遠縁ながらお世話になったおば様が１０５歳で逝去なさいました。祖父、左京が婿入りした親元の延命寺という守山のお寺のおば様です。
１００歳を超えてもお元気で穏やかに自宅でお過ごしでしたが、２日間ほど寝込んで眠るようにお亡くなりになったとのこと。激動の戦争の後も様々なことが身の回りに起こるドラマチックなおば様の人生でしたが、元教師の芯の強さは定評で、私が多賀に帰った後も折に触れていただくおば様の言葉で私は心の安定を保つことができました。
お通夜に伺うと、お寺だけあって大勢の御門徒、お寺関係の方々でいっぱいでした。遠縁ということで本堂に上げていただき、前後の力強いお経の中で、私も心を込めて正信偈（しょうしんげ）をお唱えしました。
家族葬が多い昨今ですが、久々に立派なお通夜に参列し見事に人生を全うされたおば様に感謝とお別れを申し上げられたのは幸いでした。
A lady who was a distant relative and often took care of me passed away at the age of 105. She was in the buddhist temple in Moriyama where my grandfather married into my grandmother's family.
She was amazing because she was spending her daily life healthily and calmly at her home even after 100 years old and passed away peacefully after two days in bed with falling ill. She experienced various hardships around her in the wartime and after the war, but she was always resilient, maybe because she was a school teacher. When I visited her home or she came to my place, I always received her warm encouragement and I could have a stable mental state.
I visited her funeral wake. Since it was held in her temple, followers who were in the area and temple related people were there. I was guided to the main hall of the temple by a distant relative of hers. I recited Buddhist sutra with other people around me who were mostly Buddhist monks.
Since many people who lost their family members choose a private funeral nowadays, it has been a long time since I attended such the orthodox style of funeral wake. I appreciated being there to say goodbye and thanks to a woman who lived out her 105 year old life to the fullest.
