On that fateful day, December 26, 2004, it was just a matter of moments until Dharma Vijaya jumped into action to assist our native country, Sri Lanka. First to call me about initiating a fund for the tsunami victims was Mr. Lokubandara Tillakaratne. We attended a Dana ceremony that day and at that very moment , Dr. Gamini Jayasinghe gave the initial donation. Later that day, Stan Levinson came and gave me a cheque and wrote the letter that we sent out initially to raise funds to build houses. And we were on our way.
The following day Camille Celluci visited the Vihara and offered whatever assistance we needed. She then organized the Hollywood Artists Alliance and has been helping us since that day using the resources of that important organization and their contacts. It was through Camille that we received the help of Tess Cacciatore and her organization, The World Trust Foundation.
Meanwhile many members and friends of our Vihara became involved in donating and collecting funds, including Tilak & Niranjala Tillakaratne, Ananda Perera, Muditha Kanchana, Dhaminka Vidanapathirana, Ramya Gunasekera, Ananda Amarawansa, Ana Kadin, Sherry Cefail, Tracy Rice, Akasa Levi and more. They all gave generously of their time without any need to ask them. Tissa Karunasiri, Stan Levinson, Dede Whiteside, and Cynthia Shimazu worked on getting us on the Internet, record keeping and creating brochures and finding other sources for fundraising.
The outpouring of compassion and donations from various Buddhist communities throughout the United States was so heartwarming. Bhikkhu Bodhi arranged to have the Bodhi Monastery in New Jersey send us the donations they had collected. Ven. M. Seelawimala, Cynthia, and Niranjala applied to the Buddhist Churches of America and received funds to build houses. Rev. Masao Kodani and Rev. Marvin Harada graciously supported our efforts with wonderful letters of recommendation.
Dharma Vijaya’s youth also played a prominent role, including Mihiri Tillakaratne, Mihiri & Justin Hettigoda, Deshan & Madusha Nananyakkara, Daniel Kadin, Manoj & Madusha Jagoda Manuri & Jani & Lanka Ranasinghe and Ravi Amarawansa.
