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30 EASTERN HORIZON | FACE TO FACE

Diana and former Sakyadhita International President, Christie Chang (7th from the left), with nuns and volunteers at the Sakyadhita conference in
Seoul in June 2023.

compassionate, experienced and seeking to benefit the of prayers, ritual and other things and in the case of
student. I have not been a chaplain but I think a good a funeral, to support people at a very difficult time.
candidate for chaplaincy would be open to different I am still learning but perhaps the most important
kinds of people with different kinds of beliefs and life lesson is to listen deeply to the stories you are told.
experiences. It will help if the trainee is familiar with The story might be how a couple met and how they
a range of religious beliefs and practices and is the decided to make a commitment to each other, or how
type who is open to asking for assistance when they a grandmother’s greatest joy was spending time with
don’t know what to do. From a Buddhist perspective her grandchildren, even if it meant watching children’s
the dying process is a preparation for the next life so TV! The stories are the stories of our lives and through
it is important to create a sacred atmosphere and to ceremony, we share those stories and realize their value.
encourage the dying person to let go of regret.
Links:
You have witnessed the most joyful part of one’s life Buddhist Care for the Dying
during a marriage as well as the saddest when death https://bcv.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/
takes place. For you personally, what is the biggest buddhist_care_for_dying_booklet-1.pdf
lesson you learnt from your career as a marriage and
funeral celebrant? Disability Access to Temples
https://www.buddhistcouncil.org.au/images/pdf_files/
It is a great privilege to be invited into peoples’ lives fabcdisabilityaccessbooklet.pdf
at these special times. You have a big responsibility
to create a ceremony that will bring joy, when it is a Academia.edu
wedding, and will tell the story of a person’s life and https://swin.academia.edu/DianaCousens
enable the beginning of healing, if it is a funeral. As a
civil celebrant you work with the couple or the family UN Vesak Melbourne Keynote Speech
and friends to create the ceremony together, it is a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn4X6S49W8I
horizontal relationship, not a vertical one. At the same EH
time, it is your role to bring some special knowledge