Thursday, October 25, 2012

Bosco's ashes return home

James Kho's assistant brought Bosco's ashes back a few minutes ago.



For some strange reason, I felt a sense of comfort and peace now that Bosco's ashes are back home. Maybe this is one step closer to acceptance. Or maybe because I promised Bosco I would bring him home and I have done that now. When I am ready, I plan to intern his ashes in our garden, his home for 27 blissful and joyful days. And Bosco will then always be home and near me.

Funerals, wakes and last rites are often for the living, not for the deceased. The deceased is gone the moment life ceases but the living needs to mourn its loss and sadness. The living needs to grieve adequately until acceptance begins and life can go on.


So, humans, as emotional creatures, create last rites. It is to help them grieve, to mourn, and then to move on.

I'm told that once a living being passes on, once life ceases, the "consciousness" (or soul, or karmic package, or whatever we choose to call it) re-ignites somewhere else. Instantly. This life ends, another life begins. Where it re-ignites, we do not know. I guess it depends on how much good that being has done or how much kindness it has received in its lifetime. So it re-ignites in a new form and life begins again. Brand new. The pain and suffering of its former life, if any, is completely over.

So, life goes on and on...until when?

Another million-dollar question, I suppose.

Perhaps, until it has perfected and purified itself that it merges with that Universal Goodness (again, known to many by different names; Heaven to some, Nirvana and Moksha to others) and it stays forever in that form, finally free from all pain, suffering and incompleteness.

It is now complete.

Goodness is the Ultimate. Goodness is completeness.

Until we get there one day, we are still on earth now, surrounded by all our earthly imperfections. And no matter how imperfect life is, no matter how unfair life becomes, we strive on holding on to that Goodness that is intrinsic in us and we let it guide us in all that we do. We let that Goodness grow.

Some believe that only humans are privileged to reach that Ultimate state. I beg to disagree. Animals have that privilege too. In fact, I am inclined to think that more animals have reached there than humans!  And why? Because compared to humans, animals are such pure beings. They are true to themselves, they do no evil, they seek no revenge. They live according to the laws of Nature. They accept their fate and suffering and they surrender when it is time to do so.

So when animals pass on, I believe they definitely go to a higher state.

All said, whatever I have written above are thoughts that only we humans might ask, ponder and reflect upon. I'm fairly certain our animals do not ask such questions. They live as they are meant to. They just ARE. That is so much easier, isn't it?


Do humans think too much?

8 comments:

JOE NG said...

My condolence to you and all Bunny Furry Frens and a farewell to Bosco

chankahyein said...

Thank you, Joe. It's very kind of you.

Pamela Veltman Lee said...

Bosco is blessed to have a human friend like you. Thank you for the well written piece, it will certainly help many in dealing with such unavoidable life instances. My condolence.

claire said...

From what I know rebirth are for those whose's mission/purpose in life have not been completed. And those don't get reborn have completed their purpose on earth.

I totally agree on the fact that people think too much.

melle said...

Sorry to hear about your loss.. Bosco was a sweet kitty, reading from past posting about him..

Rest in peace, dear Bosco. You had a short but fulfilling life. At least, you had love & care from Kah Yein.

Norely Abd Rahman said...

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. You are such a compassionate person. The world needs many more like you. Bosco is in a good place and he had the most wonderful 27 days of his life with you.

Billy said...

Animals live in the moment, human beings dont. Human beings are the only species who... regret the past, fearful/anxious of the future, and dissatisfied/stressed by the present.

Forget to feed your dogs/cats the whole day, and they still wag their tails to greet you with a smile when you come home. Forget to cook/prepare food for grandma for the day, how do you think she will react as soon as you step into the house?

Animals live in the moment. Animals have a more blissful life... blessful too perhaps.

Does this mean if one aspires a more blissful life, one should aspire to be reborn an animal?

Wong Yoke Mei said...

Humans are the more complicated of all the species in this world......