Cemeteries or shamshan are important places for Buddhists. The sutras encourage practitioners to understand impermanence and death by looking at dead bodies and a cemetery is considered the optimal location for a retreat. The Buddhist tantras tell of eight different cemeteries, in eight different locations, all with their own special characteristics. Beyond these geographical cemeteries are the eight higher cemeteries: the eight consciousnesses. In fact, everywhere we walk is a cemetery, but our habitual patterns prevent us from appreciating this fundamental truth.

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Homepage illustration by Emily Avery Crow