Left: A volunteer assists an elderly resident as she walks to her dorm at the Lingyanshan Buddhist Nursing Home in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. Center: A resident hangs out laundry at the nursing home. Right: An 80yearold resident surnamed Xiang, puts watermelon peel into a plastic bottle to allow it to ferment and become a homemade detergent. PHOTOS BY GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY
That's exactly how Cao, the elderly Lingyanshan resident, likes it. She has lived at the home for three years, but her family visits frequently from Shanghai, a 30-minute train ride away.
"I love my home, my children and my grandchildren. I talk to them on the phone sometimes, but when I hang up, I just let it go. I don't think about them too much," she said.
"I don't have many concerns anymore. I enjoy inner peace. All I want is to spend my life here in peace until the very end."
Prayers for the dying
Apart from their distinctive dietary and living habits, what differentiates Buddhist nursing homes from secular establishments is the form of hospice care.
Buddhists' chants and prayers for the dying in the last days of one's life are part of the religious practice.
"I've always been willing to perform the service when needed and help people enter the 'Pure Land'," said Guan Yamin, 73, a resident of the Lingyanshan Buddhist Nursing Home in Suzhou, Jiangsu pro-vince.
"I expect the same when my day comes. That's why I practice Buddhism, and it's the main reason I came here," she said.
Jin Hongzhan, the deputy director, said seven residents have passed away since the home opened in 2012.
"We fully respect medical science, and residents go to the hospital when they are ill. However, when their last days come, Buddhists choose to return and spend them peacefully here," he said. "Rather than going through some tortuous treatment that will only postpone death for a short time, or have a high-risk operation, they want to leave surrounded by fellow Buddhists chanting for them."
The residents usually inform their families in advance, and relatives have to be shown the official diagnosis and sign an agreement with the nursing home, he added.
Usually, a group of four to six people chant for the dying person day and night. After death, the body lies untouched as the chanting continues for at least eight hours, although 24 hours is considered ideal. Weeping is considered a distraction, so relatives of the deceased are not allowed to cry in the room during the procedure.
