Death Day
Emma Markham, BIE MDiv ‘24, shares reflections from the second annual “Death Day “ - a day of visiting various sites across Manhattan and Brooklyn in conscious relationship with death and impermanence.
Written by Emma Markham, BIE MDiv ‘24
Death Day was inspired by Lama Justin von Bujdoss’s book Modern Tantric Buddhism, where he discusses locations around New York City where he has engaged in chöd practice, a central death practice in his tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism. He talks about how places like the M’Finda Kalunga garden in lower Manhattan, the Gowanus canal, and Green-wood cemetery are all places that evoke different aspects of the charnel grounds, where chöd was traditionally practiced in ancient India. They are places where discarded parts of society are thrown, discarded bodies are left, and where the spirits of our own death and decay are present.
At the end of October and early November the veil between this life and the other realms is thin, and so for those seminarians who are interested in contemplation of death, decay, and impermanence, it is the perfect time to take to the streets and rejoice. On the 29th of October a small band of BIE students, other Union students, and friends met up at the M’Finda Kalunga garden. “The M’Finda Kalunga Garden means ‘Garden at the Edge of the Other Side of the World’ in the Kikongo language. It is named in memory of the ‘second’ African American burial ground that was located on nearby Chrystie Street between Rivington and Stanton Streets.” (visit their website here). Here we sat in the garden’s paths and shared a brief tonglen or taking and giving meditation, followed by a guided 9-point death meditation, read from Ven. Thubten Chodron’s book Guided Buddhist Meditations. People shared their experiences, including discomforts, moments of peace, tensions, and insights that come from contemplating our own death.
Death meditation, discussion, and enjoying the garden's life and resting nooks at M’Finda Kalunga Garden
After a joyful and somewhat chaotic lunch around the corner at Vanessa’s Dumpling House, (where we were joined by some more friends!) a few of us bid the Manhattan cohort goodbye and headed to Brooklyn.
There we met up with a new group of BIE students, just as the light was starting to soften over the autumnal Green-wood cemetery. Jae, first year BIE, knows this serene and haunting landscape intimately, and invited us to follow her to a favorite tree. We nestled into a circle inside of a giant rhododendron tree on top of one of the cemetery’s many sloping hills, and engaged in a ritual of offering, connecting, and sharing with our ancestors, the deceased, and our lineages. Jesse, second year BIE, closed with a call-and-response song, and we exited the womb-like tree to the golden tip of dusk. Some friends ended the day sharing another meal of pupusas before heading home.
Students walking through Green-wood Cemetery
The day felt moving, joyful, warm, and familial. Recollection of death can bring with it many emotions, but recalling it in loving community offered a sweetness and stillness that was beautiful, almost as beautiful as a glowing autumn tree in the middle of New York City.