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Order of Interbeing member Greg Keryk, pictured here with
his daughter Diana, died of cancer on August 16, 1996 at
the age of 44. A ceremony to celebrate Greg's life was held
on August 23 near Santa Cruz, California. Sangha members
shared their memories of Greg and of witnessing his dying
process.
Devotion
by Nanda Currant
Greg Keryk took the Fourteen Precepts in May at a
ceremony in Santa Cruz. That evening, he became a
member of the Order of Interbeing and received the name
True Good Birth. Greg was the first person to receive his
precept name via fax, and it was the first time the precepts
were read by Arnie Kotler and Therese Fitzgerald for Thay.
The stability of the practice and the kindness we felt that
night guided us in the days and weeks that followed.
Sangha, family, and friends wove a wonderful web of
community around the Keryks. The Ulrichs were like
guardian angels, bringing food and care daily and postponing
a vacation to come and help at the edge of life and
death. Irene's coworkers donated some of their sick days so
that she could have nearly two months off to be with Greg.
Greg gave richly to us with the remaining moments of
his life. He watched over his adopted grand-nephew,
Matthew Ulrich, with humor and interest. He wanted to
know about Matthew's new haircut and complimented him
on the fine newsletter he has been doing for us. Matthew is
16 years old going on ancient, so it was fitting that he and
Greg found each other at this time in their lives.
Greg came to the Sangha a few more times to sit with us,
and then we took turns going to his house to sit with him,
sometimes at his bedside. At one point, Irene set up a tent
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(intended for a summer camping trip) in their backyard and
lay by Greg as he rested. We all sat outside and kept watch
as the mosquitoes hovered around us.
In Irene's face we saw the hope, resolve, and tenderness
it took for her to sit lovingly by her husband's side. He was
less here than there, but he touched in with a tiny joke or a
little ~ap. Sometimes he wandered around the. one-story
house trying to find the "upstairs," or to step In and out of
the door to another life.
Irene's devotion to Greg moved me. She was beautiful as
she poured through wedding pictures on the living room
floor while he rested nearby . Strong feelings intermingled
with memories, moments, and plans which would never be
met. As she told me about their wedding ceremony, the
feeling floated into the ceiling and the walls and was there
when Greg woke up and drank some water. She brought the
wholeness of their relationship into the moments they had
left together. It was a gift to experience that kind of love in a
room with two people.
After my mother died when I was in my twenties, I
began to work with Turning Point, a support group for
children and their families with serious illness. Even though
members of our group gradually stopped meeting, the
awareness of that work lives on in our lives. My visits with
Greo and his wife Irene reminded me of the time with those
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families. The presence of love was palpable, and the highlycharged
atmosphere was imbued with light in the midst of
suffering. By sustaining love in a tenuous and fragile place
in life, a very gentle and subtle quality is generated. It is
something felt, not necessarily seen, an open quality that
breathes into the atmosphere. Humanity is often at its best
when life hangs in the balance. The courage and quiet
devotion that pulls a family together, or gives an individual
a stronger sense of the heart of his or her life, awakens us to
the simple fact of existence.
Greg had a favorite oak tree that he visited throughout
his life in both good and hard times. Although I was unable
to attend a memorial ceremony held there, I was inspired to
draw an oak tree with a seed floating in the sky above it.
This seed is planted in all of us through our having known
Greg and through our continued friendships with Irene and
his lovely daughter Diana. Greg may no longer be with our
Sangha, but he will always be a part of us as we breathe and
move through the day . I don't know if things turn out the
way they should, but I do know that waking up is possible,
and if we are lucky we get a glimpse of it now and then. We
will miss Greg and his gritty, honest nature, humor, and
inspiration.
Nanda Currant, True Good Nature, is an artist alld does
environmental restoration work with home-school students.
She cofounded the Hearth Sangha in Santa Cruz.