Urgent Appeal for Donations to Aid Myanmar Earthquake Victims

Dear Esteemed Dharma Brothers and Sisters of Australia and New Zealand,

With hearts heavy and spirits deeply moved by the catastrophic earthquake that has devastated Myanmar, the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Australia and New Zealand extends our sincerest condolences to the bereaved families and all those suffering unimaginable loss.

In the face of the profound sorrow and devastation afflicting the people of Myanmar, the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Congregation of Australia and New Zealand convened an emergency meeting at 8:30 PM on April 1, 2025, to urgently appeal to all temples, monasteries, and fellow Buddhists within and beyond our congregation to extend their compassionate hands and provide aid to the suffering people of Myanmar during this time of immense hardship.

Your generous contributions can be made at the following temples within our congregation:

1.   Quang Minh Temple, Melbourne

2.   Hoa Nghiem Temple, Melbourne

3.   Phuoc Hue Temple, Sydney

4.   Thien Hoa Nunnery, Sydney

5.   Loc Uyen Monastery, Melbourne

6.   Bao An Temple, New Zealand

7.   Thien Thai Temple, New Zealand

8.   … (and other temples within the Congregation)

The death toll from the devastating earthquake that struck Myanmar last week has tragically exceeded 2,500, with heart-wrenching accounts emerging of the final moments of many victims. Two hundred Buddhist monks were crushed beneath a collapsed monastery, and fifty innocent children perished when their kindergarten classroom crumbled.

This catastrophic earthquake threatens to exacerbate the already dire conditions of famine and disease outbreaks in a nation that is already one of the most challenging environments for humanitarian organizations due to ongoing civil conflict, as warned by aid groups and the United Nations.

The powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck on Friday, with its epicenter near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city. It severely damaged the city's airport, warped roads, and caused the collapse of hundreds of buildings across a vast swathe of the country's central region.

This earthquake, triggered by a massive fault line stretching from Myanmar to Thailand, has also impacted Thailand, Laos, China, and even caused mild tremors in Vietnam.

The epicenter was located near Mandalay, a city with a population of approximately 1.5 million, and about 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital city, Nay Pyi Taw.

The initial earthquake struck at approximately 12:50 PM (06:20 GMT), according to the USGS, followed by a second quake 12 minutes later with a magnitude of 6.4, its epicenter located 18 kilometers south of Sagaing.

Relief efforts are being severely hampered by widespread power outages, fuel shortages, and unstable communication networks. The lack of heavy machinery has further slowed search and rescue operations, forcing many to search for survivors by hand in daily temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Myanmar military government has confirmed that as of May 3rd, the official death toll from the earthquake has reached 3,000, with an additional 4,300 injured and 410 still missing. Hundreds of Buddhist temples across Myanmar have been destroyed in the earthquake.

The casualty count from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar is expected to continue rising as rescue efforts persist.

Throughout central Myanmar, rescue teams are struggling to extract those trapped beneath collapsed buildings. Homes, temples, churches, schools, hotels, and hospitals have all suffered damage or destruction.

Rescue operations are being hindered by a lack of equipment, with some rescue workers resorting to using their bare hands to search for missing persons amidst the rubble.

Power outages, communication disruptions, and damaged roads and bridges are further compounding the difficulties faced by rescue teams.

Hospitals in Myanmar are overwhelmed with the influx of patients following the earthquake.

At Mandalay General Hospital, which has a capacity of 1,000 beds, hundreds of patients have been moved outdoors for treatment.

In Sagaing, buildings have collapsed virtually everywhere following the earthquake. The provincial fire department headquarters is among the destroyed structures, damaging all of the equipment and rescue vehicles inside.

Sagaing Hospital has also sustained damage, forcing patients to receive treatment outdoors in the scorching heat.

Ma Ei, who is involved in humanitarian aid efforts, witnessed approximately 300 patients arriving at Sagaing Hospital immediately after the earthquake. Most suffered from broken limbs and head injuries.

"There may be even more patients. Some patients with chronic illnesses are suffering even more," Ma Ei added.

Patients in Sagaing requiring more complex treatment are being transferred to Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, which houses the region's largest hospital. However, roads and bridges have been severely damaged, and even if they are repaired, the city's general hospital is already operating at full capacity.

