Condolences to all loved ones of the victims of MH370 - Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Statement from Nalanda Buddhist Society Malaysia

At 10pm (Malaysian time) on 24 March 2014, the Honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia, Y.A.B. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, went on air to officially announce the fate of MH370 – it is now firmly established that the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crashed into the Southern Indian Ocean with 239 people on board.  None of them could have survived.

That was certainly dreaded news for the families of casualties on the ill-fated flight.  Their many days of hope, no matter how faint, was all at once extinguished.  Perhaps some of them may have thought about this terrifying fate countless times before; but when the news broke, it wasn’t enough to console and comfort their deep sense of loss.

CONDOLENCES

Nalanda Buddhist Society wishes to convey our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of all those who perished in this tragedy.  We understand that this is an enormously painful time for them.  But we also pray that they find strength to carry on with their lives, as best they can.

APPRECIATION

Nalanda also records our utmost appreciation to all concerned parties – officials, search and rescue personnel, spiritual leaders, volunteer counselors, and private citizens from many countries – all those who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and prayed for the safety and recovery of MH370.  Your efforts are not in vain as the world has been inspired by your selfless spirit and your great sense of humanity and compassion.  We further pray that the wreckage of the B777 can be found soonest, so that it may bring closure, and perhaps, some degree of consolation, to many despondent hearts.

PRAYER & CONTEMPLATION

This is a time for us to join our spirits in prayers, just as we had been for 17 days since MH370 went missing on 8 March.  It is also a time for deeper reflection and wise contemplation – “that all conditioned things are subject to change; and all lives end in death”.

MEMORIAL SERVICE AT NALANDA

For Nalanda members and devotees, we urge everyone of you to continue with meditation, reciting prayers, and transferring merits to the victims of this misfortune.  We at Nalanda shall do our part to continue providing moral support to all those who need it.  We shall be dedicating 7 days of prayers to all the casualties of MH370 and their loved ones.  On Thursday 27 March, we invite you to join us at Nalanda Centre Sri Serdang at 8pm in a special, community prayer session to dedicate merits to the casualties and their families.

Let us all do what we can, but do it well, with the hope that such wholesome positive actions can help alleviate the suffering experienced by many families and individuals now.

May the victims of MH370 rest in peace.  Sotthi.

Aniccā vata saṅkhārā 
uppādavayadhammino, 
Uppajjitvā nirujjhanti 
tesaṃ vūpasamo sukho
Impermanent are all conditioned things –
they are of the nature to arise and pass away.
Having arisen, they perish again;
the cessation of arising and passing away brings peace, and true bliss.

<沉痛哀悼马航 MH370 失事客机遇难者>

首相拿督斯里纳吉昨晚在新闻发布会宣布，马航 MH370 客机坠毁于南印度洋。我们怀着极度悲痛的心情，深切地哀悼马航 MH370 失事客机上已罹难的 239 名乘客与机组人员。

Nalanda 全体同仁谨此，向所有的罹难者沉痛致哀，我们的关怀和祝福与遇难者的家属们同在，陪伴他们走过死别的哀恸，也希望他们凭着坚定不移的信念与韧力，早日走出心中的黯然，迎向善生的曙光。