I feel bereaved to hear the passing of Rick Cummings. Amazing person, a true gentleman with a great life condition. Have been sending daimoku to him right away from here in India to his new universe of the Eagle Peak with the Daishonin and Sensei. Believe it or not his thought and his face came to my mind just a day before he passed away. I guess he communicated his departure in a mystic way. 🙏🙏🙏
And I was thinking of Mariko Cummings in Philly and was wondering if by any chance she was related to him. I later found out that indeed she is. We were in the Rittenhouse Square district in Philly practicing for the last year 2025. My personal tributes and encouragement to her. She must be so proud of her dad. I now recall her as a little girl coat-tailing her dad Rick at the Philadelphia Book store where we both once engaged in a long dialogue.
Hope we all live long lives and in good health with the advancing youthful years that we all are fortunately endowed with with a great sense of purpose as Rick Cummings was. A genuine humanist .. such lives never die ..
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I first met Rick Cummings in Philadelphia at an intro meeting held at 222 South Street in the early 80’s.
I had just started practicing Buddhism and I was excited to join in with others introducing people to Buddhism and bringing them to the intro meeting. There was Rick. I thought “What a noble presence he has” as I watched him conduct the meeting.
Over the many years that we all practiced faith together, as in that evening, Rick exuded confidence that made the rest of us feel secure. He had our backs!
I learned a lot from him about faith and practice. He taught me how to conduct an intro meeting, how to correctly enshrine a Gohonzon, and how to conduct a memorial service with dignity and respect for everyone. And my goodness he was the go-to guy for a great study meeting!
He is missed. His smile, his quirky sense of humor, his dedication and most of all that wonderful sense of confidence that put us all at ease. I can still hear his voice leading our prayers, Gongyo and daimoku with the force of a lion king!
Thank You Rick, thank you for spending all those years with us!
And Thank You to Krista, Maren and Mariko for allowing him to spend that time with us!
Your forever friend in faith, sucappy
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To Krista, Maren, Mariko, and all members of the "Rick" Cummings Family, I offer my heartfelt condolences. As I am still digesting Rick's passing, I wish you to know I will forever cherish the fond memories I have, of and with Rick, both, as a friend and as a fellow Buddhist. And, please know: I am forever indebted to that friendship.
Best regards,
~Sherman
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2026, West Palm Beach, FL, USA
To the Cummings Family With Warmest Condolences
— with
Francine Adams
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I met Rick through my work at Hampton National Historic Site in Towson, Maryland. I was greatly saddened to learn today of his passing. He was a wonderful man and will be missed. Sending heartfelt sympathy to Marika and family.
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My family and I are very saddened to learn about Rick’s passing. We will remember Rick for his kindness and care for regularly checking in on us. We extend our deepest condolences to his immediate family and pray for strength and comfort for them during this difficult time.
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Dear Krista, Maren, Mariko and other family members, I feel heartfelt joy that Rick was surrounded by you wonderful people throughout and at the end of his journey through life. Krista, you will always be the dearest person to me ♥️♥️♥️, and Rick was your stalwart support. I hope the funeral is not already past and that I will see you soon.
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Happy Eternal Birthday my great friend Rick:-) Continue to rest Eternally I am going to miss our talks and the words of encouragement you always gave me.
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My condolences to our sister Krista and family. Rick was and is more than a brother-in-law, but a good, loving, true friend, full of wisdom, wit, and other admirable attributes. His memory lives on through us. May we all receive peace, love, and comfort 💜. William and Marisol
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I was so sorry to learn of Rick's passing. He was my classmate and fraternity brother at Lafayette College. A man of principle, leadership, loyalty and conviction. Despite several attempts we never reconnected after graduation. I will miss hit. RIP Rick.
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My deepest condolences to the family. Maren is a mentor of mine and is a wonderful human being- a reflection, I am sure, of Rick. May peace find you in moments of reflection during this transition.
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This is still tough for me. Rick was such an important part of my growth as a person. He also helped me with my biggest breakthrough in my Buddhist practice, which now stands as a prime point in my faith, and has impacted every aspect of my life. Thanks so much Rick. You will be missed, and never forgotten.
