Last year, I attended a Dharma talk at a Buddhist center—fittingly, the topic was about letting go. Afterwards, I approached the reception and said that I had quite an unusual request: I was looking for someone who could speak to me about Buddhist burial traditions. The person I spoke to smiled and said she might be able to help.

That’s how I met today’s guest, Katrin Weimann—a Buddhist and consultant at Deutscher Kinderhospizverein (the German Children’s Hospice Association), who transitioned from a career in IT to full-time work in hospice and funeral services. 

We met at Friedhof Ruhleben, a cemetery in Berlin with a dedicated area for Buddhist graves, primarily serving the Vietnamese community. Here, a large Bodhisattva statue stands watch, embodying love and compassion as it guides the deceased on their journey. Buddha statues rest peacefully alongside angel figurines and crosses, with food gifts and tea sets. 

Katrin's English-speaking voice is AI-generated in elevenlabs.io. This episode was recorded in German, you can hear the original version here.