"I am middle-aged and have experienced many incidents, but I have never been this busy. The situation is extremely serious," a doctor at Mandalay General Hospital stated.

The United Nations has warned of "critical shortages of medical supplies," including trauma kits, blood bags, anesthesia, support equipment, essential medications, and tents for medical personnel in Myanmar.

The United States Geological Survey estimates that the death toll from the earthquake in Myanmar could reach as high as 10,000.

We express our deepest gratitude for your boundless compassion and unwavering support. May the blessings of the Triple Gem shower upon you and your families, granting you peace, well-being, and limitless merit. 
With profound sincerity,

Dr Phuc Nhan Pham

Meeting Report: New Footscray Hospital Fundraising for Robotic Surgery - A Milestone in Community Partnership

Fund raising for The New Footscray Hospital 580,000 dollars

Dear all,

Abbot Thich Phuoc Tan of Quang Minh Pagoda, and Mr Nguyen Quang Duy president of VCA of Vic.  on behalf of the Vietnamese Community of Victoria, presented a cheque of 580,000 dollars to the Premier. Jacinta Allan., Dr Daniel Mulino MP Federal Member for Fraser  representative for  the prime minister is Anthony Albanese.
In her response speech, the Premier praised Quang Minh Pagoda and the Vietnamese community for their great contributions to the Australian government over the past 50 years.
The new Footscray Hospital will be completed at the end this year 2025, at a cost of $1.5 billion with support from the Victorian Government.
 This is a modern hospital   and the largest health infrastructure investment in the state , the modern, huge and wonderful of building including large rooms for medical wards, Psychiatric rooms, Emergency room and all facilities for all patients in Victoria.
\The Western Health Foundation   has been working with the Venerable Thich Phuoc Tan and the Vietnamese community to fundraise for the new Footscray Hospital.
Located on the corner of Geelong and Ballarat Roads, the new Footscray Hospital will support the increasing demand from Melbourne’s booming western suburbs,
 Building a bigger and better Footscray Hospital will help  with total 500 beds  and help  to  treat about 20,000  people for emergency department each year.
 Over the fifty years of our community. The Vietnamese community has been  successful to contribute charity to Australia   such as raising funds for Royal children Hospital half million dollars , Cairnlea Nursing home 800,000 dollars Sunshine Hospital $300,000 for Joan Kirner Hospital $300,000 , Bushes fire half million dollars  then  prepared masks for Western Victoria $200,000 during the Covid 19 pandemic,

Over the past 5 months Fund raising for the New Foostcray hospital ,  of the total amount of donations has increased day by day has now reached over half a million dollars, of which Mission Possible has broken the record with $531,206 
Thank you all media Thank you Mr. Frank Cheng  for giving  2 parties for free ,and  thousands Vietnamese with good hearts
There are many good examples and stories  to tell, from the youth  to  elderly persons   save money by putting in piggy bank every day then  performing donation .
This is a very big campaign, the Board of Directors of Western Health Foundation Hospital  announced to the all communities, the Vietnamese community will be honored to be the pioneers in this campaign,
The federal  and state Victoria  Government   have given 16 million dollars to build the first Vietnamese museum in Sunshine in Australia.

This is a good opportunity for Vietnamese people to demonstrate our generosity to the Australian Government and this is a great honour for our Vietnamese community.
Our ancestors said "When eating fruit, we always  remember who plant the tree, and when drinking water, we remember the source"

We would like to say thank you from our bottom of our heart All Vietnamese community contributing for this event.
 Thank again with your all good hearts to come here  to support this full meaning charity , this is our way of repaying the kindness and good treatment  from the Australian Citizens and Government over the fifty years for  our community, we would like to send our best wishes for happiness, longevity, health ,prosperity and longevity to everyone in lunar new year YEAR OF SNAKE.