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2020, Cherry Hill, NJ, USA
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When I was guiding Stockton B’ist Club , Rick helped me so much.
There were no sr Ldrs available from our Region at that time because class always started 5 pm. I chanted so much to be able to do my job right but still so scared thinking what if someone asked me hard Questions ,what if some professor come in !!, I’m only HS graduate!!!!
Rick comforted me saying “Hisako you can do it ,you don’t have to worry about that. just say I will get back to you w answer”
He made me feel at ease. Because of him, I was able to face that challenge. I Don’t remember what year? But we had A Leaders seminar at Kuttstown University, and I was in Ricks group learning how hard it is to communicate correctly from one person to the next whispering what we heard,then to relay it to the next person. It was so funny by the time it reached the last person in the group, something about fly ended up as French fry😂 we had so much fun!!!!!!
Lastly I respected Rick. He lead such a good Gongyo,one time I asked him “ Rick I want you to lead Gongyo at my funeral !! Would you? “ and he said yes but he went before me😔
I cherish the time when He rallied all MD at Kofu G to come up to the front and played song w the Kazoo for us . He made my heart swell .
We were so lucky to practice together. 🙏🙏🙏Hisako
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As Krista knows, Rick and I were fraternity brothers back when we were at Lafayette College (1965-1969). Those were good times. He was certainly a more diligent student than I was . . . and a better Pinochle player. The woman I was dating at the time offered to look for a suitable date for Rick for one party weekend. The first woman she thought she’d arranged to come canceled at the last minute, and so a substitute came up that weekend in her stead. Her name was Krista.
The rest is history.
Time flies; more than half a century. To Krista and the family, I offer my sincere condolences. It is a profound loss.
As an unidentified philosopher once said, “No one gets off this rock alive.” We all live with that certainty. May Rick now rest in peace.
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Krista, Maren and Mariko
There are no words to take away sadness when you lose someone you love. In our daily routine, or with family and friends, and in quiet moments, we remember how fortunate we are to have all the stories and experiences and memories we shared.
Rick brought a quiet, steady strength, and a warm, humble spirit to the process.
Whenever we encountered each other, in meetings or elsewhere, his greeting, accompanied by a smile you could feel, was, “Hello, Neighbor!”. Its message, broader than a person living in the same neighborhood, on the same street, rather, it communicated Rick’s essence – a profound ethos of shared humanity, kindness, helpfulness, a fellow human being regardless of proximity, rooted in the principle of loving one's neighbor as oneself.
Such a profound loss, because Rick was such a profound blessing.
Lifting you up in prayer, wishing you strength, comfort and peace, now and in the days to come.
"Your Neighbor",
William
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My heartfelt condolences to the Cummings family and friends.
Peace n Blessings
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Thank you Rick for all that you’ve given to the members of Camden District of the SGI and to my family. Your strong support guidance and love will continuously be a remembrance Love Martina
In response to "What made Rick different from most people you know?"
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Sending heart felt condolences to Krista and the entire family. May his light be ever present with you.
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I’m sending my condolences to the family. I know he was surely a joy in everyone’s life and grieving him is hard on many. I’m sending strength to everyone during this hard time. May he rest in peace 🙏🏾
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Krista,
I’m holding you and your family in my thoughts. I’m so sorry for your loss, and I hope you feel surrounded by love and support in the days ahead. Wishing you peace and comfort as you grieve.
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My sincerest condolences to Mrs. Krista, Maren & Mariko. I will always remember looking forward to hearing Mr. Rick lead Gongyo at Kofu because his prayer was so mighty. Sending you all my thoughts and prayers.
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To Krista, my condolences to your family, from Barbara and Eddie Wright family. With all our love.
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Always smiling Rick
— with
Rick with sister-in-law Iris
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Lorrie and I remember Rick for the great Gosho lectures he gave. He was able to convey the profound principles of Nichiren Buddhism because he deeply understood them himself. He also liked to share little details of the times or the about the recipients of the letter that were very interesting to us. We always looked forward to his lectures and will miss him deeply.
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