Today, Ven. Kenjo Igarashi held a 49-Day Memorial service for my wife’s father, Richard Buchin, at the Sacramento Nichiren Buddhist Church. It was a small family affair with just my wife and son and his girlfriend.

When my wife’s mother died in 2016 I had only been practicing Nichiren Shu Buddhism for a little more than a year, and I had no understanding of the 49 Day journey of the deceased. (When my parents died in 2003 and 2009 I was practicing with Soka Gakkai, which ignores such teachings judging from my experience.)

Now with the completion of the journey for my wife’s father I have a fuller appreciation of the value of marking these first seven weeks after the passing of a loved one. (With both sets of parents gone, I’ll be happy if the subject doesn’t arise again for many, many years.)

The picture at the top of this post is of a memorial that I composed for my wife’s father (see this blog post from April 28, 2018). I brought it to Rev. Igarashi and asked if he could decorate it. He readily agreed. This finished product will act as our memorial tablet for our altar.