Source: Pacific Daily News
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080519/NEWS01/805190314/1002
There were smiles from both children and adults at the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple in Barrigada, as they were entertained by a lively lion dance in honor of Buddha's birthday yesterday. Hundreds came to the temple for the Bathing of the Buddha ceremony, part of the centuries old tradition.
But the celebrations didn't go off without the thoughts and prayers of thousands who have been displaced, injured or killed recently after a massive earthquake shook China's Sichuan province. The death toll has risen to nearly 20,000 people and is looking to top more than 50,000, according to the latest Associated Press reports. Tens of thousands could still be buried in collapsed buildings in the central Chinese province, where the quake was centered.
Before the celebratory events honoring Buddha's birthday began, the Guam Buddhism Society's Miao Guan asked those present to pray for the people of Sichuan province as well as the millions of cyclone victims in Myanmar, where more than 130,000 people are thought to be dead or or lost.