{"id":1158,"date":"2009-02-11T18:01:40","date_gmt":"2009-02-11T10:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/?p=1158"},"modified":"2009-02-14T12:48:41","modified_gmt":"2009-02-14T04:48:41","slug":"obituary-death-verses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/2009\/02\/obituary-death-verses\/","title":{"rendered":"Obituary : Death Verses"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

Jen: Your ‘imaginary funeral parlour notice’ [see below] is well written, seemingly depicting dying. Is it due to the way Buddhists view death, that there are no Buddhist obituaries in the papers?<\/p>\n

Shi’an: Actually, there are Buddhist obituaries in the papers locally (in Singapore) – but usually only the Chinese ones (because most Buddhists here are Chinese?). Seems like not many put up obituaries in the English press with meaningful Dharma verses. Someone ought to start a trend! Maybe I’ll use the parlour notice when I die! (Pretty long though… will cost a bomb, but hey, it’s good for public ‘education’?)<\/p>\n

The Mirror Image of Life<\/strong>
\n(An Imaginary Funeral Parlour Notice)
\n<\/span>
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Other than the state of Nirvana,
\neverything changes constantly,
\neven life, and death itself.<\/p>\n

Death is not the end of life.
\nIt is but another form of change,
\nit is but a change of form.<\/p>\n

As long as we are not enlightened,
\nwe will be reborn, time and again,
\nout of our attachment to life, out of our aversion to death.<\/p>\n

Though being reborn means
\nwe are still trapped in the cycle of life and death,
\nit also means we have another chance to attain freedom.<\/p>\n

Since death is as natural as the sun surely sets,
\nthere is no need to grieve for each other,
\nbut to wish each other well instead.<\/p>\n

After the sun sets,
\nsurely will it rise again,
\njust as life re-arises after death.<\/p>\n

Life and death are two sides of the same coin.
\nThough death has done us apart,
\nour connection in karma never parts.<\/p>\n

When we break free of the chains of life and death,
\nwe will become one in spiritual liberation.
\nWe ultimately reunite.<\/p>\n

Understanding this,
\nmay we not be attached, when it is the time of our own passing,
\nmay we not be attached, when it is the time of our beloved’s passing.<\/p>\n

Just as our excess grief of lost loves hurts us,
\nit too hurts the loved ones we cling to,
\nwho in turn cling to us out of attachment.<\/p>\n

Our loved ones would not wish us to grief.
\nOur loved ones would need to leave in peace.
\nTill we meet again, a sincere farewell for now.<\/p>\n

Why not do good in their name, dedicating merits to them?
\nWhy not be mindful of Amitabha Buddha, by chanting His name?
\nWhy not wish them rebirth in Pureland, His ultimate bliss?<\/p>\n

Life is too short not to realise wisdom for oneself.
\nLife is too short not to be compassionate to everyone else.
\nLife is too short to be spent grieving, to not be truly living.<\/p>\n

To prepare for life, prepare for death.
\nTo prepare for death, prepare for life.
\nOnly a life well-lived is well let go of when it is time.<\/p>\n

That which dies is not real, that which endures is true –
\nour undying love, our undying Buddha-nature,
\nour ability to be Buddhas with undying love for all.<\/p>\n

Death reminds us to treasure life now.
\nDeath reminds us not to be attached to life now.
\nDeath teaches us how to live now.<\/p>\n

Namo Amituofo, homage to Amitabha Buddha!
\nNamo Amituofo, refuge in Amitabha Buddha!
\nNamo Amituofo, gratitude to Amitabha Buddha!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jen: Your ‘imaginary funeral parlour notice’ [see below] is well written, seemingly depicting dying. Is it due to the way…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[75,108,126,65,335,336,139,25,212,41,106],"class_list":["post-1158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mix","tag-attachment","tag-aversion","tag-buddha-nature","tag-death","tag-freedom","tag-grief","tag-karma","tag-love","tag-nirvana","tag-pure-land","tag-rebirth","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}