One-hundred days so soon.
Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 1:47PM The oddest thing had to be the Ziploc bags.
Melissa and I arrived at the Wat Pa Sri Thanvorn Buddhist Temple just after 10 a.m. Our friend from Thailand, the one who had arranged the ceremony, was not there yet; so we sat in the car and watched the dozen-or-so roosters, the 20-plus cats and the lone peacock, strolling around the temple grounds. One of the roosters gave offense to the peacock, which we appreciated, because it allowed us to see his tail in all its glory.
Once Ban arrived and we had carried in all the food she had prepared for the monks, the ceremony began. The temple keeper looked at the photo of Natalia, shaved-head and luminous eyes (and that smile; you know the one) and said, "She was already an angel. She just came to earth to look around for a while and then went back home."
We made our offerings to the monks and they began to chant. We poured the holy water from small vessels into small goblets; Melissa's soaking the burnt piece of paper with Natalia's name written upon it. More chanting, and I renewed the promise I had made to Natalia at her bedside. Suddenly they were finished. We took our goblets outside and poured the water on a small juniper tree. This was to summon Natalia's spirit so that she knows we are caring for her, still.
Next we served the monks the food that Ban had prepared. Fish soup, shredded, green papaya, whole shrimp, squid and rice. Of course, rice. Some of this we served with a spoon into the monks' huge bowls; others they scooped with their hands from a bamboo basket. Nothing we offered to the monks could touch the mat upon which they were seated; instead they presented a folded cloth to receive each item. When they began to eat, we served ourselves.
It was delicious.
A stroll around the meditation gardens, a promise to return with our daughters. We left with jade bracelets--gifts from the monks.
And leftovers, packed in Ziploc bags, to share with our families.
Reader Comments (1)
Wow. That's beautiful -- and I can't wait to see the bracelet. I want to go there, too.