Memorial sitting

[wizi]

One of our senior committee member passed away suddenly during an angioplasty operation that went wrong. We are holding a memoriam for him during our weekly one hour sitting in Goenkaji's tradition.

Would like to ask fellow Vipassana meditators if there is any appropriate Goenkaji chanting or guided meditation apart from metta bhavana that would be suitable for the one hour memorial sitting?

[Ben]

Hi wizi
I am sorry to learn of the passing of your trust member.
To my knowledge there is no particular chanting or group-sit recording that is more appropriate in this situation. However, I may be wrong.
I think it wise to contact VRI.
Wishing you the very best,

Ben.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings Wizi,

I don't know of any such chants, but a recital of the following sutta may be beneficial in terms of highlighting:

- Inevitability and uncertain timing of death
- The benefits of equanimity in response to feelings associated with the death
- The way the event can be used as impetus to strive on

Snp 3.8: Salla Sutta
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .irel.html

It's quite short, so shouldn't eat into the session too much... but as Ben says, contacting VRI is a good idea - this won't be the first time such a thing has happened, and there may well be a standard process in place.

Metta,
Retro.

[wizi]

I wrote to our Regional teachers and they have advised in this tradition the most wholesome way to share merits with and pay respect to someone who has died is to meditate and then practice metta. Goenkaji advises against playing any extra chanting in the sitting, or anything else taking place apart from meditation and people practising metta by themselves at the conclusion of the sitting.

Goenkaji cautions against other activities as, over time, such activities will become the focus and initiate Vipassana religious rituals.

That's very sound advice, I must say. Particularly when I think of how monks and their chantings in East Asia have become part of pagan funeral rites and rituals. Thank you all for your advice.