I recently learned that the eighteen year-old daughter of someone I know committed suicide this weekend. I can’t adequately imagine the pain and vertiginous sense of loss they must all feel.
If you have a practice of dedicating merit please dedicate it to Eva Pearl Schulz.
If you chant mantras please consider chanting the Ksitigarbha mantra:
OM AH KSITI GARBHA THALENG HUM
For some context, I found the following that I thought might be of benefit to anyone who stumbles upon this post. Carl Becker in his book, “Breaking the Circle: Death and the Afterlife in Buddhism” examines the ethics of suicide from the Pure Land tradition:
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with taking one’s own life, if not done in hate, anger, or fear. Equanimity or preparedness of mind is the main issue. The important consideration here is not whether the body lives or dies, but whether the mind can remain at peace and in harmony with itself. . . . the early Buddhist texts include many cases of suicide that the Buddha himself accepted or condoned. . . . suicide is never condemned per se; it is the state of mind which determines the rightness or wrongness of the suicide situation.
https://www.andrewholecek.com/suicide-from-a-buddhist-perspective/
May Eva Pearl Schulz be guided and protected as she journeys to the next world.
May she enjoy peace and find solace there.
May she recall her generosity and goodness
May she someday soon make an end to suffering.
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