Amitaśūrī (pronounced “Ami-ta-shoori”), is an ordained Buddhist who has spent time as a Hospital/Healthcare Chaplain in England and Scotland.
The following readings are crafted from the many threads that Amitaśūrī shared about her work and life as we engaged in a conversation about illness, life, loss, grief and death. We talked about the ways in which individuals and families respond to the news about a terminal illness, the watery nature of grief and the heartache and challenge of saying farewell to someone you love…
Mother’s Love
Night night
It’s time to go
To pass over the threshold
From here to there
Into the unknown.
Grace descends
And I feel you close
So close, I can feel
You stroke my hair
Untangling the knots
of this lifetime
Grief
It doesn’t make sense
No part of it.
The shock, the loss, the yearning.
Not wanting to listen, nor touch or see
Don’t tell me this is true
Unplanned, unforeseen.
Not now, please not now.
How is it right now?
My body pulling at my sleeve
My prayers longing, calling
For someone to save me.
Death is not mine. Not yet.
I am here right now.
I am breathing. I am alive.
Grief as Water
Grief flowing,
through, around, beyond
Energy tumbling
Cascading waterfalls
Rushing currents
Slow Circling
Gently singing
Deep silence
Grief flowing,
Rain falling
Ocean coastlines
Long beaches
Shallow streams
Wide lochs
Mountain pools
Deep rivers
Jump in, dive deep
With a drawn urgency
And surrender
the only way forward.
My mind screams, no.
I hear you.
Intense discomfort
In every cell.
Relaxing into the chill darkness
Alive, alert, in love
with the beauty and magnificence,
with life
I hear you
Calling me home.
Free and flowing
All the way home
Mourning and Celebration
The fine, intricate thread of life,
Mourning and celebration,
Life and death,
Holding us close together
in the fabric of time
ready to untangle at the slightest pull,
unravelling, beyond our dreams
into the night.
‘
If sharing these readings please quote the authors as being Amitaśūrī (pronounced “Ami-ta-shoori”) and Wendy Haynes. Thank you.
If you would like co-create a personal reading for a ceremony of any kind please contact me. I offer my services freely and together we can find the words to express what is calling from the heart.
Hi Wendy,
thank you ever so much that’s a lovely message,
Amitasuri’s Dad
Hello James, It’s lovely to hear from you. Meeting your daughter, Amitasuri, was a joy and being able to share her insights and wisdom, a gift to all. I hope we all meet one day!