Buddha from the Dining Room Altar at City Center. Photo by Bill Baker.
For our great, abiding friend
. . .
Who is passing from this world to the next.
S/he is taking a great leap.
The light of this world has faded for h/er.
S/he has entered solitude with h/er karmic forces.
S/he has gone into a vast Silence.
S/he is borne away by the Great Ocean of birth and death;
May s/he, together with all beings, realize the end of suffering,
And the complete unfolding of Buddha’s Way.
From the traditional Soto Zen Transition Memorial Service, a special well-being ceremony performed soon after a person dies.
Pub date: 2011-01-22 04:47:43