At the center of a local relief effort for tsunami victims is the spiritual leader of Staten Island’s large Sri Lankan population. The abbot of the Staten Island Buddhist Vihara, Bhante Kondanna, recently sat down with The New York Sun’s Maura Yates to talk about the impact of the disaster and to offer hope for the future of his troubled country.

Q. Your temple has done a lot to organize a local relief effort. What sort of supplies are being sent? What can people do to help?

A. Normally, we do not ask for money. But people started coming with materials. We did not want to collect any materials, because it will take at least three weeks, time-wise, for whatever you send to get there. And the things you send, the people might not be used to it. At least with money, they can buy what they need in a neighboring country. I tell people, I didn’t ask you for money before, but now I say, whatever you can come up with, come.

They trust me. I’m happy about that. I didn’t breach their trust either. We were doing this all along. Nobody knew about it. When the media started coming, that’s when it became big. They publicized this, not I. We are really grateful for what they did.This is the result of their work.

People ask me, ‘what’s the difference giving it to you or to a big social service agency?’ I’m watching and collecting information. I want to send every penny to the people who are actually doing something. We want to find out the best place for it to go, and it should go there. We want to use it in a proper way, with the best results.

How are Sri Lankans in New York coping with the devastation in their native country?

It’s sad, but they are coping. They know nothing is permanent and everything goes through changes. That’s what we learn. Everything changes.

How many members of your temple have lost friends or family members?

Five families have had losses, but not directly to the families, but close. One girl’s fiance lost his parents on the train. He has been taking sleeping tablets and has been very upset. The parents didn’t normally have train tickets at the same time. Maybe they were saying they had to go together.

Mostly, they are okay. Yesterday, college students wanted to do fund-raising because they felt they had to do something.

Some people think that such disasters are meant to serve as a wake-up call to a troubled world. What explanations for this tragedy are offered by your faith?

I sometimes believe that, too. But there are really beautiful things that can come out of it, too. It’s not that a good thing happened, no. But it’s a crazy country, Sri Lanka. People, they realize they’re not going to live forever. And hopefully they will learn to live peacefully together instead of killing each other. This is important not only for Sri Lankans, but for all people in the world.

What role do you think the tsunami will have in fostering better relations between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels?

I have been listening to Internet radio and the stations in Sri Lanka. There was a message saying they are going to work together and have a discussion. Before they were rejecting aid given by the government. Something has happened. It should. Otherwise they are all stupid.

Buddhists believe that after death, human bodies are empty shells and the spirit has left to become something else. Still, the images of so many bodies are hard to look at. What comfort can you offer people seeing these pictures of pain and suffering in the media?

I would offer my sympathy, but that wouldn’t take care of anything. Life is uncertain. That is the only way to look at it, from the point of teachings. Buddhists have learned these things, but maybe they didn’t understand it up to now. This is the time they think about it. They know the teachings, but there are still weeping, lamenting, all those things going on.

Critics have said that the relief package offered by the United States government was “stingy.” Do you think America is doing enough to help?

I saw previous times the United States government was number one. They’ll do what they can. Now it is emotional. Wait, and they will need a lot of help. Right now there is a cleanup, but they will need so much more later.

Myself, I won’t be rushing into this. To do the best, you have to have a lot of patience. Balance your mind and then start doing things – that will bring the best result.