麻豆约拍

Ten years on from the tsunami which killed 30,000 people in Sri Lanka, survivors talk about how Buddhism has helped heal the trauma. The Indian Ocean nation lost over 30,000 people in the Boxing Day disaster and, as a predominantly Buddhist nation, the grieving and homeless were taken into temples for food, shelter and spiritual support.

Saroj Pathirana travels to Sri Lanka and meets an orphan still being cared for at a children's home who still does not know what happened to her family. He also hears from a woman who saw how her mother died and a man, Premalal Salwatura, who lost 12 out of 14 members of his family when the wave struck.

A Buddhist nun talks about how she encouraged orphaned children to paint what they had experienced and monks explain how the teachings of Lord Buddha encourage acceptance of death as an inevitable part of life.

In the programme, Saroj Pathirana also hears from monks and nuns that Buddhist teachings offer a superior form of support to more Westernised styles of counselling.

Producer and Presenter: Saroj Pathirana
Photo: Premalal Salwatura, Credit: Saroj Pathirana