The time has now come where we must take more responsibility, not only to practise mindfulness in our lives, but also to honor this great teacher. We can start immediately by using her death as a special occasion to contemplate impermanence and to reflect on our own death. In that, Ayya Khema has just been ahead of us. Her death gives us the opportunity to set new priorities in our lives. We can renew and deepen our commitment to give our best, so that when we are Iying on our deathbed, we can look back on our life with equal satisfaction and fulfillment.
Today is the first day of the rest of our life.
To the end of her strength, Ayya Khema dedicated herself to serving the Buddha's teachings. One the occasion of the ordination cermony, Ayya Khema also created the Order of the Western Forest Monastery Tradition. In establishing this Order, her last major task, she gave her students real help and counsel for their ongoing practice. For those who aspire to the highest ideal of ultimate freedom from suffering as monks or nuns, she provided a special framework. It is his responsibility to run these and all future centers that may be formed in the spirit of the Theravadan tradition, and make decisions as he believes I would have wished them to be made.