The Hawaii Betsuin choir sang at the Hawaii Buddhist Council’s joint Buddha Day Service held on April 1, 2018 at Soto Mission of Hawaii. In this video, the choir sings “Sen No Kaze Ni Natte” under the direction of Mari Murakami. Video courtesy of Gary & Annette Tashiro.
The gatha was sung as part of a companion service that immediately followed the Buddha Day Service: the Gannenmono Memorial Service, remembering the 150 Japanese who in 1868 departed the port of Yokohama on the ship Scioto bound for Honolulu. 2018 marks 150 years since that first pioneering group of Japanese immigrants came to Hawaii. More information may be found at https://kizunahawaii.com/.
“Sen No Kaze Ni Natte” is a translation of a poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye written in 1932. According to this account, the poem was intended to ease the heartbreak of a houseguest who was unable to be with her mother in Germany when her mother died. Here is one version of the original poem:
Do not stand at my grave and weep
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft star-shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.