The funeral of my brother-in-law's sister

The past few days have been very busy and heartwarming for me as one of my relatives from the extended family suddenly died. My brother-in-law's sister was suffering from cancer for more than a year, and in 19th of June, she left, at the age of 46 years. Life is full of uncertainties, right? As the funeral was held at my sister's house, I was there most of the time helping and planning things.

May she attain Nibbana!

When someone is diagnosed with cancer, life is not the same for the loved ones. As they found out a bit late, there was little hope. In the past six months, she was in the hospital. First treatments were given in the Karapitiya General Hospital, and then they were transferred to the Maharagama Cancer Treatment Center. Even though with incentive care, the hope was minimal as the cancer had already spread. After being in the ICU for a few days, she left the world.

They had a 12-year-old girl, and she and her husband were with her all the time, making her final days happy.

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According to our religion and culture, there are several rituals and customs during a funeral. After preparing the body, we keep it in the house for one or two days, to allow the relatives, friends, and others to show their respect. As I said on a previous occasion, the funerals are an occasion where people show their unity for the sorrowed family. It's a great blessing as the funeral aid group, made by the villagers, stood by us.

They provided some money to the family, seating arrangements, and assistance from day one to the seven. Ah, I forgot to say that, we normally bury/cremate the body in 2/3 days, and we held a Dharma sermon (bana preaching) on the sixth night, an almsgiving ceremony on the next day.

So, as I said, I was there most of the time, providing support to my sister and brother. Many people came to pay their respects, and we provided tea and meals for the participants as well.

They decided to cremate the body. There is a service nearby, and necessary steps were taken to arrange that. On the Saturday evening, the village temple monks came to assist with the final rituals and give her the ultimate satisfaction. It was an emotional moment, especially seeing the little girl crying.

In the next few days, I spent the night there to provide comfort. And as I said earlier, we invited the village head monk on the sixth night, yesterday, to do the Dharma sermon. There were around 200 people for that as well. The monk shared his wisdom with us, guiding everyone toward peace and understanding the essence of life.

And today, we prepared alms for the monks and offered them.

So, it was a heartbreaking moment, yet we tried our best to provide her a good sendoff for her afterlife. I shared the whole week in a nutshell.

Once again, may her soul rest in peace!

Thank you.
Best Regards!