A circle forms. Friends and strangers gather to breathe and focus together.
Applying Buddhist practices of healing meditation, they imbue a sense of relief and appreciation throughout their daily activities.
Leading the session at Sunrise Senior Living in Prospect Heights is Mahesh Kumarasinghe, a Buddhist monk who helps the center’s staff manage stress, avoid burnout and be exceptional caregivers.
“Sunrise is always giving a quality of care … love and compassion … exactly what I practice as a Buddhist monk,” Kumarasinghe said. “Now, I’m applying it to the real world.”
Buddhist monk Mahesh Kumarasinghe leads a meditation session at Sunrise Senior Living in Prospect Heights.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald
Kumarasinghe, 41, was born in Sri Lanka and raised there during the South Asian island nation’s 26-year civil war. In 1995, he became a monk at age 12, and continued learning the teachings and practices at a Buddhist college.
A classmate who previously lived in the Chicago area helped Kumarasinghe come to the United States in 2009 — the same year Sri Lanka’s civil war ended.
Kumarasinghe said he was used to people promising to help him find a better life and never following through, but this time it happened.
After arriving in the Midwest, Kumarasinghe helped run the Blue Lotus Buddhist Meditation Group for nine years.
“At that time we didn’t have any place to practice. We rented a Unitarian church in Woodstock,” Kumarasinghe said.
He landed a care manager position at Sunrise of Crystal Lake in 2019, after deciding he couldn’t earn enough as a monk in America to support his family back home.
“One of my friends mentioned, ‘You’re a Buddhist monk, you practice love and compassion, and here there are great ways to do something in the health care field,’” Kumarasinghe said.
Kumarasinghe worked overnight shifts at Sunrise of Crystal Lake for three months, but disliked not having an opportunity to engage with the residents. He requested daytime shifts and soon was able to build relationships.
He became the lead care manager in less than a year and later assistant living supervisor. In 2022, he became the resident care coordinator and when Sunrise of Prospect Heights opened in June, he joined their team.
Kumarasinghe now leads staff and residents through meditation sessions.
Mahesh Kumarasinghe, a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka, leads meditation sessions at Sunrise of Prospect Heights, helping staff manage stress, avoid burnout and be exceptional caregivers.
Courtesy of Sunrise of Prospect Heights
The sessions begin with residents forming a circle and conducting breathing exercises, often accompanied by background music. He then leads them into the love and kindness meditation, where they recite three words as they think of themselves, then family members and then the whole world.
“(We say) I am well, I am happy, I am peaceful,” Kumarasinghe said. “May they be well, may they be happy, may they be peaceful. May all living beings be well, happy and peaceful.”
After about 10 minutes, the sessions return to breathing exercises and Kumarasinghe urges the residents to focus on silence and let all their worries dissipate.
Kumarasinghe brings his approach of peacefulness to the staff as well, at their morning meetings and whenever he holds meditations with them. Outside of the sessions, he makes sure to connect with each resident and member of his staff, and talk with them about any worries they’re having.
“I want to see them happy and healthy. I go and sit with them … I talk to them because they are lonely and they are bored,” Kumarasinghe said. “I always say something positive. We have to accept (what) we cannot change.”
Resident Georgia Lamkin meditates with a group led by Buddhist monk Mahesh Kumarasinghe at Sunrise Senior Living in Prospect Heights.
Joe Lewnard/[email protected]
Georgia Lamkin has been at Sunrise of Prospect Heights since August, but first met Kumarasinghe nearly a year ago when they were both at Sunrise of Crystal Lake. She regularly attends Kumarasinghe’s meditations and believes they’ve given her a more relaxed perspective on life.
“I think it’s calmed me down,” Lamkin said. “Once I leave I try to focus in my room. I try to meditate, not worry about anything, which sometimes is not real easy.”
Kumarasinghe is adamant about people realizing how good their life is. Growing up amid a civil war, he was used to falling asleep to the sounds of violence.
“I know how hard it is. I know how painful it is,” Kumarasinghe said. “People are suffering without food, without heat, without any water. I experienced that.”
He also has seen the drastic differences between his homeland and here and gained a new perspective for gratefulness.
Most of all, Kumarasinghe wants to help Sunrise residents appreciate all that they have.
“I want to be happy and I want to help someone,” Kumarasinghe said. “If I’m not happy, I cannot help someone be happy.”
Buddhist monk Mahesh Kumarasinghe leads meditation groups at Sunrise Senior Living in Prospect Heights.
Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald