{"id":35113,"date":"2022-11-02T12:39:20","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T19:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?p=35113"},"modified":"2022-11-02T12:39:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T19:39:20","slug":"my-prayers-for-the-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2022\/11\/my-prayers-for-the-dead.html","title":{"rendered":"My Prayers for the Dead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today is All Soul\u2019s day.<\/p>\n

In the Western Christian calendar its the conclusion of Allhallowtide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is a day to pray for the dead. For Christians its usually for the Christian dead. The Roman Catholic church has a developed theory of the afterlife and speaks of a place between death and paradise for believers who have issues clinging to them. It\u2019s called purgatory<\/a>. Whether it\u2019s a place or a state, whether it involves fire or cleansing; well, that\u2019s not quite as developed. Other Christians have different views. What\u2019s interesting is that most all Christians pray for the dead.<\/p>\n

And, well, they\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n

Most religions include prayers for the dead. Maybe all. Prayers for the dead are a feature of Jewish worship, and Muslim worship, and is found in Hinduism, and Taoism, certainly in Buddhism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In our own little Empty Moon Zen<\/a> sangha, like with other Western sanghas, most of our liturgies offer a place for people to insert the names of people, sometimes in difficult circumstance, but also very much for the dead.<\/p>\n

I have a little litany I always include for my immediate family, all of whom are now dead.<\/p>\n

Boline, Donald, Barbara, James, Julia, Moss, Josh. I am the last of them, and if feels like my duty. Duty is another interesting word.<\/p>\n

I often include other names depending on various things.<\/p>\n

And it invites questions. Why? To what purpose?<\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019m less certain about that part. What prayer is precisely, I\u2019m not sure. How it might work, I have little certainty there, as well.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a whole lot of not knowing.<\/p>\n

It is also a deep visceral thing for me. I feel a need to do it. And I do it.<\/p>\n

And so, that there\u2019s a day in my larger culture that invites the moment feels a good thing.<\/p>\n

With that, I add my prayers for my dead to the prayers of the many ascending to the heavens like incense\u2026<\/p>\n