Chitra Herath bowed her head and allowed her tears to flow freely Sunday afternoon as she held a candle and listened to prayers for the victims of the tsunamis in Southeast Asia.

She wept for friends and she wept for those she will never get to know. The Sri Lankan-born Canadian was one of about 200 people who gathered in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery in the cold dusk to mourn those who lost their lives, pray for those who survived, and gather strength to help those in need.

They cradled candles in their hands and listened solemnly to prayers chanted and spoken by Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim religious leaders.

"Getting together as one nation, that's why I came," Herath said through her tears as she stood next to her sister-in-law, Mariko Herath.

"To be united as one nation. It makes it all feel better."

Herath's sisters, brother and mother still live in Sri Lanka -- where about 30,000 have died -- but live far enough inland that they escaped the destruction of the waves.

However, Herath said she has friends who live in the coastal communities.

The 45-year-old Surrey resident is Buddhist and has attended smaller religious ceremonies for the victims, but said it was important for her to come together with people of different religious beliefs and backgrounds.

"We've been dealing with this and holding in the grief and concentrating on helping," he said in an interview before the ceremony.

"It is going to take a toll. People are going to get fatigued, so it's very important that everybody comes together ... and tries to deal with their grief."

From the steps of the art gallery, Rathnayake spoke of Sri Lankans' dependence on the sea and their love of the island's coast. He spoke of a sense of betrayal, and a sense of awe at the power of nature.

""The sea that we love so much has hurt our people so badly. It has hurt us with so much anger and unbelievable fury that we are still in shock. We haven't even stopped and taken time to grieve because we are so much in shock," he said.

Liat Vizer and Shira Sommer, both 22, heard about the ceremony earlier in the day and made a point of attending.

Vizer returned from the hard-hit Indian state of Tamil Nadu just days before the tsunami hit and is having trouble "trying to wrap [her] head around what's happened. Sommer is hoping to travel to some of the devastated areas once the chaos has subsided and help rebuild communities.