to raise relief funds

But the members of Venerable Thick Nguyen Thao's Buddhist organization were all on side by Monday, when they began showing their small temple in Mission to a prospective buyer in hopes of immediately donating the money to the Red Cross.

The startling act of generosity was just one of many that Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and aboriginal groups in B.C. and Canada were coming up with this week to aid the families of those killed, the injured and homeless across Asia.

The outpouring of compassion from a cross-section of religions marks a rare moment among the world's often-divided faiths, which are showing a united front in rushing to the aid of the mostly poor people of south Asia's shattered coast. It is home to hundreds of millions of Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Hindus.

"When the abbot made his announcement, a lot of people dropped their jaws. But after a day went by everybody began supporting him wholeheartedly," said Dr. Vi Liet Nguyen, a family physician in East Vancouver and board member of the Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Canada.

Dinh Nguyen, another member of the international Buddhist organization that has two temples in B.C., said Monday the abbot wants his followers to show compassion for all people, no matter what their religion or country of origin. Vietnam was not struck by the tsunami.

Speaking through a translator, the abbot said one reason he's making a large donation to tsunami victims is to say "thank you" to the hard-hit people of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, who, in the 1970s, took in him and many other members of his congregation after they fled Communist Vietnam as refugees, or "boat people."

The main temple of the Vietnamese Buddhist group is at 8708 Royal Oak Avenue in Burnaby. The temple for sale is at 11281 Bell St. in Mission, on a hectare of land. Separate from the land sale, the Buddhist organization has already raised $5,000 for tsunami victims.

While the B.C. Buddhist congregation is making a bold move to support the devastated people of south Asia, Canada's Christian, Muslim, Jewish and aboriginal groups have also been highly pro-active.

About a dozen Greater Vancouver mosques collected donations at last Friday's prayer gatherings, earmarking them especially for the people of south Asia.

"This is not only a question of helping Muslims. This is a human tragedy of unparalleled proportions. And we stand united in trying to help everyone," said Aziz Khaki, Vancouver-based vice-president of the Canadian Muslim Federation.

"A situation like this causes religious people to break down barriers over petty, petty things."

Vancouver Sunni Muslim activist Feyoun Khan said he was inspired to read about how a major mosque in Cuddalore, India, whose members largely escaped suffering, became the aid centre for thousands of devastated Christian and Hindu fishers.

Canada's varied Christian organizations were also pulling out the stops to support the mostly uninsured survivors of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting waves.

Canada's Roman Catholic church was urging the country's 13 million nominal Catholics to make special donations at next Sunday's services to Development and Peace, a Catholic aid organization with arms in Asia.

The United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant denomination, was calling on its 800,000 active members to donate to the well-connected ecumenical organization, Action by Churches Together, which was helping victims within hours after the tsunamis struck.

Canada's Anglicans, Evangelical Lutherans and Unitarians were also setting up special recovery projects. Evangelical-based World Vision Canada continues to be a major player in aid efforts. And the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver was calling for special donations, directing the money to an international non-sectarian tsunami relief fund.

In another unusual cross-cultural show of unity, Canadians for Reconciliation, a B.C. group devoted to bringing together native Indians with Chinese Canadians, decided last week to donate several thousand dollars to tsunami survivors.

The money had been raised earlier at a charitable banquet for B.C. aboriginals who were victims of last year's floods. But Mount Currie elder Lily Whonnock and Chinese Christian Bill Chu together donated a $2,400 cheque to the Red Cross last week after B.C. natives decided some of the money should instead go to Asian tsunami survivors.

"Such acts of selfless mercy should motivate Canadians and others to join in the global relief effort," said Chu. (The Vancouver Sun)

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