During the mizu kuyo ritual for pregnancy loss, a small Jizo Bodhisattva statue enshrines ceremonial remains of a lost child.

Following Shin Yu’s miscarriage in 2012, she had a mizu kuyo ceremony to process her grief.

Miscarriage is a socially taboo topic that many people have difficulty talking about. It’s often laden with grief, shame, and self-blame and is a loss that has not been very normalized in public discourse. Through Shin Yu’s personal story this episode shines a light on the silent subject of miscarriage and how the Jizo Bodhisattva can provide comfort to grieving parents.

Related links:

Adopting a Buddhist Ritual to Mourn Miscarraige, Abortion via NPR

Water Returning to Water: A Buddhist Ritual Brings Release by Shin Yu Pai

Splitting the Milk, a poem by Shin Yu Pai

We can only make Ten Thousand Things because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW.

And we want to hear from you! Leave us feedback online.

Ten Thousand Things is produced by KUOW in Seattle. Our host, writer, and creator is Shin Yu Pai. Whitney Henry-Lester produced this episode. Jim Gates is our editor. Tomo Nakayama wrote our theme music. Additional music in this episode by inola and The Field Tapes.

Search for Ten Thousand Things in your podcast app!

Partial funding of Ten Thousand Things was made possible by the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture Hope Corps Grant, a recovery funded program of the National Endowment for the Arts, plus support from The Windrose Fund.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jizo Bodhisattva

Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai