Stories
from Asia
May
15 –
June 3, 2007
The
Sacred Art of Living and Dying
presented in Japan, Philippines,
and Thailand
Sacred
Art of Living in Japan
Dr.
Hiroshi Nishino is an exceptionally busy
man. He is the Medical Director for the Kameda
Medical Center in Kamogawa City,
Japan, one of the most prestigious medical institutions
in Asia. He is also an apprentice in The
Anamcara Project who travels to Bend,
Oregon every six months as a program participant.
This
summer, a delegation from Sacred Art of
Living Center visited Kameda Medical
Center during our teaching tour in Asia. This
was another example of discovering the mutual
blessings that are developing between the Sacred
Art of Living and our growing international family.
The
site visit was unlike any encounter in North America.
We were reminded of the way in which ancestry
and antiquity and honored in Japan. Dr.
Takaaki Kameda, chairman of Kameda, was
our gracious host who explained that he is the
12th generation in his family to manage this facility.
Imagine a physician’s lineage of 350 years
in the same community. Every aspect of care in
their medical center demonstrated this familial
relationship. One of the first hospitals in Japan
to host a formal chaplaincy program, the hospital
chaplain created a chapel on the premises that
was spiritually inclusive and distinctively Japanese.
We even discovered a stained glass image of the
Celtic hero, St. Columba of Iona in the hallways.
The
Kameda facility is located on a remarkable piece
of property overlooking the Pacific Ocean; across
the street is Sea World Japan. Each room overlooks
the deep turquoise waters and is appointed more
like a first class hotel than a traditional hospital.
Kameda is hopeful to become a Pilot Site for the
next two year Anamcara Project Apprenticeship
program. We were amazed to learn that each Wednesday
a group of hospital employees meets to read a
chapter in The
American Book of Dying. It was remarkable
to find our English language book so popularly
received by a Japanese medical audience.
The
highlight of our visit was to the “morgue”
located on the 14th floor of the facility. Rather
than hidden away in a basement, this sacred place
overlooked the ocean and is called a REIAN SHITSU,
which translates to: "spirit-peace-room".
We
were told that the body of every person who died
at Kameda was brought to this morgue and placed
on its beautiful glass altar. Built with the needs
of grieving family members in mind, the morgue
did not represent the failure of the medical system
in death but honored and celebrated the continuation
of life.
On
the train ride back to Tokyo, as Dr. Hiroshi shared
his passion and vision of the Sacred Art of Living
and Dying, I told him that we in America had as
much to learn in return. Our prayer is that Sacred
Art of Living’s collaboration with places
like Kameda Medical Center will both inspire and
challenge western mainstream medical culture and
its attitudes towards the end-of-life.
Meditation
Garden
|
Kameda Hospital, Kamogawa City, Japan
Dr.
Hiroshi organizes American
Book of Dying lunch meetings
with hospital employees
The
morgue is called a REIAN SHITSU
which translates to: "spirit-peace-room".
Altar
for bodies of hospital patients
Sacred
room for families to gather after death
|
Sacred Art of Living Delegation to Japan:
from
left to right: Dr. Hiroshi, Dr. Kameda, Richard Groves,
Takashi Matsuda,
Dr. Steve Kornfeld, Carol Sack, Joe Richter
| 
Japan’s only Labyrinth
Coma Therapists demonstrate for participants
Harpist demonstrating music modes
Beauty and support of Japanese environment
|
Japanese
Students Complete
Sacred Art of Living and Dying Series
The
city of Tokyo became the first Asian location
to host all four units of the Sacred
Art of Living and Dying Series. Hosted
on the campus of the Japan
Lutheran College and
the Japan Lutheran Theological Seminary,
participants attended the third and fourth units
with the assistance of bi-lingual translators.
Responses were enthusiastic to the special program
elements including the only Chartres-inspired
labyrinth in Japan and the skillful teaching of
Stan and Ann Tomandl, Coma Therapists
from Victoria, British Columbia. Many of the graduates
are participants in The
Anamcara Project and will continue
attending program modules in Bend, Oregon through
2008. Sacred Art of Living Center is grateful
to program hosts, Jim and Carol Sack
and the Tokyo-based JELC [Japanese
Evangelical Lutheran Church] office
who have done an extraordinary job helping to
translate the entire program series for the first
time in a second language. As a result of their
collaboration, efforts are now underway to translate
The
American Book of Dying into Japanese
with the assistance of program graduates.
Download
PDF Flyer from Japan program
Participants experience body-mind-spirit healing
Richard Groves works with translators
Joe Richter from SALC offers logistic support
Colorful local temple honoring children
|
| 
Dr. Feliciano in front of the Samba-Likhaan Center
in Manila
Retreat Center for Artists
Beautiful Filipino art
Delegation from Sacred Art of Living Center
Participants from St. Luke’s Medical Center
|
The
Sacred Arts in the Philippines
This
summer, Sacred Art of Living Center
was invited to present a special series of workshops
in Manila. In spite of wide spread poverty that
is in evidence everywhere in the Philippines,
I have rarely encountered a population of people
wearing smiles and enjoying life so completely.
Our host was Dr. Francisco Feliciano,
a talented man who is something of a national
treasure in the Philippines. A world famous
musical composer, Francisco is a respected conductor
who has been invited to conduct symphony orchestras
all over the world. One of Asia’s leading
figures in liturgical music, Francisco also
has a passion for connecting the arts, culture
and healing.
We
were warmly welcomed at the Asian Center
for Liturgy and Music called Samba-Likhaan,
founded by Dr. Feliciano in Quezon City, the
capital of the Phillipines. On the grounds of
what was once a toxic waste dump, his vision
has created a remarkable retreat center that
is both functional and beautiful. Artists, musicians,
writers and liturgists are invited here from
around the world to live in a creative environment
where the arts are respected as an important
aspect of health and healing.
The
Philippines is an exception to Asian religious
culture in terms of its religious population.
After centuries of Spanish occupation, there
are large numbers of Roman Catholic communities
as well as many other mainline Christian denominations.
On the large island of Mindanao, a growing Muslim
population was established in the Philippines
before Christianity and has always lived in
relative peace with its Christian neighbors
to the north. Sacred Art of Living created a
series of special presentations with these diverse
populations in mind.
We
are always surprised by the phenomenal turnout
of health care workers whenever we travel outside
of North America. St.
Luke’s Medical Center, the
largest hospital in the Philippines, arranged
for a special program that brought together
a couple of hundred physicians and nurses from
the region. Following our evening program, several
doctors told their colleagues how ripe they
believed that the Filipino people are for the
Sacred Art
of Living and Dying. One physician
spoke with deep emotion as he explained how
he had wanted to be a seminary student but felt
that it was irresponsible because of his family’s
poverty. He became a doctor instead. He told
the audience that our programs were a way for
him to be both priest and doctor in his life.
Another nurse spoke of how she had a Muslim
mother and Buddhist father and that our programs
gave her courage to deepen her understanding
of both spiritual traditions. Finally, St. Luke’s
new medical director, Dr. Jovan Cuanang,
gave a rousing personal endorsement for The
Anamcara Project and invited Sacred
Art of Living to utilize his new retreat
complex north of Manila for the Sacred
Art of Living and Dying series
in the near future.
Our
final day in Manila was spent teaching at St.
Andrew’s Anglican Seminary which
also houses one of Asia’s largest interfaith
theological projects. We spend with seminarians
from over 20 Asian countries at their remarkable
CPE [Clinical Pastoral Education Program] that
reflects a wide diversity of religious backgrounds.
It was a delight to dream with our Asian sisters
and brothers of how The
Anamcara Project might become part
of a larger trans-Pacific initiative for the
training of clergy and chaplains.