Doctor Phuc Nhan Pham

QUANG MINH PAGODA WELCOMES THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE

QUANG MINH PAGODA WELCOMES THE YEAR OF THE SNAKE

Dear All friends ,
In the last days of the Year of the Dragon 2024 , every household and every person in East Asian countries are eagerly preparing to welcome the Year of the Snake 2025 .
Quang Minh Pagoda welcomes the Year of the Snake, with a panoramic view from New Year's Eve
The abbot led a delegation of over 20 local, sub-committee and inter-state politicians to attend the New Year's greetings stage with the presence of over 10,000 fellow countrymen attending in a sacred and warm atmosphere.
Tet Nguyen Dan - also known as Tet Ca, Tet Ta, Lunar New Year, Traditional Tet or simply: Tet. "Tet" is the Sino-Vietnamese pronunciation of the word "tiet". The two words "Nguyen Dan" have Chinese origins: "Nguyen" means the beginning or the beginning and "Dan" means early morning. Therefore, the correct pronunciation should be "Tiet Nguyen Dan"
For Vietnamese people, Tet is not only an occasion for family reunions, but also has a deep spiritual meaning, associated with ancestor worship.
Children who work far away choose Tet to return to their homeland - where their ancestors, grandparents, and parents celebrate Tet together, worship their ancestors; gather together after a year of hard work, all going back for family reunification.
This is also the time for families to summarize the old year, welcome the new year and give each other good wishes, all in the red of flags, banners, and gates to celebrate the new year. The colorful lights form many symbols, decorating the sparkling night streets. Quang Minh Temple Melbourne decorated with Buddhist flags, Happy New Year Maitreya signs and Buddhist flags also lined up on many streets where the temple is located.
At this temple, more than 10 miniature scenes appeared that the reception team had prepared for nearly 6 months, attracting a record number of more than 20,000 compatriots in the past 3 days. This year, Tet falls on a weekday, bringing a warm and peaceful spring atmosphere. , colorful lanterns were hung up, decorating the spring at the temple to become more sparkling.
The abbot prepared gifts, especially golden Buddha statues for Buddhists to give to Buddhists and visitors to the temple on New Year's Eve and the morning of the first day of Tet.
For a long time, lion, and dragon dances have been indispensable on New Year's Eve. The bustling drum beats with lion and dragon dance teams are one of the forms of folk dance with the wish to pray for prosperity, success, success and happiness. With that meaning, lion and dragon dances often take place on the occasion of Tet Nguyen Dan this year.
The sound of firecrackers going off, and the light of fireworks is an opportunity for us to "erase" the bad things of the old year and start over again in the new year. Perhaps, among the Tet offerings, firecrackers are something that does not distinguish between rich and poor, it brings people the taste of Tet.
The atmosphere of Quang Minh pagoda outside is bustling with thousands of colorful ao dai taking pictures of miniature scenes,
inside the two main faces of fellow countrymen chanting Buddha's name to pray for good luck in the coming year.
The dining room is full, with rows of Hue rice noodles and sugar cane juice lined up, but fellow countrymen are always happy with the joy of spring.
Di Lac spring brings joy to every home, every place, every person.
I look forward to the power of Buddha and the blessings of the Venerables, praying for all persons with favorable weather, people to live and work in peace, families to be happy and joyful, all illnesses and karmic obstacles to be eliminated, all wishes and desires of sentient beings to be fulfilled as they wish, I pray for the nine generations of ancestors to soon be liberated, for parents to increase their blessings and longevity.
On the threshold of the new year, I respectfully pray for the grace of the Triple Gem to bless the Venerables, longevity, body and mind to be always happy, forever be the pillars supporting the house of Buddhism, and always be the torch of wisdom to light the way for sentient beings on the path to find the root of enlightenment.
Respectfully.
Namo Amitabha Buddha
Doctor Pham Phuc Nhan

2025 Quang Minh Tết Festival

17/01/2025 Opening Tết Flower Market (Marigold, Chrysanthemum,…) and The Spring Flower Show (Elaborate flower displays, Artwork, and Led lights)
28/01/2025 12.00pm Do not allow vehicles into the temple during the Lunar New Year festival.
6.00pm to 10.45pm with live music and other performances.
10.30pm to 10.45pm Lion / Dragon Dance Performance.
10.45PM to 12 midnight there will be firecracker & fireworks displays to welcome the New Lunar Year.
In the main hall, Grandmaster gave incense offerings to pray and wish for peace.