Buddhists from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan donated 9.93 million yuan (US$1.2 million) at a prayer service in Beijing on Saturday afternoon to the tsunami-hit countries in South and Southeast Asia.
"We gather here on the first day of the New Year to pray for no more disasters and to show our commitment to helping the victims get through the disaster," said monk Sheng Hui, vice director of the Buddhist Association of China.
More than 1,000 monks and disciples from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan attended the prayer service held at the Lingguang Temple on the western outskirts of Beijing on the first day of 2005.
Temples from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan donated 9.51 million yuan and monks and disciples at the service donated 420,000 yuan in cash on the spot, according to the Buddhist Association.
The donations were entrusted to Red Cross China to send to the eight tsunami-hit countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
"This is so far our largest donation for the tsunami-hit countries," said Su Juxiang, vice president of the Red Cross Society of China. "We will publish the use of the donations and receive auditing supervision."