Dr. Jovan Cuanang invites Richard Groves back
to teach The Anamcara
Project
|
| An
Experience of Healing in Thailand
There
is a legend about an Indian saint who was abandoned
at birth by his mother and was left at the door
of an orphanage. Ironically, he became an extraordinarily
happy soul who had the capacity to understand
the sorrows of others. Rather than allowing the
pain of childhood to make him bitter, the experience
transformed his soul into a magnet of joyful compassion
This
summer in a mountainous jungle region of northern
Thailand, I met another such man. Abbot
Phrakru is an unusual Buddhist monk.
Father Abbot’s personal story is neither
legend nor sentimentality. His mother was a paralytic
who gave him up at birth because she was unable
to provide a normal life. These unusual circumstances
left an indelible impression on the boy. Instead
of leaving him scarred with sadness, the orphan
developed a strong sense of self reliance and
compassion for others, especially those affected
by paralysis.
We spent the morning walking and visiting with
this remarkably young spiritual father at his
monastery-turned-rehabilitation center located
in a tropical rainforest. His center is known
as the
Wat [temple] Tungbopaen located
some miles outside of the city of Lampang. His
bright saffron robes matched the warmth of a sincere
and soulful smile.
Several
years ago, Phrakru discovered an abandoned temple
near the outskirts of his native town of Lampang.
With the help of a small band of fellow monks,
he painstakingly began to restore the grounds
and buildings, He also attracted local supporters
who were interested in the care and rehabilitation
of paralytics and quadriplegics. There were no
similar services being offered in Southeast Asia.
But
Phrakru’s vision was larger than the creation
of a traditional medical facility. His foundation
now attracts international attention for its cutting
edge therapies that attracts paralytics from all
over the world. Daily physical therapies include
herbal baths, body wraps in native leaves known
for their healing properties, massage and music
therapies. The most extraordinary addition is
a walking meditation pond specially constructed
for the patients who are unable to walk. In Thai
culture, the rice paddy is evocative of connection
to nature and the production of the staple food
of life. The abbot was inspired to import a significant
amount of finely sifted silt from neighboring
paddies and added warm, healing waters so that,
in spite of their physical limitations, patients
can regularly encounter the healing elements of
nature.
In
addition to its health care mission, the temple
compound has also been transformed into a retreat
center for health care workers and the general
public. Every month, a new class of spiritual
seekers checks in for a week long program that
teaches meditation and holistic health practices
for caregivers. The environment of the monastic
compound is made available to spiritual seekers
from all over the region enriching both visitors
and resident monks.
Unlike
other facilities that cater to persons who might
be able to afford expensive rehabilitation, this
monastic facility turns down no own because of
financial limitations. With the support of his
monastic community, the abbot has also attracted
a remarkable team of medical and lay volunteers
providing a remarkable ratio of staff to patients.
Both professionals and volunteers consistently
remarked to us that it was a privilege to work
in an environment where the emphasis is on healing—both
for caregivers and care receivers. It was as if
the abbot’s smile was infectious and visible
on the face of every resident and caregiver.
The reputation of this healing sanctuary has now
reached the royal family of Thailand who has donated
an additional fifty acres to expand the abbot’s
programs in coming years. I have rarely experienced
such a place of healing and transformation—both
of physical and spiritual suffering. Pharukru’s
story is a modern reincarnation of the possibility
that even life’s tragedies contain the seeds
of hope when vision and spirit are put to service.
In the end, the abbot extended the use of his
remarkable retreat center to host the
Sacred Art of Living
and Dying series when we return to
Thailand in January, 2009. It will be an honor
to share the work of Sacred Art of Living Center
in such an environment of compassion and spiritual
awareness.
Temple [Wat] on monastery grounds
|
Father Abbot Phrakru proposes his center
for Sacred Art of Living
and Dying Programs
Patients come from all over the world for unique
treatment
Rice
Paddy Meditation Pond
Patient with family and volunteer
Meditation Retreat Center for Health Care Workers
Rehabilitation Center staff
|
Richard and Thai Host, Dr. Nirund with Abbot Phrakru
|
