A sad day

Today we attended the funeral of a 19 year old man, R, the son of friends. It was a Buddhist chanting ceremony at the Nan Tien Temple, to which we drove south for 1.5 hours. The long chant by two voices in harmony was mesmerising and calming, soothing our sadness.

The Nan Tien Temple was a favourite place for R who visited often so that he got to know some of the monks. One said R was one of their favourites too and everyone there shared that sentiment. He was happy as a child, an adolescent and finally a man. Unfortunately he had some complex health issues which cut his life short. 


The ceremony emphasised the coming and going of life in endless succession. For my blip I have chosen tiny leaves of the Wollemi pine, with a new growth point at the end of their stem. RIP dear R.

Thanks for hosting MaryElizaR.