For several years I worked as a Hospice Chaplain in Anchorage, Alaska. I came across this journal entry I made in 2008.
It is an honor to care for the dying.
Namu Amida Butsu.
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Sweet cake and a dead body
Life as well as death needs to be nurtured and cared for in such a way that we can honor both states of being with equanimity.
The face I gaze upon is pale, solid; eyes staring off into a place unknown, mouth open as if calling out one last time for help. I will wash, perfume and dress this body in preparation for cremation. As I slip my hand under the body I encounter warmth of skin; remnant of a life once lived. It may seem strange to wash the dead. Why should this be a privilege for the living?
The family members bring us food. It feels absurd to be sitting, eating cakes and cookies with a dead body in the room.
The Dharma conquers the absurd.
12/31/08
Namu Amida Butsu
Jishin
Very moving. In Japan, the washing and preparing of a person for the funerary process is usually done by funeral homes, It is wonderful to read tha you (and perhaps other Shinshu clerics in America?) undertake this important task, which I believe is the workings of Buddha's compassion. Thank you for sharing this with us all.
ReplyDeleteGasshō