Do Burmese people really understand the meaning of compassion? Not according to a prominent Buddhist monk who has taken a leading role in Cyclone Nargis relief efforts... MAE SOT, Thailand — "?HOW did you feel when you heard that people were homeless, that monks had lost their monasteries and had nowhere to stay? Over 130,000 people were killed and 2.4 million suffered badly. How did you feel?? The monk who asked these questions paused and looked at his audience of around 3,000 people at the Tawya Burmese monastery in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, opposite Myawaddy. A patient is comforted by Sitagu Sayadaw in a clinic in the Irrawaddy delta. He continued: ?If you felt concerned and afraid for them, that?s good. It means you have compassion.? But before anyone could take too much satisfaction in that thought, he added: ?That?s good, but it?s not good enough.? The speaker was Dr Ashin Nyanissara—better known as Sitagu Sayadaw [abbot]—one of Burma?s most respected monks. He was in Mae Sot in late June to give a dhamma talk on compassion—and to ask the local Burmese community, estimated to be tens of thousands strong, to support relief efforts in the Irrawaddy delta, where millions still struggle in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. Since the cyclone struck on May 2-3, Sitagu Sayadaw has been rallying his followers to come to the assistance of their compatriots in the delta and the former capital, Rangoon, which also suffered substantial damage. His message was simple: Compassion is important, but it doesn?t amount to much unless it is accompanied by action. ?If you lack compassion, you will be an irresponsible person,? the 71-year-old abbot told his attentive audience, who were seated both inside the monastery?s main building and outside on the ground. ?But compassion in mind and in words alone won?t help the refugees in the cyclone-affected area,? he added. ?Such compassion won?t bring food to people in need.?..."