Berne – Funeral Service – Body and soul that we were, I cannot heal from your death!

Your funeral service in the Berne region: Abbot Reding from the Honora Zen monastery, will guide you through the non-denominational funeral ceremony according to your wishes.

Prayer and Meditation

Body and soul that we were, I cannot heal from your death. As you crumble lonely in your grave, so I feel, my life, decomposing with you. Youth was still mine, beautiful, whole, only a tomorrow, there was no yesterday. Then death, in the brightest glare of the sun, touched my hair, looked me in the face. The world went out, the sky burned dull. I jumped up, terrified and impetuous.

But he disappeared; the eternity of love lay before me and separated me from him. And now today – in the sunny room on the right and on the left my child slept. Listening to the tender breath, I kept watch, and the summer wind blew at the windows. Then veils of fog fell thicker and thicker on me. The children's slumbering faces had scarcely appeared, and their breath no longer reached my ears. I wanted to call; but the voice panted until fear cried out loud in my heart.

In vain though; no cry of fear reached her, no sound of love reached her. In the gray darkness I stood forlorn, motionless and trembling in bone. I felt a cold grip my beating heart, and a horrid eye sank into mine. fled no more; I captivated the horror and laboriously summoned the strength of my eyes. Then foreboding trust in him who held my senses in prison came over me.

Funeral Service - Berne

And when I looked back firmly, the world suddenly lay low at my feet; I saw myself placed high and free before all life at your hand, terrible prince. I saw the steam of the earth striving and gathering into human and animal forms; Saw it shake, feel, saw it live and then stagger and then immediately vanish. I saw it lying in the pale light in the abyss and saw it raining in the smoke of the city.

Saw it teeming, hurrying, fighting and saw myself with the figures too. And looking down from death's lookout. The urge to endure life came to me, the desire to face the enemy who awaited me with full eyes. And with a cool breath running through my veins I feel the strength, against the joy and pain of life, to win myself firmly from life, if nothing else, at least a whole heart. Then I feel myself waking up in the sunlight; It dawned, floated and melted away. The children's laughter rang in my ears, and fresh blue eyes looked at me. O beautiful world! So let the new day of life begin with a serious sign!

The forehead on which, O Death, lay your dark eyes, will not pale too much. I feel deeply that you do not begrudge everyone your face; they only look at you when they fall tumbling into your arms, fulfilling their lot like the creature. Let me, however, behold with my eyes unswerving how they, unaware of anything, brutally set about their futile work, unaware of your quiet majesty.